Week 15: Wildcard Week

Assignment of the week:

Individual assignments

• Design and produce something with a digital process not covered in another assignment, documenting the requirements that your assignment meets, and including everything necessary to reproduce it. Possibilities include but are not limited to wildcard week examples.

Learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate workflows used in the chosen process

• Select and apply suitable processes (and materials) to do your assignment.

Requirements for the assignment:

• Documented the workflow(s) and process(es) you used

• Described problems encountered (if any) and how you fixed them

• Included original design files and source code

• Included ‘hero shot’ of the result

HEROSHOT!!

Screen Printing

• For this week's assignment, I am planning to do screen printing!!

What is Screen Printing?

Image Source

• Screenprinting is a process where ink is forced through a mesh screen onto a surface. Making certain areas of the screen impervious to printing ink creates a stencil, which blocks the printing ink from passing through the screen. The ink that passes through forms the printed image.

• We are using vinyl as our stencil.

Designing Process

• So for the design, I am collaborating Starbuck and FabAcademy.

• Firstly I had to use 'trace bitmap' tool for the Starbucks logo. I have documented the detailed process for my 2nd week assignment but here is a very brief process:

  • Go to the "Path" menu and choose "Trace Bitmap."
  • In the Trace Bitmap dialog box, adjust the settings according to your preference, such as the number of scans and threshold.
  • You can then fine-tune the traced vector image using the editing tools in Inkscape.

• Then I used Canva to write some texts for my design because I found a really pretty font which was unfortunately unavailable in Inkscape.

Here is the final result after the using the "trace bitmap tool" for the entire design!!

I exported the file in SVG format and sent it to the Vinyl Cutter!!

Vinyl Cutting

Import Design: Import your design into the cutting software. Ensure that the design is correctly scaled and positioned within the cutting area.

Configure Cutting Settings: Set the cutting parameters such as blade depth, speed, and pressure based on the type and thickness of the vinyl material you're using.

Here, don't forget to mirror your design for the vinyl cutting to have the correct side printed on your shirt.

For my cut, I used the pre-filled value using the material selector : - Force : 10 - Speed : 5

Perform Test Cut: Before cutting your entire design, it's a good idea to perform a test cut on a small piece of vinyl to ensure that the settings are correct.

Send Design to Cutter: Once you're satisfied with the test cut, send the design to the vinyl cutter for cutting. Make sure the cutter is set to "cut" mode.

Monitor Cutting Process: Keep an eye on the cutting process to ensure that the vinyl is being cut correctly and there are no issues.

Screen Printing Process

For the screen printing process,

• Place the silk screen frame on a flat surface, peel the paper and stick the sticker on the silkscreen.
• I did the weeding once I was done with sticking the sticker.

• Use masking tape to cover any areas of the screen where you don't want ink to pass through.

• Then insert a piece of wood in the shirt to avoid the ink from soaking and reaching the backside of your shirt.

• Apply a line of screen printing ink above the design on the screen.

• Use a squeegee to spread the ink over the design, applying even pressure as you pull the squeegee across the screen.

• Lift the screen to reveal your printed design on the substrate.

Here's Minee!!

That girl is my friend Damzang!

I mistakenly cut off the "How to Make Almost Anything" while cutting the sticker😭

Curing the Ink

• Allow the printed design to air dry for a few minutes.

Cleaning the Screen:

• Remove the vinyl stencil from the screen.

• Clean the screen thoroughly with water and a screen cleaning solution to remove any residual ink.

I will add a picture of me with the T-shirt soon!

Design Files

• T-shirt Design

Thank you for visiting!!!