Home › Screen Printing › What Is Screen Printing › Screen Printing Kit: What a Real Starter Kit Should Include
Everything to print one-color designs on T-shirts with a real tabletop press. Good for learning, hobby printing, school and church groups, and testing a side business. Setting up at home? Read how to screen print at home.
Add a way to cure the ink: plastisol must reach its cure temperature (about 320°F for most standard inks) to be washable. For a beginner kit we suggest the Vastex F-100 flash cure unit, 16" (120V) ($1,007.00); see the cure temperature chart.
Exposing screens: a strong UV light or sunlight can expose your first screens, but times vary a lot. When you are ready for consistent screens, add an LED exposure unit (see Kit 2 and our exposure unit guide). Our step-by-step guide shows how: how to make a screen for screen printing.
For a small business printing multi-color orders. This is the equipment core; add the supplies from Kit 1 in the quantities you need.
| Equipment | Today's price |
|---|---|
| Vastex V-2000HD 4-color 4-station manual press | $5,587.00 |
| Vastex F-1000 flash cure unit, 18" | $1,347.00 |
| Chromaline Quick Image LED exposure unit, 26" x 31" | $2,625.00 |
| Vastex LittleRed X1-30 conveyor dryer | $4,270.00 |
| Equipment total | $13,829.00 |
Not sure about press size, dryer size or 120V vs 240V? Read Vastex V-1000 vs V-2000HD, what size conveyor dryer do I need and rear clamp vs side clamp presses, or ask us — we will match the kit to your space and power.
Prices are today's Buckets of Ink web prices and can change; each product page shows the current price. Equipment ships by freight and is not included in free ground shipping.
| Must-have | Why it matters | What cheap kits often do instead |
|---|---|---|
| A real press with registration | Holds the screen square and lets you print the same spot on every shirt | Hinge clamps or no press at all |
| Pre-stretched screens in the right mesh | Tension keeps prints sharp; mesh count controls ink deposit (mesh chart) | Small wood frames with loose mesh |
| Photo emulsion + scoop coater | Makes a durable stencil you can reuse and reclaim | Stencil vinyl or drawing fluid |
| Plastisol ink | Does not dry in the screen; opaque on dark shirts; easy for beginners | Small jars of craft or acrylic ink |
| A curing method | Uncured ink washes out | Left out entirely |
| Cleanup and reclaim chemicals | Lets you reuse screens instead of buying new ones | Left out entirely |
Same thing. "Silk screen" is the older name — screens used to be silk; today they are polyester mesh. Any kit sold as a silk screen printing kit uses the same steps: coat, expose, wash out, print and cure. New to the process? Start with what is screen printing.
We build starter packages around the press you choose — screens, emulsion, ink colors, squeegees, tape, chemicals, and setup help — and we can show you the equipment in our Tempe showroom. Ask about package discounts and financing on equipment using the buttons below.
A complete kit includes a press, pre-stretched screens, photo emulsion, a scoop coater, film for artwork, plastisol ink, a squeegee, tape, pallet adhesive, cleanup chemicals and a way to cure the ink. Many low-cost kits skip the press, the exposure light or the curing step.
One that includes a real press with registration, pre-stretched screens and plastisol ink, plus a way to cure. Our beginner kit is built around the Vastex V-10 CraftPrinter tabletop press; add a flash cure unit to cure the prints.
At today’s Buckets of Ink web prices, our beginner kit items total $842.20, plus $1,007.00 for a Vastex F-100 flash unit to cure. A 4-color starter shop equipment core runs $13,829.00 before supplies. Prices can change; check each product page.
Yes. A tabletop press, pre-stretched screens and plastisol ink work at home. You need a dark space to coat and dry screens, a sink or hose to wash them out, and a heat source that can fully cure the ink.
No. Silk screen is the older name for screen printing; modern screens use polyester mesh instead of silk.
Yes. Buckets of Ink builds starter packages around the press you choose and offers financing on equipment. Call 480-229-7806 or use the quote button on this page.
Related guides: How to start screen printing · What is screen printing? · How to make a screen · Plastisol ink guide · Vastex manual presses · Flash dryers & screen room equipment · Water-based vs plastisol ink · Screen printing supplies
