Usually, leather items we see come finished with colorful tans that make them attractive, giving off an elegant vibe. That metallic look offers you to use of leather bags, shoes, earrings, jackets, or other items anywhere, from party to office. But how can you screen print on leather if you prefer print over a plain look?
The answer is Yes, you can easily do screen printing on your leather items. Just collect the items needed for screen printing, like frames, mesh, stencil, ink, etc., and spread ink on the leather surface using them in the same way as screen printing on other surfaces. To know the detailed procedure, stay till the end.
Can You Screen Print on Leather?
You can definitely screenprint on leather. There are other methods to print on leather, but most of them are quite expensive.
Screen Printing
If you don’t know much about screen printing, it is a printing technique in which ink or dye is transferred onto a surface using a mesh, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil for specific design purposes. This procedure is also known as silkscreen.
Screen printing leather is typically done on cut pieces of leather you want to make since it requires a flat surface, although there are some exceptions. Silkscreen can apply only one color at a time.
Supplies Needed for Screen Printing on Leather
Of course, you will need good quality ink and leather for this purpose. You will also need a canvas stretcher frame, you can buy inexpensive wooden pre-made frames or order one customizing size for your specific works.
Another thing you need is a fine mesh that allows the ink to pass onto the leather. Try to buy mesh with a 110-130 mesh count where the mesh count indicates how loose or tight the mesh is, a higher number means tighter mesh.
Once bought, stretch the mesh across the frame, pull the screen tight, and staple it with the frame using framing nails or an electric staple gun. You may also need cold water, transfer tape, masking tape, squeegee, photo emulsion, and a Cricut maker to cut the design stencil or the leather.
Crafting Your Design
You need stencils to transfer the designs you want on your leather. You can buy sample stencils from any supply store, order online or you can easily make your own without spending many bucks.
If you have a Cricut Maker, you can easily cut out desired design with it, but if you don’t have any, you can still make your own stencil. You will need a poster board or other thick and sturdy paper, a pencil, and a precision knife for this.
In case you are a beginner, try to create simple shapes or outlines and when you are confident enough with your skill, try a detailed design of your liking. But keep in mind that screen print has limitations and challenges like printing only one color at a time or you can’t do shading. For complex design, cut multiple stencils.
Printing on Leather
Once your required stencils for your design are done, it’s time to actually go for printing on your leather. At first coat, you silkscreen with a thin layer of photo emulsion using a squeeze. Photo emulsion hardens when exposed to light, so using this will prevent ink from getting through parts not covered by the stencil.
Let the emulsion dry for some time under light, and flash the unhardened emulsion with cold water. Then put the stencil backward on the middle of the screen, where the emulsion side is up. Lift the mesh and place the stencil in the middle of the screen with 4/5 inches of space between the design and the edge of the frame.
Then line up the screen above the leather you are printing on, the mesh should touch the leather surface. After that, put a thin line of ink just above the design and firmly drag the squeegee across your design, coating the entire stencil in ink. The harder you press, the darker the print will be.
Finishing
Once you are done with printing for that color, slowly pull the screen off the leather with even pressure. Then place it or hang it up to dry the ink and your design will be the leather enhancer for a long time.
If you want to add more color or design, repeat the above methods once the previous ink dried. Because if you try to screenprint on the leather just after putting ink of any color, the liquid will create a mess and the leather will be ruined.
How do you print a logo on leather?
You can print a logo on leather by many methods. You can just screen print the logo with the same procedure described above. You can also try other printing methods such as digital printing to paint your preferred logo on leather.
How do you print on a leather jacket?
Printing on a leather jacket is no big deal. You just have to lay the jacket plain on a surface and try screen printing, digital printing, or just print by hand or try other different methods. Just make sure you are following the steps properly and using the right colors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ink stick to leather?
You need special types of ink to print on leather because not all dye will stick to it. to print leather, you can use 7200 series lacquer screen ink because it can be used in all types of materials. Acrylic paints can also be used on the leather surface.
Can you screen print on any materials?
Yeah, you can screen print on any material including leather. You can try screen printing on papers, different clothes, metals, wood, and so on.
Ending Statement
Can you screen print on leather? Yes, easily you can, but keep a few things in mind to not to mess things up. Always put your stencil down in reverse otherwise you will get a mirror design on the leather. Also, don’t push or shake the screen, because it can misplace the design on the leather.
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