Screen printing can be done as a hobby at home. No machines are needed. Cotton T-shirt printing is normally done by screen printing. Raw materials include one wooden frame, bolting cloth, squeegee, screen printing ink, coating emulsion, ammonium dichromate and 2 pane glasses.
The wooden frame comes in different sizes are available online. It is desirable to purchase a wooden frame with bolting cloth fixed. Different types of bolting clothes are available. For printing clothes like Tee shirts, Saree or Churidar or any cloth it is desirable to purchase 110 bolting cloth fixed to the frame. The process of fixing cloth to the wooden frame is the most important skilful procedure in screen printing by professionals using machines. You can also fix the cloth manually by using staplers, nails, or special gum. But need experience as the tension of the cloth fixed to the frame is very important in screen printing.
After getting the frame, you need to degrease the screen. Professionals use degreasing paste which is applied to the screen. If you don’t have degreaser you can use a dishwasher solution and wash it 2-3 times and make sure that the screen is free from all kinds of oil residues. Keep the screen for drying.
The next step is to make the stencil for printing. Many youtube channels are available for understanding the techniques. The frame is fixed to the machine and starts printing using plastisol ink. Finally, ink is cured by using a hair dryer and the tee shirt is ready for use. Single colour screenprinting machine is available on amazon who like to start a tee shirt printing business at home. You can buy one here