Renting silkscreen equipment is a cost effective way to learn about the process and practice your technique without investing in equipment. The potential also exists to make money selling a small run of T-shirts or other clothing of your own design.
Renting silkscreen equipment might be limited by where you live. There are print shops that permit use of their equipment for a fee. As of late 2010, for example, the Vera Project, in Seattle, Washington, rents its studio at $50 per hour, and its mobile studio for $200, while the Evanston Print and Paper Shop in Evanston, Illinois, charges $20 per hour for up to three hours. Absent these types of opportunities, you could initiate your own agreement with a local print or design shop to rent their equipment.
Peach Berserk in Toronto, Canada, is a designer of original silkscreened prints and women's clothing, with celebrities including Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Portia de Rossi and Paula Abdul among its clientele. If you are experienced, you can rent time at the Peach Beserk silkscreen studio and work alongside professional printing staff for $20 per hour.