Where to Buy Silk Screen Mesh

by Doug Berg | Last Updated: May 24, 2019

Looking for where to buy silk screen mesh? I have been wondering for a while because I have always wanted to try making my own screen printing frames. Although I’ve been selling tee shirts on Amazon and Etsy for a few years now I never tried making them myself.

You can buy screen printing mesh from Amazon, Aliexpress or Ebay.

The great part of buying from one of these suppliers is that you can get just as much as you need. I bought mine from Amazon and got 3 yards for about 20 bucks. Perfect for my needs just getting started in screen printing.

I bought 120 mesh because I hear it’s a good all purpose mesh, which I figured was good for learning.

Here’s another article on how I made my screens, you can read all about it here.

I learned a lot about how I’d do it if I were to do it again. The number one thing I’d change is I’d make my screens quite a bit larger.

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Where to buy full rolls of silk screen mesh?

If you’re looking for a whole roll of mesh you can get that on Amazon as well. You’ll also save a lot of money. I don’t need that much mesh. But if you’re looking to outfit a shop or do a lot of multi color printing you’ll want to get a bulk deal.

I stick with 110 or 120 mesh because it is multi purpose and not too difficult to push ink through on my manual press. Greater mesh count gives you finer detail. So before you decide what mesh to buy you should consider what you’ll be printing.

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Is it hard to make your own silk screens?

How hard was it to make my screens? Actually, it was really easy. The best part though is that making my own only cost about $3. I wrote a full article on the process. If you can run a stapler you can make your own screens so don’t be afraid of the process.

How many screens can I make with 3 yards of mesh?

A yard of mesh is 50 inches tall and 108 inches long. So it depends on how large you make your screens. That means, if you stick with 16 x 20 screens you should be able to get 12 screens if you’re careful and don’t waste any.

If you’re limited to 8 x 11 because you don’t have a wide format printer for your transparencies then you can expect to get 24 screens.

Also, if you have not looked into a wide format printer check out my article on 5 of the best options.

Doug has been an entrepreneur for years, starting several businesses. Doug is a web developer, father of 2 great kids and husband to the best wife ever. I've been working on building my custom tee shirt business for 3 years.