Screen Printing and Signage

Who it is for. Beginners with no formal certificate, including school leavers, women's groups and persons with disabilities. National Proficiency I is a bridging level for people with little or no formal education; graduates do routine tasks under close supervision.

Why screen printing and signage

• Every school, church, funeral, wedding, club, party and small business needs printed T-shirts, bags, stickers and signs. Printed T-shirts are one of the most common souvenirs at events.
• Screen printing is simple in idea. Ink is pushed through a mesh; a stencil blocks the ink where you do not want it, and each colour is printed in a separate pass.
• Ghana groups have used it as a starter trade. In 2013 World Vision trained 60 young people (57 women, three men) at Effiduase for four weeks in batik, tie and dye, screen printing, soap and pastries, so they could set up their own businesses.
• CTVET's approved list has no screen printing or sign writing programme. The closest are Multimedia Practice and Textiles Design Technology (from National Proficiency I) and Graphic Design Technology (from National Certificate I).

How to read this manual

• Every unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, a range and the evidence your assessor needs. CTVET assessment has only two outcomes: you achieve the unit or you do not yet achieve it. In this manual we say Competent or Not Yet Competent.
• Steps are numbered. Do them in order. A line that ends with a source name in brackets comes from the sources list at the back. A step with no source is standard safe practice or the author's teaching advice, not a measured figure.
• Any number marked example is made up to practise sums. Replace it with your own local prices.
• Every unit ends with a Check yourself of three questions. Answers are in the Teacher Copy.
• This manual does not repeat the hub's Social Media and Canva Design course (flyers, posts and logos for phones) or the Batik, Tie-Dye and Weaving course (dyeing cloth). Here you learn to turn a design into a printed T-shirt, bag, sticker or sign.

Competency standard

Range. The training workshop: coating and drying area, exposure area, print tables, wash-out area, curing area and chemical shelf. Evidence. PPE check; emergency drill; workshop set-up checklist; oral questions.

The hazards, one by one

Emulsion, sensitiser and emulsion remover. College print studios require protective gloves when handling photo emulsion, emulsion sensitiser and emulsion remover.

Haze remover. Haze remover paste (used to clean ghost images out of old screens) is a strong alkali that burns skin on long contact. Use it only with goggles and gloves and under supervision, and flush with cold water if it touches you. At Level 1 you do not use haze remover.

Solvents (thinners, mineral spirits, "kerosene" used for cleaning). The UK safety body says frequent contact with solvent-based cleaning products can cause dermatitis (skin disease), and breathing strong vapour can cause dizziness and drowsiness. It advises using waterborne (water-based) products wherever possible and never cleaning skin with solvents. At Level 1 you use water-based inks only, which clean up with soap and water.

Ultraviolet (UV) light. A photo screen is made hard by UV light from the sun or a lamp. An exposure unit gives off strong UV light that is harmful to your eyes, so do not look straight at it. The World Health Organization says UV can cause painful inflammation of the eye (photokeratitis), and long exposure is linked to cataract, which clouds the lens and can lead to blindness; eyewear that blocks UV protects you.

Heat. A household iron used to fix water-based ink, and a heat press used for vinyl transfers, work at about 150 °C and hotter. Treat every hot plate as live.

Pressure washers. Some shops spray out screens with a power washer. The spray can be strong enough to break the skin. At Level 1 use a garden hose or a bucket and soft brush.

Ladders. Fixing a sign often means a ladder. A fall can injure you badly. The UK safety body's rules for stepladders: all four feet on the ground, steps level, locks engaged, and do not stand and work on the top three steps. Unit 6 teaches ladder work in full.

Your PPE

Workshop rules

1. One shelf for chemicals, out of the sun, with every tin labelled. Lids go back on at once.
2. No food, drink or phone charging at the print tables or the wash area.
3. Wash hands with warm water and mild soap before breaks and at the end of the day. Never use thinners or kerosene to clean your hands.
4. Mop up spills at once. Wet floors cause falls.
5. Keep the coating and drying area dark and dry (Unit 4).
6. Irons and heat presses stand on a heat-proof board, switched off and unplugged when you leave.
7. Work with doors and windows open. Good general ventilation is part of safe screen cleaning.

Wastewater and rubbish

• Speedball says its water-based inks are safe to wash down the drain with soap and water. Scrape extra ink back into the tin first, so you waste less.
• Used gloves, rags and spill mats from solvent cleaning count as hazardous waste in the UK guidance. Keep them in a closed, labelled container.
• Ghana's Environmental Protection Act, 2025 (Act 1124) consolidates the environmental laws, repeals the hazardous and electronic waste law (Act 917) and covers hazardous waste. Which print chemicals count as hazardous waste in Ghana, and where to take them, was not verified: ask the Environmental Protection Authority office in Takoradi.

Emergency drills

Whose design is it? The law on logos and pictures

This is a safety gate for your business. Learn it now.

• Copyright. Ghana's Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) protects artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and applied art. The owner has the right to copy, adapt and sell copies. Copying without permission can bring a fine, up to three years in prison, or both, and the court can take the copies and the equipment.
• Ghanaian folklore. Kente and adinkra designs with no known author count as folklore under Act 690. Selling folklore works or adaptations needs written permission from the National Folklore Board. Ask before you sell adinkra-pattern prints in quantity.
• Trade marks. Under the Trade Marks Act, 2004 (Act 664), a registered trade mark (a brand name or logo) belongs to its owner. Others may not use it, or a confusing copy of it, on goods without the owner's agreement. Knowingly infringing can bring a fine, up to one year in prison, or both; forging a trade mark can bring up to two years, and goods can be forfeited.
• It happens here. In 2016 police arrested six people in Accra for selling goods with a forged trade mark, citing Section 26 of Act 664.

Your rule: print only (1) your own designs, (2) designs the customer owns or has written permission to use, or (3) free designs whose licence allows printing for sale. No football club badges, brand logos, famous cartoon characters or "copy" jerseys without written permission. Keep the permission letter in the job file.

Check yourself: Unit 1

1. Name two chemicals that need gloves when you make a photo screen.
2. Why must you never look straight at the exposure lamp?
3. A customer asks you to print 50 shirts with a famous football club badge. What do you say?

Competency standard

Range. Wooden frames with polyester mesh; one print station per pair. Evidence. Prepared screen; set-up print station; oral questions.

The parts of a screen

• Frame: wood or aluminium. The mesh is stretched tight across it.
• Mesh: today almost all screens are polyester; silk was used long ago, which is why people still say "silk screen".
• Squeegee side (top, recessed): the side inside the frame where the ink and squeegee go.
• Print side (bottom, flat): the side that touches the shirt or paper.
• Squeegee: a rubber or plastic blade in a handle. The blade must be semi-flexible, straight and clean, with no nicks or dents.
• Hinge clamps: metal hinges that hold the screen in place but let you lift it up and down; a kick leg props it up between prints.

What mesh count means

Mesh count is the number of threads per inch (2.5 cm) of mesh.

Speedball sells screens from 85 to 305 mesh, and its starter kits come with 110 mesh. Your Level 1 choice: one 110 screen for shirts and bags; one around 156 for paper if you have it.

Where to buy (October 2026)

• Online listings from Kumasi offered screen printing meshes at GH¢50, photo emulsion at GH¢100 and a "silk screen shooting box" (exposure box) at GH¢400. These are asking prices, not checked in a shop.
• Plain cotton T-shirts were advertised in Accra at about GH¢35–40 each.
• Takoradi suppliers were not verified. Ask other printers, Market Circle hardware and stationery shops, and textile shops. Write down names and prices in your logbook.

Prepare a screen

1. Check the mesh. Hold the screen up to the light. Look for holes, glue spots or old emulsion. A slight bump on a sharp corner can rip tight mesh, so handle it with care.
2. Check the tension. Press the mesh with a finger. It should feel tight like a drum. A slack screen gives blurred prints.
3. Degrease. New mesh carries oil and dust. Scrub it lightly on both sides with a soft brush, soap and water, rinse well and let it dry. Do not touch the mesh with oily fingers after this.
4. Tape the seams. Put tape along the join between mesh and frame on both sides so ink and water do not collect there.
5. Label the frame with the mesh count and the date, using a marker on the wood.

Set up a print station

1. Use a flat, solid table that does not wobble.
2. Screw or clamp the hinge clamps to the table or a board so the screen lifts and drops in the same place every time.
3. For shirts, slide a piece of thick card or board inside the shirt so ink cannot soak through to the back.
4. Tape a coin under each bottom corner of the screen. This lifts the mesh slightly off the surface ("off-contact"), which gives a cleaner print.
5. Keep a rag, a spray bottle of water and a scraper at the station.

Check yourself: Unit 2

1. Which mesh, about 110 or about 230, lets more ink through?
2. Why do you degrease a new screen?
3. What does a coin under each bottom corner of the screen do?

Competency standard

Range. One-colour artwork; paper stencil; film positive. Evidence. Artwork file or drawing; stencil; film positive; oral questions.

Three ways to make a stencil

Speedball's manual teaches three stencil methods, from easiest to hardest:

(All rows: Source: Speedball Manual)

Good artwork for screen printing

• One colour = one screen. Each colour needs its own screen and pass. At Level 1, design in one colour.
• Solid black on clear or white. The image must be strongly black so it blocks UV light. Grey tones, watercolour washes and light drawings do not expose well.
• Not too fine. Each mesh has a detail limit. If tiny lines or dots disappear, make the artwork bolder.
• Size. On a shirt, a common rule is to place the artwork about three finger-widths below the collar. An adult chest print is often about 25–30 cm wide (author's guide: measure your shirts).
• Margin. Leave at least 5 cm (2 inches) of open space between the artwork and the frame on every side.

Free tools for artwork

• Inkscape is a free and open-source vector drawing program for Windows, macOS and Linux. Its main format is SVG and it exports PDF and PNG. It can also trace a picture into clean shapes. Use it for logos, lettering and shapes that must stay sharp at any size.
• GIMP is free software for photo retouching and image editing. Use it to clean up a photo or a scanned drawing and turn it to black and white.
• Canva and phone design apps are taught in the hub's Social Media and Canva Design course. For printing, export your design as a high-quality PDF or PNG in solid black before you make a film.

Make a paper stencil (first print)

1. Draw your shape on thin paper the size of the inside of the frame.
2. Leave at least 5 cm margin round the shape.
3. Cut out the shape with a sharp craft knife on a cutting board. Cut away from your other hand.
4. The cut-out holes are where ink will print. Islands inside letters (the middle of an "O" or "A") fall out; keep simple shapes at this stage, or join islands with small bridges.
5. Lay the stencil on the shirt or paper, lower the screen on top, and print (Unit 5). The wet ink holds the paper stencil to the screen.

Make a film positive (for photo stencils)

1. Make your design solid black at the exact print size.
2. Print it on inkjet or laser transparency film. The more opaque the black, the better; taping two printed copies together makes it darker.
3. No film? Print on plain white paper, rub it with a cloth and a little vegetable oil, wipe off the excess and let it dry. The oiled paper lets light through, but you may need a longer exposure.
4. Hold the film up to the light. Black areas must be dark with no pinholes. Touch up thin spots with a black marker.
5. Mark the top of the film and the centre line with small marks outside the design.

Check yourself: Unit 3

1. Why do grey or watercolour drawings not make good photo stencils?
2. How many screens do you need for a three-colour design?
3. What can you use if you have no transparency film?

Competency standard

Range. Diazo photo emulsion; sun exposure and one lamp exposure. Evidence. Exposure record; finished stencil; oral questions.

How it works

1. You coat the screen with a light-sensitive emulsion and let it dry.
2. You place black artwork on film against the screen and shine UV light through it. Light reaches the emulsion everywhere except under the black.
3. The light-struck emulsion hardens. Under the black it stays soft and washes out with water, leaving open mesh in the shape of your design.

Mix the emulsion (diazo type)

Diazo emulsion comes as two parts: emulsion and a small bottle of sensitiser. You must mix them before use. Wear gloves.

1. The sensitiser bottle is not empty; it holds a thick liquid or powder. Fill it about three-quarters with water, close it and shake hard.
2. Pour the sensitiser into the emulsion and stir well with a clean stick until the colour is even. Speedball's blue emulsion turns grassy green when mixed.
3. Write the mixing date on the tin. Store mixed emulsion cool and dark; Speedball says it lasts about 4 months in a fridge. Never use the family food fridge: use a separate, labelled box or a cool, dark cupboard and note that shelf life will be shorter (author's advice).
4. Speedball's diazo emulsion can be coated in normal room light, but it must dry in the dark. Work in shade, away from direct sun.

Coat the screen

With a scoop coater (best):

1. Fill the scoop coater about one-third full.
2. Hold the screen at a slight angle, upright. Press the coater's edge against the mesh at the bottom and tip it so the emulsion touches the mesh all along.
3. Draw it up the screen in one smooth stroke, then tip it back at the top so the emulsion runs back into the trough.
4. Coat one side lengthwise, then turn and coat the other side.
5. Run the coater over once more, tipped back, to scrape off extra emulsion.

With a squeegee or a stiff plastic card: lay the screen flat, pour a line of emulsion along one end, and draw it across in one easy motion; coat both sides; scrape off the extra.

The goal: the mesh is fully filled, but the coat is thin and even with no drips. A coat that is too thick may not wash out.

Dry in the dark

1. Lay the screen flat (horizontal) in a dark place: a cupboard, a closed box or a black bag.
2. Dry for at least 4 hours; a fan helps. On humid coastal days it may take longer: check that the emulsion is not tacky.
3. Keep it in the dark until you expose it. Speedball says a coated screen can wait 1–2 weeks in a dark place away from heat.

Expose the screen

Set up (sun or lamp):

1. Lay something black (black cloth or card) on a flat board.
2. Put the film on top, then the screen, then a sheet of clean glass to press the film tight against the mesh. If the film is not pressed tight, the stencil will be blurred.
3. Check the direction. Looking down into the screen from the squeegee side, the words must read the right way round. (Author's rule: check every time; a backwards stencil is the most common beginner mistake.)
4. If you have no glass, tape the film firmly to the screen.

Lamp exposure. Place the lamp above the screen about as far away as the screen's diagonal measurement, so the light is even. Speedball's rough times with a 250 W photoflood bulb:

(The same chart gives sunlight as about 45 seconds for any size.)

Sun exposure. Sunlight in Ghana is strong and changes with the time of day, cloud and season. One user of the same emulsion found 1.5 minutes worked in strong sun, and another needed much longer in a cloudy season (summary only, not verified), so always do a step test first (see the practical). Expose at the same time of day each time, and write down the weather.

Wash out

1. Take the screen straight to the wash area. Spray both sides with cool water (not hot).
2. Aim the water at the design. The soft emulsion slowly washes away.
3. A soft brush helps if it is stubborn.
4. Hold the screen up to the light. The design must be fully open with no emulsion film left in it.
5. Dab dry with newspaper or a towel. Do not rub, because the emulsion is still soft. Let it dry.
6. Put the dry screen back in the sun (with no film) for extra hardening. Speedball says a post-exposure of about 10 minutes or more in sunlight improves water resistance.

Faults and fixes

Reclaim a screen (remove the stencil)

1. Wash all ink off and let the screen dry.
2. With gloves and goggles, apply emulsion remover to both sides. Let it soak 2–3 minutes.
3. Scrub both sides with a soft brush for 1–3 minutes until the emulsion dissolves; wait another 3 minutes.
4. Spray it out hard with water. Do this in one go: emulsion that stays in the mesh can become permanent.
5. Remove stencils soon after the job. Emulsion left a long time, especially in heat, is harder to remove.

Check yourself: Unit 4

1. Why must a coated screen dry in the dark?
2. Your design washed away with the emulsion. Was the screen under-exposed or over-exposed?
3. Why do you press glass on top of the film?

Competency standard

Range. Water-based fabric ink on cotton T-shirts and tote bags; water-based ink on thick uncoated card. Evidence. Ten good prints; cure test record; clean station; oral questions.

Choose the right ink

• Fabric ink for shirts and bags. Other water-based inks simply wash out in the laundry.
• Acrylic or paper ink for paper and card. Both kinds print on paper, but only fabric ink works on fabric.
• Ink should feel like thick yoghurt. A little water thins it, and a few sprays of water stop it drying in the screen.
• Plastisol is the most common garment ink in the wider industry, and it covers dark fabric well, but it needs about 150 °C or more to cure and is cleaned with mineral spirits. Plastisol is for Level 2.

What to print on

• Paper: use thick card. Speedball suggests "80 lb cover" or heavier, and uncoated paper, because water-based ink struggles to stick to shiny paper.
• Fabric: cotton and cotton-rich fabric that can take an iron at 135–190 °C (275–375 °F). Do not use nylon or other non-porous fabric.
• Bags: flat cotton or canvas tote bags, with a board inside.

Register the item (same place every time)

Paper:

1. Lower the screen and slide the paper under it until it sits right under the design.
2. Lift the screen without moving the paper. Stick two pieces of thick tape or card against the bottom edge of the paper and one or two against the side. These registration tabs guide every sheet into the same place.

Shirts and bags:

1. Pull the shirt over the board so the front is flat and tight, with no wrinkles.
2. Line the collar up with a chalk or tape mark on the board, so the design sits about three finger-widths below the collar.

Print

1. Tape any open mesh outside the design on the squeegee side, so ink cannot leak.
2. Spoon a line of ink along the top of the screen (the end farthest from you), not on the design.
3. Print stroke. Hold the squeegee behind the ink, tilted at about 60 degrees. Pull it toward you across the design with firm, even pressure, "as much pressure as it might take to open a heavy door".
4. Stop before the bottom of the screen. Lift the screen slightly to separate it from the print.
5. Flood stroke. Put the squeegee in front of the ink and push the ink gently back up over the design with little or no pressure. This re-fills the mesh ready for the next print.
6. Lean the squeegee against the back of the frame, lift the screen and check the print.
7. Print test prints on scrap cloth or paper first, until they are clean.

Print faults and fixes

Cure (heat-set) water-based fabric ink

The ink dries in the air, but it must be cured with heat to stay in the fabric through washing.

1. Let the print dry to the touch.
2. Set the iron for cotton. Check that the fabric can take at least 135 °C.
3. Lay a sheet of plain copy paper over the print.
4. Iron with the hot iron for 1–2 minutes, moving slowly so every part gets the heat.
5. Follow the label. Other inks need other heat. Some water-based shirt inks need about 150–160 °C (300–320 °F) and the water must be fully dried off first. Read the tin or the maker's data sheet.

Test the cure. Wash one test print the next day. If colour washes out, it was not cured enough.

Clean up

1. Scrape extra ink back into its tin with a spatula or card.
2. Wash the screen, squeegee blade and spatula with soap and water at once, before ink dries in the mesh.
3. Some colours may stain the mesh; that does not harm later prints.
4. If the job is finished, reclaim the screen (Unit 4).
5. Wipe the table, put tins away with lids on, unplug the iron.

Check yourself: Unit 5

1. What is the difference between the print stroke and the flood stroke?
2. Why must a printed T-shirt be heat-set?
3. Your prints are getting lighter each time with water-based ink. What do you do?

Competency standard

Range. One small signboard; one vinyl sticker; fixing at low height with a stepladder. Evidence. Layout sketch; finished board; applied sticker; ladder check; oral questions.

Ghana's sign tradition

Ghana is famous for hand-painted shop and barbershop signs. Since the early 2000s, printed vinyl and flex banners have taken much of that work, because they are faster to produce (not verified: popular press accounts only). Today a sign maker needs both: a good hand for lettering and the skill to prepare files, cut vinyl and order printed banners.

Simple layout and typography

1. Short message. Name, what you sell or do, phone number. Too much text makes a sign hard to read from a distance.
2. One main line. Make the business name or the main word the biggest. Everything else smaller.
3. Contrast. Dark letters on a light background, or light on dark. Black on yellow and white on deep blue read well.
4. Plain letters. Plain sans-serif letters, like Arial or Helvetica, are easier to read at a distance.
5. Letter height. A common sign-trade guide is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of letter height for every 10 feet (3 m) of reading distance:

These are estimates; font, light and contrast also matter.

6. Margins. Keep a clear border round the edge; letters must not touch the frame.
7. Spell-check. Read every word and number aloud with the customer before painting.

Letter a small signboard

Tools and materials: a smooth plywood or metal board; sandpaper; primer and background paint; sign enamel or exterior acrylic paint for letters; flat and round lettering brushes; a pencil, chalk, a long ruler or straight edge, and masking tape; a mahl stick (a stick with a soft pad at one end to rest your hand on; a broom handle wrapped with cloth works); white spirit or water for cleaning (depending on the paint), rags and gloves.

1. Prepare. Sand the board smooth, dust it, and apply primer, then two coats of background colour. Let each coat dry as the tin says.
2. Rule guidelines. With a pencil or chalk, draw a top line and a bottom line for each row of letters at the height you planned. Draw light vertical lines to space the letters.
3. Sketch. Draw the letters in pencil or chalk, simple block (sans-serif) shapes. Stand back 3 m and check the spacing.
4. Mask straight edges with tape if you like. Press the tape edges down well.
5. Paint. Rest your hand on the mahl stick. Load the brush, then pull steady strokes: verticals first, then horizontals, then curves. Keep a wet edge.
6. Second coat when dry, if the colour is thin.
7. Clean brushes at once with the right cleaner. Spread solvent rags flat outside to dry or keep them in a closed metal tin; rags soaked in solvent or oil paint can heat up and catch fire (author's advice; see the hub's Painting and Decorating course).

(These steps are standard sign-writing practice taught by the author; no single source was read for them.)

Cut and apply a vinyl sticker (by hand)

Self-adhesive sign vinyl is a thin PVC film with glue and a paper backing (liner). A widely used brand's data sheet lists it for signs, windows and vehicle graphics, up to about 6 years outdoors on vertical surfaces in a mild climate, and says not to apply it below about 8 °C (46 °F). In a hot, sunny coast climate expect a shorter life (not verified).

1. Design simple, bold letters or a shape at the final size. Print it on paper as a guide.
2. Cut. Tape the paper guide over the vinyl. With a sharp craft knife, cut through the paper and the vinyl, but not through the backing paper.
3. Weed. Peel away the vinyl you do not want, leaving your letters on the backing.
4. Transfer tape. Lay application (transfer) tape over the letters and rub it down with a plastic squeegee. The brand above recommends particular paper or clear application tapes.
5. Clean the surface (glass, metal or painted board) so it is dry, clean and free of grease. Freshly painted surfaces should cure for at least three weeks before vinyl goes on (not verified for this brand; European data sheet summary).
6. Position. Use small pieces of masking tape to hold the sticker in place. Check it is level with a spirit level or tape measure.
7. Apply. Peel the backing off, then squeegee the vinyl down from the centre outwards, pushing air out.
8. Remove the transfer tape slowly, pulling it back flat against itself. If a letter lifts, press it down and try again.

Larger jobs use a vinyl cutter (plotter). In October 2026 Ghana online listings showed 2-foot to 4-foot cutting plotters at about GH¢3,500 to GH¢8,100. Level 2 teaches plotter cutting.

Banners

Big printed banners (flex) are made on large-format printers. At Level 1 you design the banner (Unit 3 tools), order it from a large-format printer, and hang it safely:

1. Ask the printer for strong edges (hemmed) and metal eyelets along the edges.
2. Hang with rope through every eyelet, pulled tight so the wind cannot flap it. Very windy places need small slits or a mesh banner (author's advice).
3. Hanging banners on public roads needs Assembly permission. STMA's 2025 list has fees for banners and posters, and placing an advertisement without a permit carried a GH¢1,000 charge per case.

Stepladder safety (for small signs)

1. Check the ladder before use: no cracked or bent legs, feet in place, locks working.
2. Stand it on firm, level ground with all four feet touching and the steps level.
3. Engage the locks.
4. Do not stand and work on the top three steps.
5. Do not overreach: keep your belt buckle (or navel) between the ladder's sides.
6. Carry only light tools and materials. Pass the sign up with a partner.
7. Keep three points of contact (two feet and a hand) when you climb.
8. Never work near overhead electric wires. If a sign is high, heavy or near wires, stop and call a qualified installer (author's rule).

Check yourself: Unit 6

1. Using the 1-inch-per-10-feet guide, roughly how tall should letters be to read from 12 m (about 40 feet)?
2. Why must you not cut through the backing paper when cutting vinyl by hand?
3. Name two stepladder rules.

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own plan. Evidence. Costing sheet; one-page plan; oral questions.

What the market looks like (October 2026)

• Plain cotton T-shirts were advertised in Accra at about GH¢35–40 each.
• One Accra advert offered T-shirt printing at GH¢50 (the advert did not say if this was per shirt); others said "contact for price".
• Heat presses for vinyl transfers were advertised at about GH¢1,900–3,850.
• These are Accra and Kumasi online prices. Takoradi and Akwidaa prices were not verified: ask three local printers.

Location settings that give good returns

Small business ideas and ingenuity

Permits and registration

• Every business in Sekondi-Takoradi must register with the Assembly, and annual fees are due by 31 March.
• STMA's 2025 list has categories for signage makers (digital and non-digital), signage writers (electronic and manual), printing houses (large, medium, small) and graphic design companies. The printed table is hard to read, so ask the STMA revenue office which category and fee apply to you.
• Signboards also need a permit: in 2025 STMA charged GH¢8.00 per square foot for ordinary signs and GH¢4.80 per square foot for ordinary facial (wall) signs. Your customer pays the permit, but you must tell them.

Market yourself

• Samples. Print five sample shirts and bags with your own designs. Wear one.
• WhatsApp Business catalogue with clear photos of real jobs (with the customer's permission).
• Price list with "from GH¢x per shirt for 24 or more", so people know you are serious.
• Your own sign: show your best lettering.
• Honesty about logos. Tell customers you print only designs they own or have permission for. Serious clients respect that.
• See the hub's Social Media and Canva Design course for pages and posts.

Accessibility

Persons with disabilities can do much of this trade. Printing, curing, vinyl weeding, artwork on a computer and lettering can be done seated at a table of the right height. Deaf trainees can follow picture steps and written job cards; trainees with low vision can work with high-contrast labels, large-print exposure records and timers that beep and flash; climbing ladders, carrying screens to the wash and sign fixing can go to a partner. (Author's advice.) Ghana's Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) has been in force for nearly two decades, yet a 2025 audit found only 14% of public places checked had some accessibility retrofitting, so make your own shop step-free if you can. From 2026, the share of each Assembly's Common Fund for persons with disabilities rises from 3% to 5%: ask your Assembly's disability desk about support for tools.

Check yourself: Unit 7

1. Why should a quote include the cost of the screen, not only the shirts and ink?
2. Name two STMA categories that may apply to a print and sign shop.
3. A customer brings an adinkra pattern sheet and wants 200 shirts to sell. What should you check?

1. Name three items of PPE for coating and reclaiming screens.
2. What does the WHO say UV light can do to the eyes?
3. Which law protects brand logos in Ghana?
4. What is mesh count?
5. Why must artwork for a photo stencil be solid black?
6. How long should a coated diazo screen dry, and where?
7. What is a step test for?
8. Name two faults from under-exposure.
9. At what angle do you hold the squeegee for the print stroke?
10. How do you heat-set water-based fabric ink with an iron?
11. How tall should letters be to read from about 18 m (60 feet)?
12. Name three stepladder rules.

Best next reads: the Speedball Screen Printing Manual; the hub's Social Media and Canva Design course for digital design; the hub's Painting and Decorating course for paint safety.

What this module does not cover: plastisol inks and curing equipment, multi-colour registration, halftones, plotter cutting, heat-transfer vinyl, large signs and billboards, and registering a business (see Levels 2 and 3).

Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.