Registering Your Artwork

Registering your artwork is a crucial part of the screen printing process.

If the registration is as accurate as possible then lining up the different layers of a print is as easy as pie.

This ensures a neat and perfectly lined up print at the end of a screen printing session.

Additionally, registering your artwork accurately means your artwork will sit neatly onto the surface of your choice. Whether this is onto paper, card, or flat fabric.

Or if your intention is to have a misaligned print, then registration helps there to be a consistency between all the prints.

When creating a multi-layered print, registration marks are key for a neat alignment.

As they can be masked off at a later point. So they won’t appear on your prints. Unless you want them to be there for aesthetic reasons or for trimming.

Set up your screen onto the print bed.

Place your artwork underneath the screen.

To see the placement , press the mesh slightly to see the artwork underneath.

Here you will be able to see where it needs adjusting so that the artwork and the mesh line up perfectly.

Also, registration makes can help with the lining up.

The image to the left shows that there needs to be some adjusting for the lineup.

The image to the left shows a perfect alignment.

Once you have your artwork and mesh lined up, turn the vacuum on.

Grab some tabs from the side of the print bed and place around the edge of the paper with the artwork.

Once placed, grab some tape and secure the tabs.

This will ensure easy lineup and placement of the paper every time you make a print.

An alternate method is to use acetate.

Secure one edge of the acetate to the print bed.

Print onto the acetate.

Now that you have your design on the acetate, you can position your paper how you like underneath.

Time to print!