DIY exposure unit

So in my post DIY screen printing, I had mentionned that i was going to built my own version of the weekly print's exposure unit. But since I not very good with building things, I took a ikea table leg ( vika artur) and screwed two 500 w lamps on it. The ikea table leg was on special at $10 I think and the lamps cost around $15 each ( found them at the rona for all you quebecers out there, a hardware store). The length between my screen and the lamps is 24 inch. So it fit pretty much the design of the weekly print. I have placed my coated screen on the tray, under it there's a foam cover with black paper, over it there is the transparency and a cheap frame glass ( $20 at canadian tire, this was more expensive but i wanted the frame for something else) For now, I only did a time test. And with a white mesh small screen cover with speedball emulsion, it takes 5 min to burn my screen. So I pretty happy about my end result. Hope it helps !

DIY screen printing

In my designs and illustrations, I love to use screen printing. It really gives amazing results. You can do perfect varnishes without any brushstrokes, print on almost any material, do multiple prints with a rich texture. And there's also metallic ink and white inks ! ( no inkjet can compete with that) I have been screen printing for while now but always  in the comfort of the university's studios. But now I am on my own and want to start screen printing again in my small apartment. I have looked everywhere on the internet to find clear instructions on screen printing and mostly on screen exposure. And here the best I have found. This blog is called the weekly print and shows a very detailed photo and explanation of an homemade exposure unit. I will try to build it this weekend. Quick note this is my third attempt at a homemade exposure unit and I am really hopeful that this one will finally work. I will keep you updated on my attempts because I really think that any artist out there should try once in their life to screen print. 

Here is an example of what screen printing can create. These are some halloween cards I had printed on cardboard with white, orange and black ink.