Renowned screen printer Charlie Taublieb made the journey from his home in Colorado to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, at Vastex Headquarters to teach a two-day workshop with students from across the country. With beginner and intermediate screen printers in attendance, Taublieb told stories of selling faux band tees outside of concerts at the beginning of his career, working with Nike executives in the early days of the company, designing shirts for the Olympics, and much more.
In the workshop, Taublieb touched on everything from using your body weight as the main source of power when printing, to best practices in blister base printing, to printing with scented ink. He brought in many of his favorite T-shirts so the students could feel, see, and even smell the type of shirts that different printing strategies can create. Check out some photos from the first day of the class.
By Alex Marcheschi
This Axelrad shirt is a great example of branded shop apparel. Taublieb passed this around to the students so they could both see and feel the depth of the print.
Taublieb demonstrates the importance of applying tape to the edge of your screen to keep the corners from getting flooded with ink. This was new info to many of the beginners, and they appreciated the small, yet important tip.
This shirt is made using both foil and scented ink. Scented ink and foil are both great for live screen printing at a children’s event.
Taublieb explains why the print on this screen was purposely faded to pick up the heat-treated foil treatment better, which you’ll see in the next slide.
This angel design is one that Taublieb has used for more than a decade. It is designed to pick up foil nicely. He even embellished it with special heat pressed gems from Indonesia.
This sneaker design features the texture of a real rubber shoe toe thanks to an impressive layered print from one of Taublieb’s expert colleagues.
Taublieb shows a student from Kent, Ohio, how to complete a multilayered print.
Taublieb checking out his work with cotton candy scented ink. He explained to the students how he was able to mix in the scented ink with the purple ink without any real changes to the effectiveness of the ink.
Taublieb lets student work with the cotton candy scented purple ink to give them a novel experience and teach them to always think outside the box.
Taublieb made sure to spend time around the equipment, talking to the students and understanding their knowledge level.
Taublieb asks the students why they think certain fashion trends are happening. Why is Carharrt so popular right now? What makes Gucci able to sell a T-shirt for $500?
11 Photos from a Screen Printing Legend’s Workshop
Renowned screen printer Charlie Taublieb made the journey from his home in Colorado to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, at Vastex Headquarters to teach a two-day workshop with students from across the country. With beginner and intermediate screen printers in attendance, Taublieb told stories of selling faux band tees outside of concerts at the beginning of his career, working with Nike executives in the early days of the company, designing shirts for the Olympics, and much more.
In the workshop, Taublieb touched on everything from using your body weight as the main source of power when printing, to best practices in blister base printing, to printing with scented ink. He brought in many of his favorite T-shirts so the students could feel, see, and even smell the type of shirts that different printing strategies can create. Check out some photos from the first day of the class.
By Alex Marcheschi