Exposing a screen means that you are going to transfer an image onto a silk screening mesh screen. There are a few different factors in exposing the screen that need to be decided upon before the actual process begins. You will need to know what type of image you will be exposing to the screen. The image will determine what screen mesh count you will use to when to expose the image to. Mesh counts are generally around 86-306. The lower the mesh count the more ink will be allowed to pass through your image and the lower meshes will be used for images with not a lot of detail such as larger number on a team jersey where there is little need for details to show. The finer and more detailed your image is the higher the mesh count you will need to use such as when your image is a photo or a design with a lot of thin lines or detail that you want to appear.

Once you have decided on your image and your screen mesh then it's time to expose your screen. You will need to have previously coated your screen with emulsion and allowed it to dry in a dry dark or UV light safe place for at least 3 hours. Now that you have your screen ready to go you will need to do what's called exposing it. To expose it you will need to use a ruler or some flat still measuring device to align the image on the flat side of the screen equal distance from left to right. The flat side of the screen is the side that will touch the tshirt when you are printing the image with ink. The image will need to be taped down with scotch tape with the design flipped over so that it looks backwards when you look directly at it.

Once the image is taped down then you will need a UV light to expose the image to the screen. For this process you can either use a 500watt flood/work light, an exposure table with halogen lights, or vacuum exposure unit. The latter being the most expensive of all. But if you are low on money you can buy the flood light for about $20 max at your local home improvement store. You will need to affix the light so that it is about 12-16 inches away from where the screen will rest either on a large clean clutter free table or a clean solid floor because the flood or work light can get very hot. Once you have set the light up its time to place a dark cloth on the surface first preferably black and then you will need lay down your screen with the image taped to it face up. Now its a good idea to place a piece of thin glass the size of the image on top of the transparent image to protect the image and also hold the image flat to the screen. Turn on the light and allow it to shine on the screen for about 12-13 minutes. What this will do is anywhere the image is light wont be able to penetrate to the emulsion and it will keep the emulsion from setting in. Anywhere the image is not and light is allowed to touch the emulsion that will lock the emulsion in making it waterproof. After the exposure time you will need turn off the light and immediately wet the image on the screen with water on both sides. Allow the water to sit for about a minute and then use a high power water source such as a wash out the unexposed emulsion or image until you can hold the screen up to the light and see your complete unobstructed image clear through the screen. Then you will need to allow it to dry by air for about an hour or to until completely dry. A fan can help to speed up the process.

If you have any problems with the process not returning the best quality results then you will need to experiment with exposure times to get the process just right for your setting. Please comment and leave feedback on how this may help you. Thanks.