Learn How To Screen Print Tee Shirts At Home

I have been so busy getting ready to go to the ISS screen printing trade show in Long Beach, California. In fact as I write this blog I am trying to print some tee shirts to bring with me and give away. Too many things to do in so little time. It feels like just a moment ago I still had a month before this event would happen. But now it is here and I uploaded the last screen printing video to YouTube until I return.  Anyway today’s video tutorial upload was an experimental and very fun video to make.

The new video is called, “How To Screen Print Using Paper Stencils & Found Objects”. I had some totally rad fun with this one. Yes, I went through the “rad” era. Here we take a look at some paper stenciling methods and experimental found object usages. Many people have asked me in the past about doing a paper stencil demonstration video. This video will be the first of 2 paper stencil videos that I do. I plan on doing the next paper stencil video sometime in March where I will print out something from the computer and cut the stencil by hand with an exacto blade. But in the current video I show you how to make screen prints with store bought plastic and paper stencils. I also show you some ways in which you can use paper shapes or letters and other items like lace to use as the stencil. We even take a look using loose, found objects like confetti in this case. Yea, that’s right, I said confetti. I actually make a print with little pieces of shaped confetti. It had shapes like balloons, stars, squares and triangles in it as well as the word “PARTY” in caps. It was a lot of radical fun…LOL. It’s a totally experimental screenprinting video that will have you on the edge of your printing stool waiting to see how each print comes out. Make sure to check it out today!

Make sure to subscribe to this blog or the YouTube channel to stay tuned for that and the next paper stencil video in March! Thanks a lot for watching my videos, I really appreciate it and it means a lot to me. And of course thanks for stoping by the blog and having a read. Learn how to screen print with Catspit Productions, LLC!

Here is the 4th educational screen printing video for January 2012. That’s right! I have already done 4 screen printing videos on YouTube and there are still 3 left to go. WOW! Seven videos in one month! Is that an sign? A precursor of what is to come? Is this starting to sound like the end of an old Batman episode? But really yes, I have been ultra busy making new screen printing videos every week this January. February will also be packed with new tutorial printing videos but they will be all product demos and features. I myself will be taking the month off from doing actual Catspit videos. Don’t worry, I’ll still be in all the videos for February but they will all be geared to educate you about products I recommend and use myself. And of course you will be able to get a discount on them from using a Catspit promo code you can get on the website’s Print Supplies page.

This new screenprinting video is called, “How To Screen Print: Making Wood Handle Squeegees.” This was a more complex video to make than I thought it would be and I really wish I had more time to invest into it when I made it. January has been very stressful and so busy in the office that it has been making to me that I even have out out the videos I did. In this one I walk you through the process of how to make wood handle squeegees using bulk squeegee and wood handles. The bulk squeegee can come in 6 foot rolls or long pieces and the wood handle comes as a long uncut piece. Some of the shots in this video I would have done differently had I had more time I think. But in the end the video came out pretty good. It may not be a cinematic masterpiece but it certainly relays the pertinent information very well. And it’s probably fun to watch because of yours truly. I know I get a laugh out of watching my own videos…LOL. Anyway this is something I don’t do very often in my shop so I am glad I was able to share it with you all at this point. I think you’ll agree it’s another excellent and unique screen printing video from Catspit Productions.

In one of the shots in this video my fat head really gets in the way! You’ll have to watch it to see what I am talking about. Sorry about that everyone but that’s why I will be doing product videos next month. I need to refresh and re boot myself for some new educational videos about printing tee shirts. The paper stencil and found objects video is on deck for next week. Learn how to screen print with Catspit Productions, LLC!

Here is a video that has been a long time coming. Have I said that before? Probably but it’s true. The latest screen printing video uploaded to YouTube is about a topic I get questions on almost every day. In the video I actually poke fun at the tone of many of the messages I get regarding this matter and I did my best to make this one especially fun. So what is it all about? From the title of this blog post you know exactly what I am talking about don’t you? Yes of course you do and I’ll bet many of you have had days of printing white plastisol inks much like I depicted in the video for comedic purposes. Well I finally had time to address this question for all to benefit from

The new screenprinting video is called, “How To Screen Print: Tips On Printing White Plastisol Ink.” In this great educational video I give you some of my best pointers on working with white inks. I cover things like mesh tension, mesh count, frame rigidity and more. Like, have you ever really thought about your squeegee durometer when printing white plastisol ink? Well you certainly should. And what about mixing? Did you know that most plastisol screen printing inks are thixotropic? That’s right, some technical jargon that will amaze and enlighten you…. LOL. I even talk about reducers and thinners. While I know many people like to add them to their inks to make them thinner, I’ll tell you why I absolutely advise against it. What’s even better about this video is that the tips I share with you about printing white plastisol ink can be use for any high opacity ink. That’s right! You heard me! This is a double whammy because the topic actually crosses boundaries with two types of direct screen printing inks. So if you want to learn more about how to get great coverage easily with white plastisol ink, then you have to make sure to check out this new Catspit screenprinting tutorial video.

Oh and yes, I do remember I was supposed to upload the paper stencil video today but that needed some more items to work with in the video so I have actually pushed that one until next Monday. But I can tell you I will be uploading a new screen printing video about making your own wood handled squeegees on Thursday. Well, I’m pretty sure anyway…LOL. No really as long as nothing goes wrong making wood squeegees is on deck. Stay tuned! Thanks for reading! Learn how to screen print with Catspit Productions, LLC!

Yet another new screen printing video has been uploaded to YouTube. Lately I have been making about 2 new videos each week! That is a lot of educational videos to record, edit, produce and upload. I have been ultra busy doing many things around the shop and office as well. So it may be a good time to point out that any annotations that I may add to new videos will probably be delayed by at least a day. That means when the video is uploaded at first it will not have the text annotations that fill in information I forget to mention in the video. So if you watch the video when it is first uploaded that is great! And I need you to do that but it would also be helpful for you to check back a day or 2 later to see if annotations have been added if they already weren’t present. There are very few videos that I do not create annotations for. Therefore most all of my videos will end up having valuable information in the annotations. Please remember to read the annotations in order to get the most out of the Catspit tutorial screenprinting videos.

So the latest video is called, “How To Screen Print: Metal Screens & Mesh Tension.” This is a video about metal frames and their ability to hold mesh tension. Many screen printers and suppliers will tell you aluminum frames are bad and do not hold enough tension for good screen printing. In the video I talk about this and even compare an American made metal frame to a Chinese metal frame. You will get to see the difference with a tension meter. It is important to point out that I am not bashing Chinese manufacturing or products. They make some very good products that can save you some money. But I have found it is very important to be careful when buying Chinese goods. Just as with some American products, the Chinese have some bad eggs in the bunch especially when it comes to minor items like metal screen printing screens. But like I said there is nothing wrong with a Chinese product in general and I even sell RiCOMA heat presses which are imported form China. I have been selling those for about 3 years and after selling quite a few I have yet to have any complaints. So I want to make it clear that this is not a Chinese bashing or a negative importing commentary. It’s just an observation I have made with pre-stretched aluminum screenprinting frames.

Well that’s it for now, I have to go and get ready to make the next video which should post Monday or Tuesday next week. Wanna know what it will be about? You’ll just have to wait until Monday…..LOL. No not really. I believe I am making the long awaited paper stencil video this weekend. If all goes well that is what is on deck for next week. But stay tuned, you never know what type of video Catspit Productions will upload next! Thanks for reading! Learn how to screen print with Catspit Productions, LLC!

We start the New Year off with another brand new educational screen printing video. Welcome to the new and improved Catspit screen printing videos for 2012. It’s unbelievable to me how far I came from the first video I made 3 years ago. And this new video I was somewhat unsure about doing because of the topic. I didn’t think it would be too popular. In the end I decided to make the video and upload it anyway to see what would happen. This is a purely educational video as it covers some equipment a tee shirt printer might not necessarily need. But none the less it’s a great educational video which will expose you to the industrial side of screen printing. It seems the video is doing just as well as any other so I suppose people’s interest in learning about printing in general is genuine. I love it!

The latest video production is called “Silk Screen Printing: Technical Quality Control Devices”. This is a fun video which will take you on a tour of four quality control devices used in industrial screen printing applications. These are very technical screenprinting techniques which can produce a variety of products including membrane switches. But many things are screen printed that we take for granted and don’t realize how they are made. Certain automobile window defrosting grids can be screen printed onto the finished glass with conductive inks. Even some dash boards may be screen printed in part. Screenprinting is a unique process in that it has an ability to lay down varying amounts of ink. It can also lay down the most amount of ink compared to any other printing method. And it can print more than flat substrates. Therefore there are many applications other than printing tee shirts or posters. Screen printing plays an important part in everyday industrial manufacturing of many common products. This is why direct to garment digital printing will never completely replace or eliminate screen printing. And DTG has a long way to reach the efficiency, longevity, color, brightness, speed, versatility and economics of direct textile screen printing.

I really enjoyed making this video… no I mean it this time, LOL. I mean that whenever I say it… 🙂 But I think you will agree that this is a very cool video from which you will learn more about screenprinting. That’s right, I love to teach and share information and that’s what this video is all about! Thanks for reading. Learn how to screen print with Catspit Productions, LLC!

Here is the new banner for the newest YouTube channel layout. The new channel design has taken effect on the Catspit Productions YouTube channel. Please stop by and take a look at the new layout!

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