How To Print Numbers Using Paper Stencils – Part 1

Our shop uses Sericol Numbering Stencils to print our numbers (see previous post Product Review of Sericol Numbering Stencils).  As our past post of the review states, these are tricky to use.  We will try to clear up the muddy water a bit with today’s post.

You can start by checking out this link we found on Atlas Screen Printing Supply’s website that is Sericol’s instructions on how to use their stencils.  http://www.atlasscreensupply.com/download/sericol_stencils10.pdf

The Stencils

Order of numbers

The first thing you need to do is decide on the order you will print your numbers.  If the customer supplies the numbers (they usually do) I suggest you group the numbers by size.  The customer doesn’t always (hardly EVER) give you the number list in order of size.  They are usually copied off the batting order or roster or something like that.  Write out the numbers on a piece of paper, starting with all the smalls, then the mediums, then the larges and so on until you get all the sizes the customer asks for.  This will make it easier to print the shirts when the time comes.  The point here is to end up with a stack of numbers that are in the same order as the stack of shirts you are printing them on.

• Pull The Numbers

Now that you have a list of numbers in the order that they will be printed, it is time to pull out the numbers you will need.  Take out the stacks of numbers and arrange them in order, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,0.  Now if you were paying attention, you would notice the 9 is missing in the number sequence above.  That is because the 6 and 9 are the same, just upside down.  All the other double digit numbers are made by taping together two single digit stencils, for example the number 24 will have the number 2 and 4 taped together.  This may sound way too obvious, but I can think of a couple of people I have had work for me in my shop that might ask “Hey, where is the number 10?”.

Now starting at the top of your list, pull out the stencils that make up each number and stack them off to the side.  Once you have all the numbers pulled for the order, box up the remaining stencils and get them out of your way.

• Punch ‘em And Tape ‘em!

This is the time consuming part of the job.  The stencils come only perforated, so you have to punch out each number from the stencil.  Now, keep in mind you are keeping the negative space of the stencil and throwing away the positive space part.  If you didn’t pay attention in art class, this means that you are keeping the paper surrounding the number and throwing out the number itself.  Don’t forget to punch out the “hole” and set it aside for printing later.  The “hole” is the piece of paper in the center of the numbers, for example, the number 4 has one that is a triangle, the number 6 (or 9, depending on which way it is turned) has a square one, and the number 8 has two square ones, and a 0 has a long rectangle one.

Once you have all the numbers punched out, it is time to tape together the double digit numbers.  Align them up the way you want them to print,  then tape them to each other.  The number 10 would have a 1 and a 0 taped together.  Don’t worry about the “hole” in the 0 yet.  That will be dealt with when it is time to print the number.

Thursday we will cover printing the numbers on the shirts, starting with Press Set Up.  Check back with us Thursday for Part 2.  Do you have suggestions or questions that can’t wait until Thursday?  Lets hear ‘em!  We always love to hear from our readers.