This is the most asked question when it comes to film positive printing. Knowing the printer model is a great start but just the printer alone won’t automatically provide you with perfect film positives for screen printing.
Once you have your printer, you will need to adapt the cartridges to become an ‘all black system’, download a compatible RIP software and get yourself some decent quality film. We have been printing film positives specifically for screen printers for a decade now and here are some of our top tips.
The answer everyone is always looking for… We use the Epson Surecolor T7200 inkjet printer. We have been using this model for 7 years now and can’t fault it.
Here is a little inside knowledge for you – A few years ago Epson tried to discontinue the printer as it’s not the BEST for printing full colour images in comparison to their newer models, however so many screen printers started to buy the Surecolor T7200 that they had to keep the model available to purchase! Sounds like we aren’t the only screen printers raving about the machine!
If you have opted for the Epson Surecolor T7200 then you will need to adapt the cartridges to be 100% black. The standard CMYK cartridges that come with the machine will be wasteful and won’t allow you to create the DENSE black acetates that you need for exposing screens.
WARNING: Once you have adapted your printer, you will ruin any warranty that came with the machine. We are not advising you to adapt your printer, we are purely explaining how we have adapted our own systems. You are following our methods completely at your own risk.
To adapt your printer to an all black system you will need these items:
When filling up your new refillable cartridges you will need to determine how much ink to put into each tank and then keep that number consistent throughout. We fill our tanks up to 700g. Once full, the chips will let you know when the ink starts to run low. We NEVER let our cartridges read empty.
The easiest and cleanest way to fill your cartridge is to decant the black pigment into a clean, empty tub first.
Following this, we use a syringe to transfer the black pigment from the tub to the refillable cartridge.
Once all of your cartridges are filled to 700g, you need to prime the cartridge before putting it back into the machine. To do this, locate the rear hole in the tank and use an empty syringe to pull any excess air out. Doing this will stop any air bubbles from getting into the tubes in your printer.
Lastly, before you put the tanks back into your printer, you need to apply the new chip. This will allow the printer to read the tank as a new cartridge and can start printing using your new black pigment ink.
To allow your printer to take full advantage of your ‘all black system’ you will need to download a RIP software. This software forces your printer to print using all of the cartridges resulting in a cost effective, super dense black print, perfect for screen exposing.
We use Acurip Black Pearl however you will need to find which software is compatible with your setup before purchasing any licences.
Film positives have lots of names. In our studio we call it either ‘Acetate’ or ‘Film’ or even ‘Possies’. The film we purchase is from Screen Print World (discount code: CRP5) and is called ‘Screen printing output film roll‘.
The great thing about this film is that it has a rough side which allows for the printer rollers to grip while also providing a great substrate for the ink to sit without smudging.
For more information on which equipment and software we use, including how we transformed our inkjet printer into an ‘all back system’, check out our YouTube video below!
We have a service where we print film positives for other screen print studios and individuals. Check out our acetate printing service here :
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