For screen printing I have always used Speedball screen printing paint. I know there are several brands and each one has a different preference, but I have had a very good experience with Speedball. I found these paints great for screen printing, they mix really well to make all kinds of shades, and they hold up really well in the wash. In fact, I think they are superior to the paints used on store bought screen printed t-shirts. Speedball screen paints come in two styles: cloth and opaque. Speedball fabric paint is for light colored fabrics and opaque paint is best for dark fabrics, it covers better so the dark color does not fade through the paint. Also, opaque paint has a slightly metallic appearance, they have a shiny appearance. Each style of paint is available in many colors, but I have always purchased the 6-pack of paints. These come with the three primary colors, black, white, and an extra one. You can make any shade of any missing color by mixing the primaries. While Speedball screen print paint is a great product, I’m not always happy with the color right out of the bottle. The colors are too strong – the fabric is a dead black, and each of the primaries looks better after mixing them with a little white paint.
6 Pack Speedball Cloth Screen Printing Paints:
Black
White
Blue
Red
Yellow
Green
Speedball opaque screen printing paints 6-pack:
Black pearl
Pearl white
Blue topaz
Raspberry
Citrine
Silver
Mixing paint is most likely an important part of your screen printing activities. Small jars to store mixed paint will be essential so that you don’t have to mix paint every time you prepare to complete a project and to save on additional paint.
I will go over all the colors and how to make them.
The Speedball Fabric Black is a dead black, I didn’t like how it looked the first time I projected with it. The artist will tell you that to achieve a vivid black you need to mix all your colors. However, I was able to get a black that I was happy with by mixing a small amount of white Speedball fabric in it. You can get a gray color by mixing more white.
Dull black doesn’t look black to me. It is more gray or silver. When I wear it, I mix the black Speedball fabric. This gives me a great black, with a metallic look.
You will not need to mix any paint for the white. There is a white cloth Speedball and an opaque white Speedball. Dull white looks more beige to me, so I haven’t used it much. White fabric has worked great for me even on dark fabrics.
Speedball Cloth Blue is a royal blue. If you need sky blue or baby blue, mix blue fabric and white fabric. Dull blue is also dark blue and has a metallic look. If you need a light blue, just mix up some white fabric.
Red fabric looks nice, but you can add white or black for a lighter or darker shade. The dull red is actually raspberry. I only use raspberry when mixing pink or purple.
I haven’t used yellow much, but again you can mix it up with white or black to get shades.
The 6 fabric pack comes with green so everything is ready. If you need an opaque green you can mix Citrine and Blue Topaz (yellow and blue).
If you need orange you can mix fabric red and fabric yellow or citrine and raspberry from the opaque set.
Any shade of brown you need can be made by mixing a ratio of yellow, red, and blue.
To make the pink I mix the raspberry and white opaque fabric paints.
Purple can be created by mixing red and blue. A metallic purple can be made by mixing raspberry and blue topaz.
To make gold first make brown with the red cloth, blue cloth and opaque yellow. Add extra yellow and a small amount of opaque silver.
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