Best Screen Printing Machine for Beginners

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Best Screen Printing Machine for Beginners – Comparison Table

Best Screen Printing Machine for Beginners – Reviews

The INTBUYING Screen Printing Press is a high power, high-quality machine that has six different frames for a variety of different colors, and they can rotate. It’s a manual press machine with one station that works well with designs requiring only one color.

This is a great starting point if you’re just getting into creating your own designs. It’s also small and compact so you can carry it around easily. It’s not too heavy either. It comes with screws that you can fix the plates and frames to the machine with.

It comes with 4 total screws and a screen clamp that can hold frames under 5cm thick. They can be adjusted with a distance up to 12cm. It’s also really easy to put together on any surface.

This is a fantastic pick for a beginner just starting out and it doesn’t take up too much space easier, so why not give it a try?

• Small and compact
• Works well for beginners
• Moveable screen frame
• Adjustable pallet up to 12cm
• Easy assembly

• Does not come with platens or frames

The SHZOND 1 Color Screen Printing Machine is the perfect screen printing machine. It comes with a removable pallet that will allow you to make multiple prints at once.

It’s also easy to use, all you need to do is put the substrate on the pallet and then put the screen in a decent position to apply the image.

The pallets are easy to adjust and rotate and can go in any direction needed. It’s ideal for beginners due to its easy to use set up. It can be used on all sorts of materials, from metal to fabric, to wood, to plastic so it’s highly versatile.

It’s a fully metal design too so it’s very durable and long-lasting. It comes with m16 legs for support that give the device extra stability. This screen printing press is perfect for DIY projects but could also be ideal for a commercial business.

It’s pretty small, but despite this even comes with a platen size of around 22×18 inches. It’s fairly compact and can be carried around, and won’t take up a huge amount of desk space.

As a whole, this is a highly versatile machine that will allow you to get fast results, with a massive amount of materials that are compliant with it. It’s strong, and is decently priced, so it’s worth the investment if you’re a beginner.

• Versatile amount of compliant materials
• Durable
• Easy to use
• Easy to set up

• The instructions to set up come on DVD so if you don’t have a DVD player it can make it harder to set up

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Vevor is one of the best brands out there as far as screen printing is concerned, and the Vevor 4 Color 4 Station Screen Printing Press is a highly versatile screen printing machine that will allow you to create as many designs as you like quickly.

It can operate on many materials too, including metal, paper, shirts, circuit boards, glass, ceramic tile, wood and plastic.

The machine comes with pallets that allow you to print a lot of different images at the same time. The pallets can be easily adjusted to what you need for your design. It has a powerful self adjusting system and is made from a metal construction that makes it durable. It’s also very easy to clean, and easy to install.

It’s quite easy to transport and saves a lot of space despite what it’s power may suggest. If you need some help with creating your screen prints, you can simply ask someone else to help you out as with this device two people can work on it at once.

The machine comes with a washout tank and UV Exposure Unit Kit, a glass and sucker, timer, plug, rubber, and subplate. It also comes with a rol of aluminum tape, pallet adhesive and ashesive scraper, 4 spatulas, a clean up card and one 14 inch spatulas.

Finally, it comes with A4 transparency film, graphics blackening agents, squeegees, a bottle of ghost cream and all mesh prep degreaser, and 2 t-shirts and a 200g bottle or yellow, blue, green, black and red color pigment. With all of these extra additions, it’s even more appealing.

The machine is highly versatile and will support you as you become better at screen printing. The price is a little high for a beginner but it’s a machine that will stay with you as you learn so it’s worth the extra expense.

• Easy to use
• Efficient and fast-working
• Heavy duty

• A bit expensive for beginners

If you want a machine that allows you to print a lot at once, this is your go-to. The TECHTONGDA 6 Color 6 Station Double Wheel Screen Printing Machine is able to rotate the pallet layer and screen layer independently so printing multiple different colors and loading up the materials has never been easier.

The machine has a movable screen clamp, and has a maximum capacity for size of 16 inches by 20 inches. The metal construction makes the machine durable and it also has electrostatic spraying and electroplating features.

It’s also a huge space saver so if you don’t have much desktop space then this is ideal for you.

The machine is pretty expensive as you may expect from a machine with this much versatility, but it’s not too difficult to operate and once you can get more skilled in screen printing you can easily make a lot of prints in a short period of time.

• Easy to use
• Can make multi-color prints easily
• Electroplating
• Electrostatic spraying

• A bit expensive for a beginner

Best Screen Printing Machine for Beginners – Buyers Guide

So in order to make good quality graphics that you can easily transfer onto paper or a piece of clothing, you need a good screen printing machine. The question is, what kind of machine do you get?

There are so many versions of screen printing machines out there that vary in size, price, and the functions they perform. Your first priority should be to figure out what you specifically require in a screen printing machine. Here are a couple of things you should try and look out for in a screen printing machine:

Budget

Whenever you buy something, one of your first thoughts is always how much something will cost. Are you looking for something relatively cheap that will get you started, or do you need something of higher quality?

Usually, the more colors and stations a screen printing machine has, the higher they will be priced. Also, if you have a business that relies on screen printing, you’ll need a bigger, more heavy duty model.

Construction

You should try and make sure the machine that you buy is durable and will last a long time. Screen printing machines aren’t the cheapest, so you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.

The materials it’s made from also determine the strength of the machine. You should try and select a machine that is made from stainless, rust-free and strong materials, which will make the machine last. You should also try and make sure the machine is safe. Ideally, you should be purchasing a machine that is free of BPA and Phthalate materials.

Number of Stations

How many garments do you want to be able to make at a time? If you’re just getting started then chances are you’ll want to only do one at a time while you get used to it, but how many could you see yourself doing after a time?

If you’re using one color on a lighter piece of clothing then the chances are you won’t need more than one printing station. You’ll need more than that if you have more to do.

If you have something that will require an under base, it will need a station. It can be irritating to wait around if you have dark clothing the needs printing, so this is something to be mindful of.

It’s totally okay to get started on smaller stuff and then work your way up too!

Number of Colors

When you’re buying a screen printing machine, you may want to get as many colors as possible. This could leave you with unused colors and really hike up the price of the machine that you use.

Every single frame uses one color at once and no more, so you should try to get a model with more frames. These types of screen printing machines are usually bigger and much heavier than models with only one color. The smaller models tend to be less time consuming too so bear this in mind.

What you should be doing before buying your screen printing machine is to try to anticipate how many colors you’re going to use and the complexity of the designs you’ll be doing. If it’s a relatively simple design, then you could get away with only one or two different colors.

Printing Area

Do you know how much space you need? Screen printing machines can be used for more tha just clothing, you can use them for much bigger items such as bedsheets, so naturally you will require a larger printing area for items such as these.

You should get a bigger machine if you’re going to be printing on a larger surface area, but keep in mind that this will also take up more space. You need to do what’s best for you and what will give you the best printing quality.

Weight

This isn’t a problem if you intend to keep the machine in one place, but if you intend to move around a lot it’s useful to make sure that you can easily carry the machine around with you. There are a lot of machines out there that can be transported around easily.

Dimensions

You should always check how much space the machine you buy will take up. After all, you need to make sure you have enough room for it on your workstation! Make sure you measure the machine and the area you intend to place it.

Also, screen printing machines can be a little heavy too so they’ll need to be placed onto a table or work space, sometimes they even need to be bolted to the surface. If you don’t have much space, you should think about getting a smaller machine that you can move around easier.

Adjustability

The machine you buy should be easy to adjust so you can get the best possible results. Things like the pallet, frame clamp and tension should be easy to move and adjust in order to get the best outcome for your chosen garment.

You should be able to make even the smallest of changes without problem. You’ll also need to put the design on the right spot with the right pressure. If you can’t do this, your design may not look as you envisioned it, leading to disappointment.

Easy to Use

This is perhaps the most important thing for a beginner. You need a machine that can be used easily. Smaller screen printing machines are usually a little bit easier to use as there are fewer components.

It takes a while to get used to screen printing so you need something that will help you to properly learn how to use the machine.

Accessories

Accessories can be a big help in creating beautiful designs. Some screen printing machines come with things such as frames and mesh, and squeegees that help to complete the design.

Other things that can come in handy are adhesives and dryers, so you should always check if the product comes with these additions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need before using the screen printing press?

In addition to the machine, there’s a few extra things you’re going to need before you start.

• Masking Tape
• Transparency of the print image
• Flat surface
• Iron
• Printing ink
• Emulsion kit
• Squeegee

You need to make sure you have plenty of these materials before you start so that you don’t get too far into the project and need to get more materials. It can be a huge pain running out, as the design is practically wasted if you’ve already done the emulsion.

It’s best to buy everything at once so you have everything you need when you start.

How can you properly make a print with the machine?

When you’ve never done screen printing before it can be a bit daunting, yet exciting for you to get started. Here’s some things you’ll need to do:

Prepare

Apply the masking tape inside and on the back of the screen so you don’t spill any of the emulsion.

Emulsion

Mix the emulsion and then pour it onto the screen.

Squeegee

Grab onto the squeegee, as this will give the design a smooth finish

Drying

Give the design time to dry off. Usually, a dark, warm room helps with this, and ensure there’s proper air circulation.

Transparency Paper

You will then need to print the image onto transparency paper with the black ink.

Exposure

Once you’ve done the previous step, put the transparency upside down on the flat side of the screen. Then, get a bright light and expose the transparency to the light for roughly 12-14 minutes.

Washing the Screen

After the emulsion has hardened, wash off the screen with water.

Setting the Screen

Attach the screen to the shirt and press it down on the flat side.

Inking

Put the ink on the screen and put it on the shirt using a squeegee.

Iron

Finally, iron out the shirt on the design area to cure it.

How will the print respond to my washing machine?

Dried ink shirts are susceptible to having the ink come off when it’s met with head, which is the reason why you need to cure it after it’s finished.

As long as you’ve completed this step you have no reason to worry about the design coming off.

If you want to iron the garment, apply the heat for roughly 15 seconds and then stop. You could also use baking powder or brown paper, which you can then iron over for about 90 seconds so the garment doesn’t burn.