Printing
Building a screen printing press – Part 6
A screen clamp is used to connect a prepared screen to the printing press. It is essential that the screen does not move during or after registration.
A screen clamp is used to connect a prepared screen to the printing press. It is essential that the screen does not move during or after registration.
In order to support prints having more than just one colour, we will need our press to be able to load more than just one screen- even if it is only one screen at a time. To do this, we need to build a mechanism which will allow us to preset a screen position over the platen, and repeatably remove or mount screens in such a way that they always position correctly in the same spot.
Spring loading allows the screen to be maintained in either a raised or lowered position. Without this, one would have to manually hold the screen up while adjusting the work on the platen.
A rather important feature of any versatile screen printing press, is it’s ability to accurately and repeatably position a screen directly over the target printing area, and also to raise the screen up and away from the target.
Our press is made to be laid flat upon a table, or other flat sturdy surface, so that it may be conveniently stashed out of the way when not in use.
Printing presses, especially those suited for t-shirts, are readily available. Both single screen and multiple 4, or 6 colour presses may be found. These professional presses will give great results, but they generally have two down sides: They can be very costly, and take up a lot of space.