Screen Printing Tote Bags

Yesterday was a great day! I spent it at the print studio and it was one of those days when everything went smoothly - I absolutely loved the whole process and the studio was filled with friendly happy people. I managed to print 100 tote bags in three different colours using my very own brand new screen. I bought the screen from a very friendly, reliable and cheap place called London Screen Service. They're based in Bermondsey, but it's well worth the trek.

The bags are for my friend Maria's new bakery school over in St John's Wood, I designed the logo and am printing a few pieces of merchandise for her. You should check out her website and visit her bakery school when it opens sometime in September.



First you coat the screen in photo emulsion, leave it to dry, then expose your image onto it using a special light box. The emulsion that has been exposed to light dries, whereas the emulsion that was protected from the light by the image stays soft and can therefore be washed off.



Mix your ink with fabric medium and pour a generous amount on to your screen.



Use the squeegee to push the paint down over your image. The dried emulsion has closed the tiny gaps in the screen, therefore the paint will only be pushed through where the emulsion has been washed off.



Leaving you with a neat image on the fabric.



Leave to dry for a couple of hours.



The ink needs to be heat fixed in order to be permanent. Set your iron to the maximum heat setting, protect your image with a thin piece of fabric and iron for a good 3 minutes.



Done!