Screen printing mesh is the monofilament polyester fabric stretched tight across a frame. Emulsion is coated onto it, exposed and washed out to form the stencil, and the squeegee pushes ink through the open mesh onto the shirt. The mesh count, measured in threads per inch, controls how much ink goes through and how fine the detail can be.

For most t-shirt work, 110 to 160 mesh covers plastisol on lights and darks, 110 to 125 for white underbases and 156 to 160 for standard colors. Use 86 for athletic and puff inks, 180 to 230 for small text and water-based inks, and 280 to 305 for halftones and simulated process. Buckets of Ink stocks all of them pre-stretched from $27.

110 to 125 mesh. The larger openings lay down a thick, opaque white that flashes and prints bright top colors over it. On fleece drop to 86. If the underbase carries fine detail, 160 mesh keeps the edges cleaner at some cost to opacity.

230 to 305 mesh depending on the line screen. A 230 holds 35 to 45 lpi, 280 to 305 holds 45 to 55 lpi, and 355 to 420 holds 55 to 65 lpi dots. Use yellow mesh and a fast photopolymer emulsion such as Ulano QX-5 so the dots expose cleanly.

200 to 280 mesh. Water-based and discharge inks are thin and soak into the fabric, so a finer mesh keeps the deposit controlled and the hand soft. Pair it with a water-resistant emulsion such as Ulano 925WR.

Yellow mesh is dyed so it absorbs the UV light that scatters sideways through the threads during exposure, which keeps fine lines and halftone dots sharp. White mesh exposes slightly faster and is fine for coarse counts where the art is bold. Buckets of Ink stocks white mesh through 180 and yellow from 180 to 420.

Keep 3 to 4 inches between the image and the inside of the frame. A 20 x 24 inch frame prints a standard 12 x 14 inch tee design; 20 x 28 is the most common all-purpose size for manual and automatic presses; 23 x 31 handles oversize and jacket-back prints. Check the clamp width on your press before ordering.

At Buckets of Ink, pre-stretched Nortech aluminum screens run $27 to $35 in 20 x 24, $30 to $41 in 20 x 28 and $34 to $46 in 23 x 31, with price rising with mesh count. Shipping is included on orders over $250.

Yes. Aluminum screens are reclaimed many times: remove ink with screen wash or a dip tank, strip the emulsion with stencil remover, pressure wash, use haze remover for ghost images, then degrease and recoat. Replace the screen when the mesh tears or loses tension.

Yes. New mesh carries sizing from the factory that causes fisheyes and pinholes in the emulsion. Scrub with a degreaser, rinse thoroughly and let the screen dry before the first coat.

Buckets of Ink at 906 S Priest Dr #101 in Tempe, Arizona stocks pre-stretched aluminum screens in 36 mesh count and size combinations for walk-in pickup Monday to Friday 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, and ships nationwide. Call 480-229-7806.