Home › Screen Printing › What Is Screen Printing › How to Screen Print T-Shirts: Step-by-Step Printing Guide
Pull the shirt over the pallet with the collar toward the press, smooth it flat and square. For a standard full-front print, the top of the design usually sits a few inches below the collar — use a ruler or a printed T-square guide so every shirt lands the same. For multi-color designs, line each screen up to registration marks on a test print before you start the run (see rear clamp vs side clamp presses for how presses handle registration).
On black or dark garments, colors look dull printed straight onto the fabric. Print a white underbase first (110–160 mesh), flash it with a flash unit just until it is dry to the touch, then print the colors on top. Choosing a white? See what is the best white plastisol ink and white plastisol inks.
Plastisol has to reach its full cure temperature through the whole ink layer — about 320–325°F for most standard inks, lower for low-cure polyester inks. A conveyor dryer gives the most consistent cure; a flash unit works for small runs if you check the temperature. Use the plastisol cure temperature chart, then stretch-test a cooled print: if it cracks, it needs more heat or time. Dryer settings help: conveyor dryer belt speed and heater height.
Scrape unused plastisol back into the container, clean the screen with ink remover, and reclaim it when the job is finished: how to clean screen printing screens.
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Blurry or bleeding edges | Too much pressure or ink, no off-contact, loose screen | Lighter pressure, set off-contact, use a tighter screen |
| Ink not covering / grainy print | Too little pressure, mesh too fine for the ink, no flood stroke | Flood first, firmer stroke, lower mesh count (see mesh chart) |
| Double image / ghosting | Shirt or screen moved | More pallet adhesive, tighten the screen clamp |
| Design clogging (water-based ink) | Ink drying in the mesh | Flood between prints, work faster, use retarder |
| Print cracks or washes out | Under-cured | More time or heat in the dryer; measure the ink temperature |
| Dye from polyester turns ink pink/gray | Dye migration | Low-bleed, low-cure ink — best ink for polyester |
Printing at home without a full shop? See how to screen print at home. Need a complete setup? Start with our screen printing kits or the beginner roadmap.
Lock the screen in the press, spray the pallet with adhesive and load the shirt, flood the screen with ink, pull the squeegee across with even pressure, lift the screen, and cure the print to the ink maker’s temperature.
Most printers hold the squeegee at roughly a 45–75° angle and pull with firm, even pressure. A lower angle deposits more ink; a more upright angle deposits less.
Print a white underbase, flash it until it is dry to the touch, then print your colors on top. Use a high-opacity white and a 110–160 mesh for the underbase.
You can print with a screen and hinge clamps, but a press keeps the screen square and registered, which makes multi-color and repeat prints much easier.
Heat the ink to its full cure temperature — about 320–325°F for most plastisols — with a conveyor dryer or a flash unit, then stretch-test a cooled print.
Silk screening is the same as screen printing: put a burned screen in the press, load the shirt, flood the screen with ink, pull the squeegee across, then heat-cure the ink. The steps on this page apply to any silk screen print.
Many hundreds or more, as long as the screen is well made, properly exposed and kept flooded and clean during the run.
Related guides: What is screen printing? · How to make a screen · Screen printing at home · Plastisol ink guide · Screen printing kits · How to clean screens
