Self-Promotion: Screen Printing T-Shirts using a Cricut

By: A.D. Sterling

How to DIY screen print t-shirts for promotional materials

By Popular Demand

List of Supplies

I highly encourage you to shop local whenever possible, but I’ve linked to all of the supplies through Amazon so you know exactly what products I used.

* Please Note: as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases (I’d be a fool not to). All opinions and reviews are my own.

Creating the Vinyl Cutout

For this project I used the logo for my SOMNIUM Series books. In order to cut it out using the Cricut Maker I created a flat black and white version using black text with a white background.

In the Cricut Design Space software upload your black and white image by clicking the “Upload” button in the left hand toolbar and then “Upload Image”. On the next screen drag and drop your image or search for it on your computer.

Update: I created my original image as a 12 x 12 so that it would cut out the image on a piece of vinyl that was 12 x 14 and would cover the entire screen printing frame. This worked out really well, however once you print your shirts you need to remove the vinyl and wash the frame. This leads to a lot of wasted vinyl. On my next round of making shirts I created a cut image that was only the size of the logo and taped wax paper onto the remainder of the frame.

On the next screen select “Simple” as the image type since this example is only one color. If you want to do more than 1 color you would need to create a different vinyl cutout for each color and then layer it onto your shirt. Click Continue

On the “Select & Erase” screen you want to click on the black portion of your image. This will determine what is being cut out. Click Continue

On the next screen be sure to click “Save as a Cut Image” since there is no printing required for this project. Click Save

Once you have your cut image uploaded you can now select it and click Insert Images.

Now that you have your image on the canvas you need to be sure to scale it to the proper size. I wanted the text to be about 10 inches wide so I updated the width to be 10”.

In order to print the image on a full piece of vinyl (like the 12 x 14 I did) you need to remove the outside cut so that the Cricut won’t cut that out. To do this select your image and click the “Contour” button in the bottom right hand of the program. On this screen you want to select the border cut (in my case it was the first one) and then close the window. This removes that cut from executing.

Update: If you choose to only cut the image and save vinyl like I did on my second round of making shirts then you will want to keep all of the items selected on this screen.

That’s it, now you’re ready to print. Click the “Make It” button at the top. Center your image so it will print in the middle of your vinyl.

Don’t make the same mistake I did and waste a cut! On this screen you need to select “Mirror” in order for your image to screen print properly.

Update: If you are trying to save vinyl then you will want to align this image in the upper left corner so it prints at the edge of your vinyl which can then be used again later.

The first thing I did before I wasted a piece of vinyl was print the logo out on paper to make sure a) I made the cut correctly (which in this case I did not since it needed to be mirrored) and b) that it was the correct size. Since I was doing a men’s and a women’s cut t-shirt I wanted to make sure the same size logo looked good on both.

Even though the Cricut thought I was loading 12 x 12 paper I actually loaded 12 x 14 so that the vinyl would cover the entire screen printing frame.

Update: If you are trying to save vinyl you can load a smaller piece of vinyl as long as it’s large enough to cover your image.

Once the Cricut is done printing apply transfer paper to the top of the vinyl. You can then remove the vinyl backing making sure that all of the vinyl sticks to the transfer paper properly. Then carefully remove the letters, leaving the centers of any letters as necessary (like the center of the theta symbol in my logo). If you have delicate letters like I did you’ll want to be extra careful not the rip the vinyl around the cut.

Now flip the vinyl and apply the sticky side to the top of the screen printing frame. Press well and then carefully remove the transfer paper, again making sure to leave behind the middles of the cut like the theta symbol in my example.

Tape down the vinyl edges using painters tape to be sure it’s all affixed tightly to the screen printing frame.

Update: If you are using a smaller vinyl cut you will want to use painter’s tape to affix wax paper around the edges of the vinyl and all the way to the edge of the frame. This will keep any ink from accidentally coming out the edges.

Align the screen printing frame on your shirt

Flip the screen printing frame over and line it up on the shirt where you want to print. For reference I found that placing the top of the text just under the armpits of the shirts put it in a good location while being worn.

You need surprisingly little ink. I used about 1 heaping teaspoon for each shirt. Place the ink in the middle of the frame and then use the squeegee to spread the ink. Put a good amount of pressure on the frame to hold it in place and work the ink from side to side and then up and down. I did this about four or five times each way and used firm pressure on the squeegee. Some prints came out with a more “worn” appearance than others and I wish I know what I had done differently. I think the uniqueness of each shirt is part of the charm of them being handmade and one of a kind.

Gently remove the screen printing frame from the shirt. I suggest holding the shirt so it peels away without accidentally smearing the ink.

You can repeat this process with the same frame on more shirts. I made 10 shirts the first round and had no issues with degradation in the quality.

Hang the shirt and let it dry before heat setting it - I let them sit for at least an hour before they were nearly dry to the touch. Speedball says the ink is dry in 24-48 hours, which could also be why my ink didn’t set properly using a heat gun (see Heat Setting the Ink below). It seems the longer you wait for your ink to dry the better.

Cleaning the Screen

Once you are done screen printing you will want to completely remove the vinyl and tape from the screen printing frame. Unfortunately you can’t use this set up again because when you wash the screen the vinyl will start to come off. I used the hose in my kitchen sink and some dish soap and the ink came off fine, but you can also purchase special cleaner if your ink doesn’t come off completely.

Update: On my second round of making shirts it took me longer and the screen printing frame was left for longer periods of time in between printing shirts. This did lead to some dried ink in the screen. To get this off I will need to try the screen printing cleaner.

Heat Setting the Ink

If you don’t heat set the ink it will likely fade quickly. The first round of shirts I made I tried to set the ink using a heat gun and following directions I found on the internet. This did not work for me and sadly led to one of the first shirts I made getting extremely faded after the first wash. Once I discovered this issue I ironed the rest of the shirts using a standard iron on the cotton setting and placing a piece of cotton over the ink. I probably did this on each shirt for 5 minutes, which ended up taking a good amount of time. Thankfully none of the other shirts have faded on me.

Update: I enjoyed making these shirts so much and intend to make more, so I decided it was worth getting the Cricut EasyPress 2. I set the temperature at 350 and placed a piece of cotton over the ink, then ran it for 30 seconds on other screen printed shirts and haven’t seen any issues with fading. I would recommend testing this out as this temperature and time may vary depending on the specific fabric used.

Now share your shirt with your fans!