This post is the third of 3 Yudu tutorials:
- What is a Yudu? How is it different from a Gocco?
- Preparing the screen: use of emulsion and exposure time
- The actual printing process
First: repairs to the imperfectly coated screen
Here’s a close up of the screen ready to print.
Since my emulsion wasn’t applied very professionally (see Yudu post 2) there were some holes in the coating which would let ink through in unwanted places during printing. Yet since there were only a few large holes I could simply tape over them on the back of the screen and voila.
Next I put screen printing tape around the edges of the screen to stop ink from leaking through.
I also covered up some more of the screen since I only needed to ink over the white lines that you see in the picture.
The great thing about the Yudu is that it also is a screen printing table in itself. The top hinges and can be tilted – and will stay up. Very simple and elegantly constructed I think – no fussing with weights etc. You just apply some force to move it up and down.
Some basic explanation of screenprinting might be useful at this point
When you start your printing round first of all you need to fill the tiny holes in the screen with ink like this: you tilt the screen upwards and apply ink on the top of the screen. Next you pull the sgueegee towards you and then you take the rest of the ink back up again with your squeegee- all the while keeping the screen up. Now the screen is inked but the paper has still been untouched.
Next you let the screen down over the paper and with you squeegee you pull the ink from the top of the screen down towards the bottom in one quick and steady movement. Then you have to tilt the screen up again and take back up the rest of the ink. Apply a new sheet, may be some new ink, and repeat.
Some warnings
It is easy to make mistakes when you are starting out – I have made them all! If you for instance ink the screen twice, the paper may stick to the back side of the screen and when you pull it off ink may stick to the back side of the screen. Sometimes, if you’ re lucky, making an extra print on newspaper will remove the ink. But often you have no option but to clean the screen with water, wait till the screen is totally dry again and start over.
Also: you need to keep the holes in the screen filled up at all times (to prevent the ink from drying even faster than it already does and clogging up the holes in the screen). This means that after making a print you always have to take the sqeegee with enough ink back up again, then rest the squeegee like you see in the picture below, may be apply some more ink, put a new sheet of paper in place.. and make your next print. All the printing needs to be done in one session and afterwards the screen needs to be cleaned of ink rightaway. If you want to print the same image again, you can store away the emulsion coated screen for later use. Otherwise the medium needs to be removed with the proper cleaning liquid.
Applying some more ink..
…and there you go, you have made another screen print!
Since my paper was cut to the exact size of the printing table and since the image was neatly in the middle of the screen I did not need to worry about exact paper placement. I was only doing one color run too, since I intend to color these prints with watercolor. As soon as you start doing multiple colour prints, registration becomes necessary.
Later in the afternoon my studio looked like this..
And I was really happy with the results. I honestly could not have done better in any professional screen printing studio. The prints are crisp and clear. Critique I heard on Youtube about the screen nog being taut enough for good results does not ring true so far. I don’t know how the screen will hold in the long run. But for now, here are a few closeups:
And closer still:
I welcome your comments, questions and tips!
To see how I hand colored the sreenprint I made go here.
I'm very happy to see that a bit of tape fixes the emulsion problem! I just got done drying my first emulsion attempt on my yudu and found that it didn't stick. Your images look great! :)
Did you use the sheet that comes with the yudu? The one I had was so crumpled I could not even apply it evenly.
Hi Kitty, love the process and the explanation as you use the Yudu – you make it sound so easy! :)
Love the explanation of the Yudu. I've never heard of one and as you've laid out some of the pro's of the Yudu over the Gocco I am very tempted… Also like how you talk about your process and troubleshooting. This is a great tutorial! Also love the images of your studio and all the prints on the floor! Very Satisfying!
Very interesting. Both light exposure and screen printing table. So it doesn't have any vacuum to keep the print in place? Like a proper screen printing table (much more expensive though)? It must make it harder when you want to make multiple layers then. How much did you say you paid? Did I get it right that it costed only 39 euros?
I am actually to build myself – in August or September – a small screen printing table to have for making smaller prints in my studio (I'll blog about it!). It will be with vacuum though. The fees at KKV, where I make my prints, are very low and the equipment very good – so I just need something small for printing in my studio to save time and to experiment…
Sorry to disappoint you, it was the tranformer that cost € 39,50. The Yudu costs about $ 150, but then you have to import it. You are right, it has no vacuum, there is a strip of adhesive film on the table but I did not use that, I just put the sheets under and it went OK. It also has the drying rack built in.. Of course you can build one yourself, too. May be more fun and better looking!
leuke post!
het ziet er naar uit dat je een goede keuze hebt gemaakt (ipv gocco)
(…en een mooie schoolstoeltjes verzameling)
Thanks for the information.
Hi,
I am a complete newbie and because of that I am having problems finding the equivalent of azocol 133 in the US. Do you know the name for it on this side of the pond?
Thanks
AP
Hey Ana, I think you will find all the technical US terms of the products you need here: http://diyteeshirts.com/yudu_screen_hack