Anybody done anything with silk screen printing?

[MatrixGamer]

I'm getting ready to do some experiments with screen printing to get a glossy coat on covers, maps, etc. Anybody done any of this before me? If so, how did it go?

Chris Engle

[David Artman]

Should go pretty smoothly, depending on what you want to accomplish.

Fine details are tricky with hand-screening, but if you use a screen printer (or hire a pro to make your screens) then you ought to be able to do the finer detail stencils that maps require.

Multiple colors means multiple screens and a bit of theory of under-color versus knock-out, blended black versus real black, and process color versus spot in wet blending; but a few days of practice should get you decently grounded. You'll want to do this practice with a cheep-o screening kit, just using basic shapes with overlapping inks and what-not, so that you can see how it works and decide how you want to assemble your final set of screens.

Finally, you'll want to make a decent jig, with some range of adjustment, so that you can keep your various screens aligned and overlapping properly though multiple pressings; otherwise, you get that bad comic page print effect where colors are visibly separated.

HTH;
David

[MatrixGamer]

I did silk screen printing of posters and tee shirts back in high school (gads! 27 years ago...) I inherited the machines to do picture framing so I can make frames and stretch nylon cloth from Jo Anne's Fabrics pretty easily. I will need a cheap squeegee (which I can buy on line for it looks like $12). So I'm ready to go.

Fortunately my mania does not extend to the point of wanting to print all my own maps. I'm printing the maps on a laser jet. What I'm interested in now is using screen printing to put a coat of clear varnish on the sheets. I'll then paste them to pre cut binder's board rectangles to make board game maps. I may make the maps fold up with book tape but that is uncertain.

Finding the right clear coating is my present challenge. I'm trying out Faux Finish by Valspar. This is a water based acrylic house paint and is thus a lot cheaper than art product equivalents (though all are water based acrylic polymers). It has very little smell - unlike solvent based inks. I'm not interested in huffing fumes anymore.

I did an experiment last night. I made a frame out of some scrap wood and stretched a piece of scrap muslin cloth on it. I used a wide metal putty knife as my squeegee. The faux finnsh has the consitency of official screen printing inks and went through the cloth like screen inks are suppose to. The coating was fine (though would be better if I had used a real squeegee. This morning I checked out the various things I coated. Those that were already pasted didn't fair well. The water of the coating interferred with the paste. The loose leaf sheet I did faired better. It didn't curl up (as wet paper tends to do) and is now ready to be pasted down on a separate bit of scap binder's board.

I know from woking with acrylic paints in terrain making that they dry pretty quickly but then need another couple of months to fully cure. Before that they will tend to stick to one another. If I use this technique I'll have to give sheets time to do this.

I got a good lead on game boxes at Origins ($1.05 per 11x8.5x2 box if you buy 100) so cracking the glossy shine problem with house paint, and the adhesive problem with paste (that I can cook on my stove using flour) could make it possible for me to put out a boardgame that could be pretty good.

I'm guarded right now but if these experiments pan out I could be on to my next move in packaging.

Chris Engle
Hamster Press = Engle Matrix Games

[Paul Czege]

Hey Chris,

I know from woking with acrylic paints in terrain making that they dry pretty quickly but then need another couple of months to fully cure. Before that they will tend to stick to one another. If I use this technique I'll have to give sheets time to do this.

I'm planning to do splatter painting and paint stamping on the covers of my Acts of Evil ashcan books for Gen Con. And I've been thinking the paint ought to be protected somehow for a while until it's fully cured, because as you say, it won't be for a couple of months. I was thinking maybe bagging each book for sale in a comic book bag, but I was worried the softening agents in the poly bag plastic might be a problem for the paint. What do you think?

Paul

[Paul Czege]

Hey Chris, et al.,

I moved my question to its own thread:

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=24345.0

Paul

[MatrixGamer]

I've done a couple of more experiments with the acrylic screen printing. I've done up a paperback book cover and done a map. All worked well. The Acrylic does dry well and gives the paper a plasticy feel. It feels more durable. That is good.

Last night while rereading the 6th Harry Potter book (before diving into the next - so don't tell me anything!) I used one of the maps as a coaster. Water beaded off the cup onto the map. It stood up pretty well. I can't say it is water proof but it certainly is water resistant. That is all I would ever ask of a board game. Anyone who actually uses their board games as coasters deserves ruined games anyway. My boards being water resistant though would mean you could wipe it off with a damp cloth to get rid of piza oils.

Chris Engle
Hamster Press