Screen printing sometimes feels like an arcane practice reserved for art school students: It’s a messy, manual process where creativity wrestles with patience. But just like 3D printers democratized the process of additive plastic manufacturing, the xTool Screen Printer is a sleek, modern solution that brings professional-grade screen printing to your desktop in a fraction of the time.
Whether you’re a hobbyist, a designer, or a small business owner, the xTool Screen Printer makes detailed apparel and textile printing super easy.
xTool Screen Printer
In the Box
Included in the basic kit are a few key components: the printing press where you’ll mount the frame and your material to print on; three frames for the screens along with tensioner inserts (this keeps them taut); a set of screens; and some inks. You’ll also get a frame fixing piece — this is an adaptor that goes into your laser engraver and allows you to keep the frames in the same place every time, which is critical for multicolor printing.
I’ve been using this with the xTool S1 (see my review here). However, it’s also compatible with the P2, F1 and M1 series, so you might not have to rush out and buy a new device. In theory, you can use it with any laser engraver; however, the xTool software is preprogrammed with specific modes to work with the screens, and the positioning adaptor won’t work with other machines, so you may have misalignment errors with multicolor printing.
How to Use The xTool Screen Printer
The first step is to create your framed screen. Ensure the latches are released on all sides. Lay the screen on the frame, then insert all the tensioner pieces to hold the screen in place securely. Finally, close the tightening latches to pull everything taut. Once complete, it should sound somewhat like a drum when tapped. Finally, you’ll need to remove that piece of protective card from the screen, and then you’re all set.
Engraving your design into the screen is really simple if you’ve used any kind of cut or laser machine before. Just make sure you have the right mode setting enabled. Note that your design will need to be reflected horizontally on the frame (vertically in the software) that you’re cutting the back of the design out. Also, whichever side you’ve fixed the frame adaptor to will be the bottom edge of your design.
Lasering away a detailed design at 240 lines per centimetre is not a quick process. The design I’m showing here took about one and a half hours to complete.
The process stinks — literally. I don’t think you should be breathing that in. It doesn’t smell safe, so ideally, use a fume extractor and not just a hose hanging out the window.
Once you’re done, use a little IPA to wipe away any residue and place your completed design into the printer, along with your material. Push the screen down from the back and ensure it forms a good seal against the material. Then you’re ready to print.
This is where you’ll need practice. I don’t think I’ve got it down perfect yet by any means, but basically, spread a little paint on, try to mostly cover the design, then use the wipe to push it through the screen. Over time, you’ll probably figure out exactly how much ink you need, but until then, you can put any excess back into the pot for use later. When you’re done with your prints — and you should be doing more than one at a time, really — you can rinse the screen clean.
Brilliant. If you have multiple colors (each of which will have been engraved on a different screen), then you should wait for your first layer to dry before proceeding to the next. But the positioning clips ensure an accurate print every time on each layer. You can also use the knobs on the front to slightly nudge it back into the correct position.
How Does Screen Printing Compare to Heat Transfer Vinyl
If you’re watching or reading this review, you’re probably doing so because you’re looking at ways of printing your own T-shirts or canvas bags, in which case HTV will have come up in your research.
Heat Transfer Vinyl, is a type of plastic that you can cut designs from using a Cricut (or in my case, the xTool M1 cutting machine) then iron onto your material.
You can get a huge variety of colors, including UV, glitter, or even a kind of puffy fabric. Making multicoloured designs just means cutting different layers and heating each one after the other. It’s relatively easy to do, but he more complex your design, the harder it is to weed away (remove) the parts of the plastic you don’t need after cutting. But it’s also really cheap: A roll of HTV is around $5 for a meter or so.
However, the end result isn’t that durable. If you accidentally wash it too hot, you’ll find your design has started to peel away.
Screen printing, on the other hand, can also do multiple colors, you just need different layers for each. With this xTool kit, it’s certainly no more complex than HTV for your initial production piece. In fact, it’s much easier for complex single layers because you don’t have to weed plastic out — the laser burns away the unwanted parts of the design. Screen printing is also much more durable because you’re infusing ink into the material rather than gluing plastic on top. It gives a different feel, and of course, retains the fabric’s flexibility. However, the final design isn’t as sharp, as ink tends to bleed underneath the screen and produce fuzzy edges (there’s also an element of skill to that, though).
The laserable screens cost about $10 each, plus the cost of ink, so it’s more expensive for a one-off print—even with just one colour. However, the more times you use the screen printer, the cheaper it becomes. Exactly where it tips over into being cheaper than HTV depends on a few things, but suffice to say, if you want an easily repeatable pattern or if you’re making more than a few of the same design, then screen printing will be cheaper. And that’s on top of getting a better quality, more durable product.
While I haven’t tested it myself, xTool notes that each screen should be good for around 100 prints before it starts to degrade. It is possible to reuse these screens, assuming the mesh underneath is undamaged. You can strip the emulsion, reapply a fresh layer, cure it with a UV lamp, and then engrave it again. However, it might be worth your time to just buy new screens.
What’s Great About the xTool Screen Printer
Ease of use. The frame pulls the screen mesh taut with simple locks and holds it perfectly in place.
It also integrates easily with xTool laser engravers, allowing for precise multi-screen cutting, as well as ready-to-use software settings. You don’t need to set power or speed—just choose the screen print mesh mode and hit go.
Pros
- Easy to use; just engrave once then apply paint to transfer your design.
- Laser settings preprogrammed in the software.
- Cheap to mass produce your own custom designs.
- Much faster to do a complex design compared to HTV.
Cons
- Needs a compatible xTool laser engraver, ideally.
- Fairly slow to engrave—and it stinks.
- Too expensive for one-off apparel design production.
xTool Screen Printer
Is the xTool Screen Printer Right for You?
Screen printing is a traditional craft, and purists may hate the xTool kit because it makes it too easy. It removes the barriers to entry and the skill requirements. Of course, you need to factor in the cost of a laser engraver too, so if you don’t already have one that’s compatible, it becomes a lot less attractive.
But if you’re looking to get even more creative use from your xTool laser engraver — perhaps adding some extra products to your offering — then the xTool Screen Printer is a brilliant purchase. Starting at $400 for the basic kit, it’s more than enough to get you started on your first designs.
