The following will introduce you to the different printing materials and tools and explain the pros and cons of each.

Stencil Material

Plastic Coated Freezer Paper
Reynolds plastic coated freezer paper near the aluminum foil at your local grocery store. Its about $3 a roll and its the best for t-shirt printing in my opinion. Beacuse you iron the stencil to the shirt, you can achieve crisp, clean lines. You have to be careful when cutting out intricate designs, because its easy to tear. Its also nearly impossible to reuse the stencils.

Printer Paper
Printer paper is cheap and simple. Designs can simply be printed out and cut, no tracing required. The problem with printer paper, is that theres often alot of underspray and bleeding. Thats fine if you want that ghetto stenciled look, but when i tell people i made my shirt, Id rather have them go "You made that?" instead of "I can tell."

Posterboard
Posterboard is the most expensive option. Because of the size and thickness, you can stencil really large designs and do it multiple designs. The main problem is that its very difficult to trace designs on and like printer paper, theres alot of overspray. Bottom line, if you want to stencil a wall, or make 5 of the same shirts, this would be the best stencil medium.

My Favorite?
Plastic Coated Freezer Paper.


Cutting Tools

X-Acto Knife
X-Activo knives are probably the most comfortable tool to use since there designed for stuff like this. The problem Ive found with them is that they dull fairly quickly. You can the cheap kind with a built in blade, or you can get the better kind with a raplaceable blade. Spending the extra few bucks will pay off when your blade starts to dull.

Straight Edge Razor Blades
Razor blades are the cheapest option. You can get a box of 100 at Harbor Freight for less than $3. There extremely sharp and dull quickly, but thats ok, because you have 100 of them. There the best blade for intricate work because you can make quick turns and the extra sharp edge cuts easily. The only problem is that there a pain to hold for very long.

Snap Blade Utility Knife
Snap Blades are the best in my opinion. They get there name from the fact that when the tip gets dull, you simply snap that section off. Besause of this, you basically have 2 dozen blades. These last alot longer than X-Acto knives and are fairly cheap. I got a 3 pack of them at A.C. Moore for 75 cents. You can also find them at Lowe's or Home Depot.

My Favorite
I keep both a snap blade and a straight blade handy. I use the snap blade for broader cuts and the straight blade for details.


Paint/Ink

Screen Printing Ink
Screen printing ink can be purchased at most arts and craft stores in a 6 pack for $20 or cheaper for individual containers. Screen printing ink is best for dark colors because its opaque. When dry its some what inflexable, but loosens up after a few washes.

Acrylic Fabric Paint
Acrylic fabric paint can be purchased for $2-3 a bottle. This is my favorite beacuse when dry its very flexable and lasts a long time. I only use it on light color fabrics beacuse its translucent and doesnt show up on dark shirts. It does have to be heat set, but that only takes an extra minute.

Spraypaint
Spraypaint is my least favorite. Theres almost always overspray and the final result is rather ghetto. It also doesnt last, every time you wash the shirt, it wears off a little. Bottom line, use it to stencil a building, not a shirt.

My Favorite?
Acrylic fabric paint. Its cheap and lasts a long time, but beacuse it doesnt show up on dark fabrics, i always keep screen printing ink handy too.


Paint Application Tool

Sponge Brush
Sponge brushes are cheap, you can pickup a 12 pack at Lowe's for less than $4. They apply an even coat of paint, but soak up at ton in the process. There convienent because you can simply dip the brush in the bottle of paint.

Foam Roller
Foam rollers are somewhat expensive. They also require you to pour the paint into a tray or onto an extra piece of paper. They soak up a ton of paint and are a hastle to clean.

Bristle Pain Brush
Bristle brushes provide an even coat of paint and dont soak up a ton of paint. They can be somewhat expensive though, a few bucks for a crappy one that sheds bristles.

My Favorite?
Foam brush. Cheap and easy.

I hope this page has helped you make better shirts. If you have any tips i should add, use the contact form to tell us. Pictures comming soon.