Screen Printing Process for Pedals Breakdown

[steviejr92]

This is great thank you for the link. It looks like theyre appropriately sized screens. My only gripe is they look like theyre not making them anymore and might be hard in the future to get those screens

 

[WheatAndBarley]

Thank you for this. This is a huge help. For the Nazdar how do you go about cleaning? Any cleaning agents?

The nazdar info sheet lists a specific cleaner that might be available in your area, but theres an industrial screen printing supply store in my area that sells some stuff that's just called 'press wash' that worked for me but yeah it is pretty spicy stuff, I have to keep it in the special solvent room at the studio I work out of.

 

[WheatAndBarley]

Im thinking on getting that Nazdar...I think the fact that you can wash it out with water makes it much easier to work with in my situation.

I just want to clarify here, the Nazdar epoxy stuff is 100% NOT WATER SOLUBLE! Do not wash that stuff down the sink it will clog your pipes and be very expensive to fix! This stuff needs the special solvent cleaner!

The water soluble stuff I use is the Jacquard screen ink, sticks well to the enclosure but I also have to spray a layer of clear coat on them so that the ink doesn't scratch off as easily.

 

[WheatAndBarley]

This is great thank you for the link. It looks like theyre appropriately sized screens. My only gripe is they look like theyre not making them anymore and might be hard in the future to get those screens

I'd recommend asking around at some studios in your area, both to see if they have facilities you can use for this stuff and also because they can probably recommend where to get supplies. You can get decently small screens but as you can see in my guide I use normal sized ones anyways. I don't think those Riso print kits linked will work very well for what you want to do.

 

[steviejr92]

Ok great to know! I think I’m going to be sticking to the Oneshot. I know it’s exactly where to get mineral spirits. I also found a more environment safe cleaner that will clean up solvent based inks.

 

[steviejr92]

I'd recommend asking around at some studios in your area, both to see if they have facilities you can use for this stuff and also because they can probably recommend where to get supplies. You can get decently small screens but as you can see in my guide I use normal sized ones anyways. I don't think those Riso print kits linked will work very well for what you want to do.

I already have the screen I have a 20x24 size screen. I’m only doing the labels for the knobs for now. I’m thinking this should be way more than enough. Plus in the future I was hoping when I get the hang of it I can put maybe 2 designs on the same screen.

 

[Chonetage]

Jacquard inks are definitely easier to clean up, which is great if you’re not set up for heavy-duty solvents. But yeah, they’re not the toughest.
I also got into printmaking myself with a simple Lino printing kit just to play around with inks and layering colors on a smaller scale. You can actually see it at https://hickmandesign.co.uk/buy/equipment/lino-printing-supplies/linocut-kits/ . It was a fun way to get a feel for the process without needing a ton of equipment, which was a bonus when I was starting out.

 

[WheatAndBarley]

Jacquard inks are definitely easier to clean up, which is great if you’re not set up for heavy-duty solvents. But yeah, they’re not the toughest.

Since this I made this thread I've graduated to using Nazdar ADE inks which are 2 part epoxy based and require acetone to clean up in the ventilated solvent room. Much more involved but a vastly superior finish.

 

[Erik S]

I enjoyed reading through this again!

Hands down the coolest way to get art onto pedals.

 

[vigilante398]

I remember reading this when it was first posted but I revisited a little while ago since I picked up the xTool screenprinting setup. From the pictures/videos it seems like the inks they provide are much thinner/runnier than the Jacquard, which makes me wonder if different inks would help me get better results. I've always had a lot of ink running under the screen and making everything look sloppy, which caused me to shelve the whole setup and I haven't touched it in months.

I'll probably also pester @Ginsly for screenprinting tips eventually.

 

[WheatAndBarley]

I remember reading this when it was first posted but I revisited a little while ago since I picked up the xTool screenprinting setup. From the pictures/videos it seems like the inks they provide are much thinner/runnier than the Jacquard, which makes me wonder if different inks would help me get better results. I've always had a lot of ink running under the screen and making everything look sloppy, which caused me to shelve the whole setup and I haven't touched it in months.

I'll probably also pester @Ginsly for screenprinting tips eventually.

I'm assuming whatever comes with your xTool is water based which generally is meant to be printed onto a porous surface, which pedal enclosures definitely are not haha. If you're careful you can get ok results with it but its still not great compared to jaquard inks which stick the the surface decently well just by printing. If you want to get any sort of longevity out of them you'd need to be using a hardier ink or be doing a bit of clear coating.

 

[vigilante398]

I'm assuming whatever comes with your xTool is water based which generally is meant to be printed onto a porous surface, which pedal enclosures definitely are not haha. If you're careful you can get ok results with it but its still not great compared to jaquard inks which stick the the surface decently well just by printing. If you want to get any sort of longevity out of them you'd need to be using a hardier ink or be doing a bit of clear coating.

That makes sense, I appreciate the explanation. I don't think I ever actually tried pedals, but I was even getting mixed results on fabrics. Maybe when I have some free time (like late december) I'll grab some jaquard inks and give it another shot.