Ric Rac ready to print

Part 2 - The screen is ready, lets print.

 

Here l've taped the edges of the screen frame, front and back, and pulled the ink over my print twice, anymore and l find it tends to bleed under the image, especially if your holding your frame with one hand and squeegying with the other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've used calico as my trial fabric for the print swap, just to see if l'm happy with the print.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm really pleased with the print and the random layout of my of the ric rac, will help for repeat prints.

 

 

 

 

 

Now 3 of the ladies in my swap group all had orange as a favourite color and the other lady likes all colors, so l mixed up some orange ink naturally, as l aim to please.

 

So the order of mixing colors is usually put the lightest color in your container first and then add the darker ( yellow 1st,and only a small blob of red) this makes it easier to control the color .

 

 

 

 

 

 

The container above, are great for keeping the ink for ages, they have a screw on lid, and come in a variety of sizes, l've still got colors l mixed at least 18 months ago, and still fine to use now.( Local supermarkets sell them, well in Australia they do )

 

 

 

 

 

Load the ink across the top of the screen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two pulls down with the ink, for a even coverage

 

 

 

 

 

 

Success, oh its a good feeling when you lift up the screen and see a perfect print, obviously l'm easy to please and don't get out much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above photo, shows how different fabrics can have an effect on the color of the ink, the top was on calico, it seemed to mellow the orange, probably because of the creamier calico, where as the white cotton quilting fabric really makes the orange stand out, l like both, but its something to consider when printing.

 

 

 

 

 

You know that good feeling l was yapping on about, well that soon changed when the squeegy flipped off the screen and landed on the perfect print, yes a few  #%@  words did flow out my mouth.

So l'm putting it down to experience, DON'T leave the squeegy to close to the edge.

 

 

 

The shed l share with my dad, not the most perfect set up, but it does the job for now.

 

 

~ kim ~

 



Its all Ric Rac here

PART 1 -Getting the screen ready for printing

I've signed up for a print swap , with  Leslies  from  http://www.lesliekeating.com/  the idea is to come up with an orginal design, print it on  fat quarters (50cm x 50cm ) and then sent it to your swap buddies.,and they'll do the same in return.

My  4 buddies are scattered over the world , which is quite exciting, now the pressure of coming up with my own design.

After much thought ,tossing and throwing idea's around, l decided "ric rac " was the way to go.

This is how  l went about creating my print.

Firstly , l printed off  2  ric rac patterns on to A4  paper as l needed 2 ,to join together, to make an A3 size design.

 

 

I joined them with sticky tape and then cut them into random strips,

layed them down till l was happy with the effect.

 

 

 

 

 

Next l needed to print  the " ric rac " pattern on to transparency film, l like to use the nobo brand, it suits either ink or laser prints, l have a brother mono laser printer,  and l always print 2 copies and lay the images on top of each other as this helps when exposing a screen as it doesn't allow any light through where the image is.

 

 

 

 

 

Now l actually needed to print 4 transparency films for my design,to give me the A3 size

 

 

 

 

Now these A4's film's needed to be joined with sticky tape (don't use opaque tape as l did , its a hard job  pulling it off and redoing it with the clear sticky tape)

 

 

 

 

l could foresee a potential problem with the opaque sticky tape blocking the exposuring process.

 

 

 

 

 

Its might be hard to see, but l layed my transparency strips on a large sheet of clear film sheet ,and taped them down into position so the design is securely in place.

 

 

 

 

The next part,  l'm just showing in the normal light, but this needs to be done in a dark room away from normal light/sun.,its probably a bit like photography exposing, l always wait for night time to do this, as l use my laundry/bath room and it has a very large window.

 

the above photo in order from top to bottom

 

 - screen with light sensitive emulsion on it ( this has been prepared earlier and has been waiting in a dark cupboard or my case the box my leg/calf massager came in !!)

- my transparency image

- exposure unit

 

These will be sandwiched together

 

l always sticky tape my image onto the screen just on a few corners ,to just hold in place.

 

 

 

 

The above is just a mock up ,as l can't take a photo of the real thing with out causing a problem of exposing my screen to the wrong light.

 

 

 

 

Now its party party time, l turn the light off in the bathroom and l use a simple yellow party globe, ,just from the local supermarket, on an old lamp, this light doesn't expose the emulsion sensitive screen to expose to soon.

 

 

 

 

The above in order from top to bottom

 

- a heavy weight (l just use a stack of magazines ,this helps keep the image flat and in complete contact with the screen )

- dark cloth ( my sons old doona cover)

- screen with the emulsion on it

- the transparency with the image

- exposure unit.

 

All set , l turn the power on my exposure unit

 

Now theres all types of emulsion available ,but the one l've been using takes about 3 - 3 1/2 mins to expose " burn " my screen

 

 

 

 

 

 

My 3 1/2  mins are up ,while still using the party light, so l can see what l'm doing , l turn my exposure unit off and quickly wet my exposed "burnt screen".

 

Once the water touches the screen the exposing stops.

 

Thats me hosing my new screen, its quite a talent to hold the hose,and getting a photo.

 

 

 

 

 

The above photo shows where l'm able to wash out the dark image of my ric rac,  that where the emulsion was not able to be exposed to the light from my exposure unit.

 

I just use a medium water pressure to wash out the unexposed emulsion, too strong and l might damge the the ''burnt'' area .( don't rub your fingers over ,it to try and help )

 

 

 

 

The parties over ,l turn my normal light on, this is when l like to hold the screen up to a light to make sure l've actually washed out the unexposed parts.

 

Now its time to let it dry, it will be ready to use the next day. 

 

 

A close up of the screen

 

 

 

 

 

l see the sticky tape caused a problem in the top left corner, its blocked some of the burning and possibly the washing the screen has removed some of the emulsion

( my emulsion is over 18 mths old ,and l 've noticed my screens ain't as crisp as they use to be)

 

 

  

  I touch up the screen with some screen filler with a paint brush, also check for little pin holes by holding up in from of a light ,these also need a touch up ( if left un touched ,the ink will seep through and spoil the image)



 

 

~ kim ~

 



In the Pink

 



In the Pink, a little girl picking flowers.

 

 

 

 

 Loaded up with pink ink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st print, looking good.

 

 

 

Drying on the clothes horse

 

 

 

 

Printed on a hemp tote bag

 

 

 

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Printed on a panel and made into a drawstring bag, with its own pink shoelace tie.

 

 

 

 

In the Red

 

In the red, oh, l can't decide which l like the best, the red or the navy.

 

Again l've used a red shoe lace , for the drawstring, maybe some gift tags would work well together .

                                                                            ~ kim ~

Cricket Characters made up

Lastest print of my Cricket Characters , on a hemp tote bag, love the deep blue ink color

Draw string calico bag with ,yes a shoe lace as the cord, works well.

Oh l wish l had a little boy in my life, would an 18 year old son like one, think not.

Two sizes, the larger would suit as a library bag, and the smaller one , is a handy size for a child, to carry their treasures around.