Ikonart Textile Add-on Bundle for Easy Screen Printing Shirts

I've done home screenprinting and also worked at screenprinting shops, so i have a good grasp of what my expectations should be as far as ease of use and quality output. Listen, making regular screens, especially in a small space like your bathroom, is terrible. Emulsion is terrible. Storing big framed screens is terrible. If you're telling me there's a product where you get a precoated screen material that doesn't need a big frame and you just flash it and get to doing fun little print runs, plus it comes with a sticky back so you don't have to buy cans of spray glue, i am so down. Magic!!So i got this little kit instead of the main starter kit because i have a good idea what i'm doing and i just want to try it out on the cheap. If you've never screenprinted before, you'll want the larger kit just for ease of use.I printed transparencies on my home laser printer (just generic transparencies, not the ikonart brand). Forunately the toner gave adequate coverage for burning screens. It needs to be as solid black as possible. I used a cheap uv lamp i bought for halloween and jury rigged a stand. Flashed for 30 seconds, rinsed it with the shower wand, bam, got a screen. The full process including drying time and second exposure takes less than 30 min with the help of a hair dryer. Then you're ready to print.The ikonart website has some great short instructional videos that make going through the process easy. The first time will take extra long because you're double checking your steps. The screens are more fragile than traditional emulsion, but the videos are clear about how best to handle the material.Screenprinting results are going to vary a lot depending on how suitable your art is for printing and the mesh count of the screen material (these are 110 which is relatively coarse) - how well the flash and washout stages went - squeegee technique and ink quality, etc. I'm not expecting 100% perfect prints because even in a professional shop, mistakes happen more than you'd think. If you want 12 perfect shirts, buy a few extra because some will get goobered. Law of the land. So i'm in this for a fun, artsy experience where i can play around, not churning out perfect merch. And i'm very happy with my results from this kit. Stuff i would want to know:1) the bundled items - 4oz of speedball ink, the black squeegee, the sticky mat - are useful and of good quality. I've worked with speedball inks before and they're great for home use. Plus most art stores carry a selection so you can get more locally in a pinch. These are good choices to get started. I thought it would be useless but i love the little squeegee for small prints.2) i thought the sticky backside of the stencil might get covered in fabric lint and become useless, but it is chemical witchcraft. It's more tacky than sticky, but it has just enough grab to stay in place as you work. You can even pull up a corner to check a trouble spot mid print.3) They say the screens are meant for small runs of 12 prints or so before they will break down. The screens are most fragile during washing. I did a quick run of 9 prints, washed my screen, and it seemed fine. If you're gentle with your screen and don't wash it after each single print it will last longer.4) i bought a portable heat press to cure the ink easily. You could use an iron or a heat gun - i've even heard of people using their oven - but a portable heat press will give the most reliable, best results while being budget friendly and fitting in a small space.Bottom line: This is a really fun product! It is well thought out, with good instruction materials. It has limitations (like for instance, i wouldn't try more than a 2 color print, and even then, not with something that required precise registration) and is best for cool artsy hobby projects or a micro business. If you regularly need print runs of larger than several dozen, you're probably better off investing in traditional emulsion screens or contracting a screenprinter to do the printing for you. But for fun stuff - christmas gifts, silly shirts, decorating a hoodie just because you can, niche special use printing like putting your small business logo on giveaway items - this makes screenprinting without a dedicated studio a viable option.

I like this product less messy and easy to reveal it if you don’t use the ikonar lamp give more minutes to the exposure to the light

The stencils are perfect for my small business! I love that they have a sticky back. The Little unique squeegee is handy too. Overall happy with this set, Thank you!

These stencils are absolutely amazing!!I hate weeding vinyl and this makes making projects soo muchbeasier and quicker!