Several items from the Speedball Screen Printing kit

What’s in the Speedball Screen Printing Kit?

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I was wandering the art aisles in Michaels, the big craft store here in Canada, and noticed they had the Speedball Screen Printing Kit on sale, so I picked one up. When I was growing up, I always thought screen printing was basically some sort of magic, so I figured it’d be interesting to learn how it actually works.

Note that a few items are missing in the header image for this post because I’ve used them up!

What’s in the box?

Follow along in this video as I unbox the Speedball Screen Printing Intermediate Kit.

  • Two fabric inks – my kit came with black and red
  • Drawing fluid 
  • Screen filler 
  • Diazo photo emulsion
  • Diazo sensitizer
  • Photo emulsion remover
  • Screen filler remover and screen cleaner 
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Paint brush
  • Squeegee
  • Instructions
  • One screen

Is the Speedball Screen Printing Kit worth trying? The answer is yes, but with a couple caveats. The kit provides many of the supplies for three types of screen printing, but one type requires a fair bit of experimenting and they all require at least some additional tools for it to be successful. Many of these tools you might already have around the house, like tape or an exacto knife. I mention a few of the extra tools you’ll need below, but you might find you need more or less additional supplies, depending on exactly what you’re creating. Of course, you’ll also need something to print on, like a shirt or tote bag. I highly recommend having some paper to do some test prints on first as you refine your printing technique.

Potential screen print kit projects

Let’s take a quick look at the three methods:

Cut Paper Stencil Technique

Full disclosure: I did not try this technique, however it looks to be the simplest method and you don’t need most of the supplies in the kit. You simply create a stencil and use it in conjunction with the screen, ink and squeegee to print. This seems like it would be easy and fun to do, although might be tricky to get much detail. I also expect you wouldn’t be able to do too many prints before the paper starts soaking up ink and causing issues.

Speed Ball has a series of videos showing the Cut Paper Stencil technique, in addition to the info in the instruction booklet in the kit. 

Drawing Fluid Technique

I tried this technique once before I moved onto the Photo Emulsion Technique. It was pretty fun. You essentially use the drawing fluid to draw what you’d like printed. In my case, I drew the stag head that Speedball uses as an example for one of their other kits. Then I applied the screen filler, let that dry, and washed out the drawing fluid. I used a block print of birch trees that I already had, and layered the stag head over top onto a flour sack tea towel. I think it turned out pretty great.

My project using the direct fluid technique

If you want to try the Drawing Fluid technique,I suggest watching Speedball’s instructional videos before starting. 

Photo Emulsion Technique

Now, this is where you get serious with your screen printing techniques. It’s by far the trickiest method, however, it’s the best technique to be able to screenprint basically anything you want. In this method, you’ll need a few extra items.  You’ll need something that works as a black and white transparent film positive. I used printable overhead projector paper and printed my design onto there. You’ll also need some sort of strong light source. The excellent news is you can use the sun, or if it’s a cloudy day or you’re really far north and it’s winter, you can use a shop light. You’ll also need a piece of plexiglass, some black fabric or paper, and a dark place to keep the screen for a while as it dries. 

I highly recommend watching Speedball’s tutorials on the Photo Emulsion Technique. Then do some experiments. You might need to try a few times before you nail the amount of time you need to expose the screen to light to set it properly. I know I had to wash them out and redo it a few times before I had success.

A pair of totes I’ve printed using the photo emulsion technique

So is it worth it?

Yes! The techniques range from pretty simple to challenging. The first two methods (stencil and drawing fluid) are pretty accessible for most people to try out. The third method is definitely the toughest but opens up a whole world of screen printing to anyone who is willing to take on the challenge. 

Buy your own

The kit is available at some art stores and on Amazon:

US: Speedball intermediate kit

Canada: Speedball intermediate kit

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