Do-it-yourself projector screen: what should it be, from what materials and how to make it?

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A home-made screen for a projector has such a set of advantages over purchased models - low cost and individuality. So, with minimal investment you can make a screen of any size and any proportions, based on your personal needs, projector capabilities, room sizes. How to make it, find out.

Content:

  1. What requirements should the screen meet?
  2. Homemade screen sizes
  3. What to make a screen for a projector?
  4. Making a screen by painting a wall
  5. Making a screen using linen
  6. Video: Home-made PVC banner and cornice screen

What requirements should the screen meet?

Any special surface onto which the image is projected must have certain properties, otherwise there is no difference between the screen and the plain white stucco on the wall. What are these properties?

  • Flat and flat surface. Correct geometric shape of the surface is necessary for the absence of distortion. This is especially important if you want to watch movies or play games with the 3D effect - irregularities and bends in the surface will distort the image.
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  • High reflectivity. If the screen material absorbs light rather than reflecting it, the picture will be dull and inexpressive, or you will have to look for a projector with increased brightness (see how to choose a projector), but the higher the brightness - the higher the price, moreover, more often you will have to change an expensive lamp, pay more for electricity. So, it is easier to choose the right material, given that the surface of the screen should not be glossy, but should only reproduce color, and not mirror it.

Noticeable differences in the reflectivity or color intensity of the material are unacceptable, because otherwise the overall visual impression immediately worsens.

  • Light weight. Most likely, the screen will be next to electronic equipment - a projector, a personal computer, a TV, an audio system. There is a risk of the screen falling with a large weight on a fragile device, from which it can fail.
Screen for the projector

Based on the requirements put forward, in our review we will not consider a design option for a flexible screen that rolls into a roll. Moreover, the option with an electric drive for folding disappears, since this:

  • greatly increases the cost of materials for manufacturing (box, electric drive);
  • requires a lot of labor;
  • there is a high probability of assembling a poor-quality design, as a result, the flexible web can be deformed or even deteriorate when folded.

We will manufacture a cheap stationary screen that can be done alone and in a few hours. No special skills are required - just being able to use conventional tools is enough.

Homemade screen sizes

You need to immediately determine what aspect ratio will be in our design. The following standards exist (in terms of prevalence):

  • 3: 4 (video format of the old television);
  • 16: 9 (HD-TV);
  • 2.35: 1 (IMAX format).

The rest of the standards are relatively small - they are rarely used to watch movies.

If you plan to watch mostly movies of a new generation or use the screen as a computer monitor, it is better to choose the 16: 9 format.

What to make a screen for a projector?

For the independent manufacture of projector screens with their own hands, the following materials are usually used (we list them together with the advantages and disadvantages):

  • Cloak. A good option. Not afraid of moisture, hand touch, tobacco smoke.
  • Thick canvas. Dense fabric is used, for example, new white sheets. To improve the reflectivity, the fabric can be additionally dyed with white paint. You can also make an opaque reflective substrate, for example, from dense black polyethylene.
  • Vinyl. One of the best options in terms of display quality, however, some problems are possible. The price of vinyl is quite high, you will have to look for a roll of suitable width, and most importantly - in working with it you need to be extremely careful so as not to tear and stretch the material. In addition, the surface of the final product will also be very sensitive.
  • Stretch ceiling. If you have the skill of installing "French" ceilings, perhaps this is your option. You just need to choose the right fabric. Pull it on the frame from the company profile - and a great screen is ready!
  • Banner fabric. One of the most popular options. It has high strength (because the material is intended for outdoor advertising, exposure to frost, direct sunlight and wind). It has a good reflection coefficient. Banner rolls on the market have a large selection of sizes, which allows you to easily pick up the fabric of the desired width.
Banner fabric

Home craftsmen with experience in manufacturing screens recommend using a fabric with an opaque inner layer (“blackout”).

  • Fiberboard / cardboard. A good option at the very last limit of cheapness, on the verge of losing screen properties. The final product will not be moisture resistant, durable and impressive, but it will be quite normal to perform its function.
  • Drywall. Another popular option. The material is very easy to process, but fragile and relatively heavy. Align the deformed area, if it appears, is almost impossible. It is enough to cut the rectangle of the desired size and paint it with matte white paint.
  • Paint on a specially prepared section of the wall. One of the easiest options. Pros - making such a screen is simple, fast and cheap. In addition, such a screen will never fall. Cons - it can not be moved if such a need arises.

Summing up, we see that there are only two approaches: painting a section of the wall / drywall or using some kind of sheet material, which is usually stretched over a removable frame.

Next, we will analyze both options, describing in detail each stage of creating a screen and frames for it.

Making a screen by painting a wall

A good option for those who are sure that the furniture will not move, and the walls - repainted. The advantage of the technology is that you can paint the entire wall, and thus be able to increase or decrease the image area. Although sometimes craftsmen make a black frame to emphasize the position of the screen in the interior.

The color of the paint may be white, light gray or even black. The most common color, of course, is white. However, when watching old black-and-white films, the black background color is better, otherwise the balance of contrasting colors looks completely unnatural. Gray is a compromise solution, best suited to conventional 2-D films.

The work plan is as follows:

Wall preparation

Prepare the wall:

  1. Alignment. Use the construction level to determine the verticality and smoothness of the wall. You can plaster the wall if necessary.
  2. Padding. Primer paint should be matte and provide the outer layer of paint maximum smoothness of the texture.

Coloring

We proceed to the selection and application of paint. There are many options on the market for painting walls “under the projector” - they are all called “screen-paint”. There are quite expensive varieties that need to be applied in several layers. The price for them can reach hundreds of dollars. But you can use a screen-paint and easier - for 300 rubles a bank.

It is best to apply paint with a roller. So you will avoid the uneven distribution of paint falling from the brush hairs, adhered to the wall, and generally paint faster with a roller.

Wall painting

Makeshift frame

Most home masters frame the screen in black - they paint the frame with black paint or apply thin magnetic strips to a special paint for screens (strips are usually included in complete set). But this can not be done in order to save “room for maneuver” and not feel discomfort while watching a movie with an aspect ratio of 3: 4 inside the 16: 9 frame.

Making a screen using linen

In this case, the work is carried out in two stages:

The first stage is the manufacture of the frame

Need a rigid frame, which will require and pull the canvas. It can be made of wooden bars or a metal profile, for example, duralumin. The upper part of the frame, bearing the main load, can be taken from an already finished design. For example, from pipes for attaching curtains (usually they come with fastenings to the ceiling). It all depends on your plan: where exactly, and how the screen will fit into the interior.

Consider the option of making a frame of wood. In this case, we need:

  • straight straight bars of the required length;
  • metal boxes (profile) from aluminum or duralumin;
  • metal corners for rigid fixation of frame parts among themselves;
  • fabric to create the surface (it is better to take a little more than necessary);
  • material for the substrate (thin felt, polyethylene);
  • tools and consumables (tape measure, construction knife / tailor's scissors, screwdriver, furniture stapler with brackets, sandpaper, hanging ears, self-tapping screws).
Frame manufacturing

The frame should consist of a minimum of 5 parts: four form the perimeter (the frame itself), and the fifth (maybe the sixth) should be inserted between long sides, adding structural rigidity, otherwise the frame may skew or a twisted state ("screw"). It is possible to use strips of dense fabric for mutual tension of opposite sides, but this should be done only after the formation of an exact rectangle.

After sawing the bars, all the ends and ribs must be cleaned with sandpaper. You can verify the correct shape of the frame by measuring diagonals: if the distance between opposite corners is the same, then the bars converge exactly at right angles:

The second stage - stretching the canvas

When the frame is ready, you can stretch the canvas (vinyl, raincoat fabric). Work is best done on a soft surface so as not to damage the fabric. We lay felt or polyethylene, if necessary. Next, we staple the material to the tree in this order:

  1. We start from any angle.
  2. Choose the angle on the short side, pull the material a little and fasten.
  3. We start from the already nailed short side, shooting with a stapler alternately on opposite sections of the long sides. Each time before attaching the fabric is slightly stretched so as not to leave creases. So we move to the edge of the frame.
  4. We fix the fabric on the second short side and in the last corner.
  5. We finish the work by cutting off excess material with a knife.

If desired, you can additionally paint the surface with special paint.

We attach ears to the frame for hanging. You can make a contrasting black frame to give a noble look.

In the following video, you can see how to make a screen with a diameter of 3 m from a material for suspended ceilings - a satin whip, which is attached to an aluminum frame:

Video: Home-made PVC banner and cornice screen

In the video below, a home craftsman shows how he assembled a screen for a projector from the simplest materials at hand:

We found out how and from which it is possible to create an inexpensive and high-quality screen for a home projector. We hope that our tips were useful to you, and you will be able to assemble a decent design for a home theater!

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