Hi, we're John & Serge, and we are artists at Universal Screenprinting . Here, using computers, hand-drawing and camera techniques, we turn your original artwork into color separations and then, film positives. If you send us your color separation, all we have to do is output the film positives that are required to shoot your screens (next stop on the tour).

Here's some free advice: The next time you have your logo printed for business cards, letterheads or whatever, get a copy of the color separation on paper (stat or velox). This will save you lots of money down the road, each time you want to reproduce your logo. You'll have "camera-ready" art.

Welcome to the screen department. My name is Miller. What's a screen? It's a frame usually made from wood or aluminum. Polyester fabric is then stretched and glued across the frame. This fabric is much like window screening- except much finer. It's available in many different mesh counts- i.e. the number of threads per inch. The higher the thread count per inch- the finer the fabric. The finer the fabric- the finer the lines and details we can reproduce. The trade-off is less ink deposit, which can be a problem when printing on dark colored t-shirts.

"How do I get the design into the screen?"I coat the fabric with a light-sensitive liquid, called emulsion. Once it dries, I tape your film positive on the back of the screen, and expose it to a strong light. After exposure, the film is removed and I wash the screen with a jet of water.

The emulsion washes away, in the areas corresponding to your design on the film. The light was not able to penetrate the black areas (your design).

The process is then continued for each color in your design. If you have a three color design, there are three film positives and then three different screens.

By the way, after your job is completed, I can easily reclaim the screen (wash out all the emulsion, including your design) and reuse the screen. If ever you repeat your order, I just take out the positives and reshoot the screens.

Come on in... just watch your clothing... there's lots of ink in here. My name is Martin and my job is color matching. I use two different kinds of ink here- water-based and plastisol. You're probably more familiar with plastisol. That's the rubbery-feeling stuff. Its big advantage is that it is opaque- it covers well on dark colored t-shirts. Water-based inks (really they're pigments) are quite transparent. They are only suited for light colored t-shirts. Their advantage is that they are very soft- and can be ironed.

When you place an order and ask for a special color, such as a Pantone Matching System (PMS) color, I check whether I've already matched that color. If not, I match it and write down the recipe.

Ever heard of "puff"? That's the ink that has a raised look and feel. Puff is just ordinary plastisol, with a special additive. When the printed t-shirt is exposed to heat, the puff rises (kind of like bread!).

Gather round. The screens are ready, the colors are matched and the t-shirts have been pulled from the stockroom. We're ready to set-up and print the job. My name is Marco. The first step is to register the screens.

They can't just be placed any old way in the machine. The colors have to line-up properly (we call that registration). I tape the films on the board (pallet). I then line up each screen with the film. Next the ink is poured into each screen. I have to be careful that the right color goes into the right screen (the positives are marked with the color). Now it's time for a test print. I use a squeegee (a wooden handle with a plastic blade) to force the ink through the screen's mesh. If you were here I'd let you pull the squeegee-but you're not!

After each t-shirt is printed, it is placed on the conveyor belt.

It passes through the dryer at about 325 degrees Fahrenheit. When it reaches the other end, it's ready for shipping.

Did you know that plastisol inks never air-dry? They must be baked (cured) in an oven.

Thanks for taking the tour.