[sdiy] silkscreening and other finishings

[David Halliday]

Silkscreening is fairly easy but it is really geared to making many copies
of one thing rather than making one-off designs; although you can lay out a
number of panels on one screen and then just use masking tape and brown
paper to block the unused areas.

One issue is that the screen needs to be of a fairly fine mesh ( 80 to 120
threads per inch ) in order to get crisp lettering - there are "textile"
screens available for cheap but these are more for tee-shirts and the like
and the results are very unsatisfactory. Major case of the jaggies and it's
easy to smudge the image.

A good screen will cost some money but they can be reused many times if you
treat it well.

Your best bet would be to find a commercial screen printing place and see
what you can offer for trade.  Maybe the owner would like a small synth or
some bit of custom electronics.  It *is* possible to do everything at home
but it is much better and cheaper to have the commercial exposure units, the
developing sinks ( this is very messy ) etc...  Offer to buy a screen for
your own use and work around the printers schedule.



-> -----Original Message-----
-> From: owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
-> [mailto:owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl]On Behalf Of Thomas Kahn
-> Sent: Monday, August 13, 2001 3:38 PM
-> To: Prototek
-> Cc: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
-> Subject: Re:[sdiy] silkscreening and other finishings
->
->
->    I'm considering all the different ways of applying the
-> print/design on my future projects. I'd appreciate some
-> general opinions on the different methods people have found useful.
->    I'm especially curious about silk screening. Can a
-> hobbyist do this at home, or does it require serious machinery?
->
->                        -Proto
->
-> I don't know that much about silkscreening, but if it
-> was easy, I thin a lot more DIY people would use it for
-> their panels. From what I've gathered, not that many people
-> do and therefore it's probaby a bit more advanced that
-> "a piece of cake"(?)
->
-> Most DIY'ers that I've come in contact with use one of
-> the following methods for designing their panels:
->
-> 1) Design the panel in a paint program on a computer
->    and print it on addhessive paper . Stick the paper
->    on to the panel and use some form of coating to make
->    it smear-proof and durable. An alternative is using
->    other types of film/paper for inkjets. I can't give
->    any examples since I haven't used them myself, but
->    I've seen them on the Internet and in photo stores.
->
->    Jörgen Bergfors has used this method for his
->    Bergfotron, see:
->    http://www.idg.se/personal/bergfors/bergfotron/mek.htm
->
-> 2) Order the panels from a company that makes them.
->    Expensive as hell, but you get what you want; drilled
->    holes and all.
->    An example: http://www.schaeffer-apparatebau.de/
->
-> 3) Say: "to hell with fancy design!" and use a labeling
->    machine to churn out rough labels that you stick to
->    the corresponding pot, jack or switch. Hard core and
->    ugly, but cheap. Good for prototypes and machines
->    that are not built to be seen. :-)
->
-> 4) Etching the letters into the panel using chemicals.
->    I've seen recipies for this if you are using brass
->    panels. It involves a lot of chemicals and you will
->    need a steady hand since you have to scratch the
->    panels by hand into some sort of wax coating that
->    you put on the panels before you put them into the
->    chemical bath. Extreme panel hard core if you ask
->    me. ;-)
->
-> There are probably tons of other good methods that other
-> DIY'ers have come up with and I too would like to hear
-> of good and not-so-good methods since I too soon will
-> have to start making panel designs for my SAS modular.
->
-> /Thomas
->
-> ___________________________________
-> Thomas Kahn
-> Mail: mailto:thomas at kahn.nu
-> ICQ: 19705911
-> WWW: http://www.kahn.nu
-> MP3: http://www.mp3.com/kahn
->