Do It Yourself Screenprinting (DIY) [Paperback]

John Isaacson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 2007 | Series: DIY

A fascinating graphic novel that details the art and science of screenprinting from inception to printed t-shirts! It teaches you how to build a screen, burn an image, test how things are going, pull ink, wash out screens, and creative ideas. A true joy to see the exaggerated illustrations while learning such a useful and practical craft. How to turn your home into a t-shirt factory! Essential for people who don't know how to screenprint or those who are a bit rusty. The expanded sections talk about John's personal experience selling printed shirts on the street in Berkeley and working on a t-shirt printshop. Crucial information and entertainment.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“"Drawings and instructions take you step-by-step through every part of the process, in a chatty, funny, pretty darned entertaining style."— --Last Gasp

About the Author

John Isaacson has been screenprinting on t-shirts, paper, and tree bark for over ten years. He is also a cartoonist and musician living in Berkeley, California. He has lived in Ireland, Peru, Chile and China, and is currently at work making comics, t-shirts, and teaching an afterschool cartooning class.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Microcosm Publishing; Second edition edition (September 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977055744
• ISBN-13: 978-0977055746
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Isaacson is a cartoonist, screen-printer, and teacher. He began screen-printing in high school and has sold his t-shirt designs as a street vendor, and worked in a t-shirt printing shop. In addition to Do It Yourself Screenprinting, he self-publishes the mini-comics Pyromania, Feedback, and Grumpy McBumbles. He has taught cartooning for ten years and currently teaches in Portland, Oregon through Writers In The Schools, the Independent Publishing Resource Center, and at Em Space Book Arts Center. More his art and books are available at www.unlay.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Covers more than you'd think..., August 18, 2008

By 

R. Blais "LOL WUT" (Fernley, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Do It Yourself Screenprinting (DIY) (Paperback)

This book is a departure from the standard narrative of a craft or hobby book, and as such, I think it's one of those things; you'll either like it or lump it. Me? I didn't lump it, but I enjoy comics & 'toons anyway. The book was a quick read, but then again I'm a quick reader. I've only just gotten interested in screen printing, and have not yet created any of my own prints. But for the price, this book is a great value for an introduction and overview of simple to advanced processes.

The book is in the form of 3 "zines", comic books that are interspersed with profiles of artists and people in the screen printing trade.

Chapter 1 describes the process of obtaining a screen and making simple prints at home. Described are the processes of attaching screens, using emulsion, burning the screen, and inking. After the 1st chapter is a profile of a screen printer, and then an "insert", explaining that the comic is not intended as a "single source" for screen printing, and should be used as a "visual complement" to the booklet included in the "Diazo Photo Emulsion Kit". Then transparencies, photo emulsion, mesh count, supplies list, and curing & cleaning are explained. Another profile follows.

The next chapter, or "zine" shows our protagonist's first experience selling shirts as a vendor in Berkeley. It's amusing and informative, and contains the F-word.

Another profile follows, and the 3rd and last "zine" is about the author's adventures in a silk screen shop. And while I've never worked in one, it seemed to be a good overview of a shop, and discusses techniques and equipment, such as color separations, fixing stained shirts, registration marks, coating screens, fixing mistakes, setting up the screens so they'll be centered, washing out the screens, taping the screens and setting up & troubleshooting the multi-station press. This section is pretty detailed. Mixing ink & pantone color matching is also touched on. Squeegeeing, color registration & testing are covered next. Then on to curing & checking the cure. After that, it's on to discussing a couple of different techniques, flash-drying and reclaiming screens. after another misadventure, there is a small discussion touching upon different methods and techniques to achieve a few varied effects.

After a thank you page, and another profile, there's a section about printing on paper, and building a vacuum table. Drying methods are talked about as well as troubleshooting. Then, another profile.

At the end of the book are sections on manual color separations, cutting stencils by hand, squeegee moves (techniques), recommended reading, a last printer profile, a glossary, online resources, and some sample drawings to give you some inspiration.

Unlike the other reviewer I found this book to be very informative. Yes, the narrative is different, but is by no means unreadable. Neither is it lacking in detail. I've read a couple of other books, and none of them mentioned newtons (a measurement of force) or a durometer (a device to measure newtons). Of course it's not intended as a book for "professionals" - the subtitle is "How to turn your home into a T-Shirt factory". I've yet to read an honest DIY book that is intended for the reader to become a professional based solely on the information in that book, and for any profession, a book intended as a DIY is most certainly going to be rudimentary, and lacking in depth for professional knowledge.

I found it accessible and thorough enough that coupled with a few online tutorials (yay Makezine.com!) and practice, I'll be making great prints in no time. And, I've found a new catch phrase to describe someone that ticks me off. You'll know it when you read it.

I hope you enjoy this book, should you decide to buy it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DIY Screen Printing Edutainment, June 26, 2009

By 

Zook74 "Zook" (Southern WI, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Do It Yourself Screenprinting (DIY) (Paperback)

I've only very recently took an interest in creating my own screen printed items and have been reading a fair share of the books that are out there on the subject. I picked up "Do It Yourself Screen Printing" on a whim while ordering two other books from Amazon and I couldn't be more pleased. It's packed with lots of useful information and, like a good comic book, it's a genuinely entertaining read.

If I were forced to find a faul in this book I could make a wee stretch and argue that's it's not very useful as reference material as, given it's comic book layou, it's not organized as such, but- as I said- that's a stretch.

Overall a very informative, fun and entertaining guide to the art of screen printing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, fun, fun..., September 7, 2008

By 

JT (Phoenix) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Do It Yourself Screenprinting (DIY) (Paperback)

I like screen printing, and I used to love comics when I was younger. The two come together in this amazingly cool little book. It was a quick read, and very enjoyable read. I learned a bit, but the fine detail isn't there, but if you are thinking about making your own shirts, or posters, I highly recommend this book first. It will make the tech books easier to understand... I find myself thinking about the drawings in this book while reading the others.