Making a screen for the projector do it yourself

The projector, high-quality audio system and a screen on the wall allow you to create an atmosphere of being in a real cinema at home. Multimedia projectors suitable for this purpose cost at least 40, 000 rubles, sound systems are even more expensive. And the price of the most budget screens starts from 2500-3000 rubles. Many people think about whether a piece of white cloth is worth such money and whether it is possible to make a screen for the projector with your own hands.

If you use this equipment in an office, cafe or exhibition, where the video is just an atmosphere creating background or a way to convey information, where image quality does not make much difference, then it really does not make sense to overpay. In such conditions, even the most expensive equipment will not show all its advantages due to improper lighting, extraneous noise, too open or, conversely, close space.

But if you set out to imitate a full-fledged cinema at home, think several times whether it is worth saving on such an important part. Imagine that you have invested more than one hundred thousand rubles in a room setting with the right lighting and acoustics conditions, a high-quality projector, a stereo system, and suddenly you hang a homemade piece of cloth on the wall. Whether you can pick up really high-quality material and save money is a big question.

What can you make a screen for the projector

If you are puzzled by the question of how to make a screen for a projector with your own hands without loss of quality, first of all, you need to know what material is used in professional equipment, why and what properties will be critical for it.

Standard material is a vinyl canvas with different properties of density, texture, light reflection, different coating. Often there is a situation that only the central part is bright on the purchased material, and to the edges the clarity is lost. On widely advertised matte screens at home, it is difficult to achieve high contrast and completely black, they are only suitable for conditions of total darkness. And at home, even at night there is usually a weak light from the windows. There are surfaces with very high reflectivity, which create a glowing effect from the inside, but are not comfortable for the house due to improper viewing angle: only part of the picture is clearly seen. Canvases of different shades of gray are gaining popularity, allowing for a good depth of color and a clear black.

Consider what you can make the screen for the projector at home:

  1. Banner fabric. Sold by advertisers, is relatively inexpensive, from 300 rubles per sheet. In online stores, material is sold in rolls of 40–50 meters, so you need to search for outdoor advertising firms in your city and buy the right size from them. The main important property is the opacity, the canvas should transmit light as much as possible. Ideal material for duplex printing with an internal black layer, preferably matte, because the gloss will be glare. It’s not difficult to do a screen for a projector from a banner with your own hands, and its quality will be no worse than the factory one.

  2. Cloth for stretch ceilings. It lures many with the fact that it has a matte texture and can be gray, it is easy to achieve perfect evenness (after warming up with a hairdryer, it stretches perfectly onto the frame). But there is also a significant disadvantage: transparency is too high, so making a projection screen of this material is still not recommended. Is it possible to put some black film under it, but in this case the question arises of the cost of construction.

  3. A variety of solid materials: polystyrene, plywood, whiteboard for markers and the like. In principle, this is the most budget option to make your cinema out of improvised means, lying around after repairs. But one should not expect a particularly high quality picture, although the question of the lightness and smoothness of the surface itself is important here. Many resort to painting the usual water-based paint, and it turns out quite well.
  4. Professional paint, created specifically for such purposes. It is desirable to use at the planning stage and the final repair of the premises. It requires only a prepared smooth surface, applied evenly with a spray. The range is huge: from the usual white to color with a superpower display mode 4K. Yes, there is a moment, the price starts from 500 euros per bank, which is enough for a diagonal of about 3 meters.

Banner fabric projector screen

The most popular, budget and easily do-it-yourself do-it-yourself version of the screen for any projector is to make it from an advertising banner. It is better not to take the used banner, because it will be at least crumpled and dirty. Buy a size with a margin and start making:

  1. Create a frame-basis. It can be made from planed wooden timber, cutting metal corners with something like a frame with a crossbar. The design should have rigidity and evenness: measure everything out by level. It is necessary to observe the proportions of the visible part of the canvas: 4: 3 for the standard video sequence, 16: 9 for HDTV.

It is more convenient and faster to make the basis of the usual metal curtain rail for curtains: cut with an impeller to the desired length, insert into the fasteners in the upper bar, and in the bottom just plugs.

  1. Carefully lay the banner on the floor. If the construction is wooden, then fix the hollow on the back side with a construction stapler. If you use a metal bar, then glue the fabric with super glue. If the rod is wooden, then you can use both glue and stapler.
  2. Attach the design to the wall.

The screen made of a banner is unpretentious, does not fade and does not lose its properties. In general, a good and budget option.

If there is a desire and time to make something more complicated, then you can make the design collapsible and even add automatism. Some masters manage to create a screen for an electric-powered projector:

  1. 2 metal or wooden pipes are used, on which the banner fabric is fastened (at the top and bottom of the canvas).
  2. The upper pipe is inserted into a wider (plastic sewer can be used) with the use of bearings at the edges. Bearings must be firmly seated on the pipe, which is wound on the canvas, so as not to slip.
  3. With one of the parties is the lifting mechanism. You can make the drive mechanical, for that enough bolt as an axis and torque arm. In the case of an electric drive, besides the axis, an electric lifting mechanism is needed.
  4. You can use the window lifter mechanism from the car, you can use an electric screwdriver, a part from a toy and the like. In addition, you will need a power supply, suitable from the old computer.
  5. Next you need to connect everything correctly, you will need basic knowledge in the field of radio electronics, and securely fasten to the wall.
  6. Many even manage to make a remote control for the design, buying the necessary electrical parts in Chinese online stores.

Using paint in the manufacture of the screen do it yourself

It happens that the desire to make a screen for the projector with your own hands does not arise for reasons of economy, but in pursuit of the best image quality. Then there is the idea of ​​painting the surface. Before we talk about professional offers, we mention the homemade options. If you made a banner of plywood, laminated chipboard, you can paint the surface. The most economical way - the usual white water emulsion. Many people use gray or silver automotive paint. The Internet forums have recipes for a mixture of different shades of acrylic paints. Reflective paint, as in road signs and on car numbers, has proven itself well. Conducting experiments, we should not forget about the budget that is spent on it. Does it make sense to try, if you already have professional solutions: a special paint for the surface used as a screen.

The manufacturer offers a selection of colors for your lighting conditions, the parameters of the projector, allows you to play 4K, 8K UHD video. The paint is characterized by proper color reproduction, highlight absorption and high clarity of the image. Use also does not cause difficulties:

  1. It is necessary to calculate the maximum possible size based on the area of ​​the room and the characteristics of the projector.
  2. Further on the prepared wall borders are marked. The main requirement - as smooth as possible surface. Suitable preparation of a good quality finishing putty.
  3. A masking tape is attached along the perimeter.
  4. Coloring is done in stripes from top to bottom, preferably with a sprayer for a better result.

The screen, made independently, besides all the advantages in price and quality, will also be a source of pride, a part of the interior, invented and created on an individual project to suit your preferences. If you have ideas on what else you can make a screen for the projector, leave comments below.