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yajirobee · March 29th, 2009

I started screen printing recently and Plasticol ink was recommended by a friend. I've noticed that Plasticol ink leaves a raised profile on my shirts. The inks on the professionally made shirts that I've bought seem to have no profile at all. The design appears to be part of the fabric. What kind of ink or process are they using?

ino · March 29th, 2009

its most probably water based ink.

jeffie · March 29th, 2009

We do work for several deli,pizza ,& small places seems they all want that gooped up armor thick ink on their dark shirts. coments like will this wash off or the last ones looked thicker ...we may try using puff on them to quell the noise...some like alot some not so much..we like to get a shirt to guage what has been done in the past & and what the expectation is ...jeff

n.signia · March 29th, 2009

Discharge inks can be used and yeild no hand at all, especially if used with pigments. soft feel as though it is part of the shirt.

yajirobee · March 29th, 2009

Okay so that's what "hand" means. I got lots to learn. Thanks everyone.

ino · March 29th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by yajirobee


	Okay so that's what "hand" means. I got lots to learn. Thanks everyone.

Don't worry mate,I'm not much better myself.
One thing to remember is that no question is too stupid to ask.

studog79 · March 29th, 2009

They probably do not know what they are doing. You need to use the right mess to get a softer hand with plastiso. Also knowing what addatives or base to use does that also.

Plus like they said here waterbase and discharge leave the softesthand.

jonesi98596 · March 30th, 2009

mesh, off contact, squeegee angle all affect your print. for white i use QCM 158 or 159 white ink on a 160 mesh with a 70 derometer squeegee. when i print i do flood print, print, flash, flood, print. for darker colors like black i use a 160 up to a 305 mesh and do 1 or 2 pulls depending on the print and you cant even feel it on the shirt. just try and get your image to clear in the least amount of pulls.

SCOTTDOC · April 2nd, 2009

really you use a 160 mesh for plastisol on textiles? nice. must have strong fingers.
is the print still nice and smooth?
is the colour still nice and opaque on black after a 2 or 3 hits? i like plastisol but agree that it can get a bit bullet proof. this may help me. i use 53 mesh count for a white non detailed base because a high mesh count after 100 t's kills me.

jonesi98596 · April 2nd, 2009

ill admit it can be a work out and some finger cramping on large orders, but i have gotten used to it and as i have gotten better with squeegee angle, less pressure is required. sharp squeegees help too, a squeegee sharpener can be a nice investment. today i was printing a 2 color white/blue on black with the whit being a full under plate, both screens were 160 mesh. for the white i would do flood print, flash, no flood print and for the blue just flood print. the colors are very bright and the hand is very smooth, with a very low prfile. your print shouldnt feel bullit proof, you should have just enough off contact for the screen to peel of the platen, sharp squeegee fairly hard like a 70 durometer, TIGHT screens, and clear the screen in 1 or 2 hits (you want to shear the ink off w/ the squeegee) flash and the same, more hits and it starts to build up and get bullet proof.

SCOTTDOC · April 3rd, 2009

how is your thread count done there i find it hard to believe that you can clear a 100+ mesh with one pull on fabric whether it be with a sharp squeegee or what.

the standard t-shirt screen here (in NZ) is for t-shirts 43-77 for a base, this is done as 43 squares per cm2 or do we have a different metric.

cutme · April 3rd, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCOTTDOC


	how is your thread count done there i find it hard to believe that you can clear a 100+ mesh with one pull on fabric whether it be with a sharp squeegee or what. the standard t-shirt screen here (in NZ) is for t-shirts 43-77 for a base, this is done as 43 squares per cm2 or do we have a different metric.

we go by inches here in the states.

bb

cutme · April 3rd, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by yajirobee


	I started screen printing recently and Plasticol ink was recommended by a friend. I've noticed that Plasticol ink leaves a raised profile on my shirts. The inks on the professionally made shirts that I've bought seem to have no profile at all. The design appears to be part of the fabric. What kind of ink or process are they using?

i just finished reading and watching these videos. you might find them helpful as well.

Screen Printing White Ink, Screen Printing White, Silk Screening White Ink

bb

Solmu · April 3rd, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCOTTDOC


	do we have a different metric.

Yes; America still uses the imperial system, whereas the rest of the world uses metric measurement. A 160 screen is only 63T; quite easy to manually print (with waterbased ink anyway, I don't use plastisol).

When they're correctly notated (##T for metric ### for imperial) they're easy to tell apart; otherwise it's just a matter of reading for context.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCOTTDOC


	this is done as 43 squares per cm2

Actually mesh count is linear - it's 43 threads per cm, vs. 110 per inch for the equivalent American mesh.

davisint · April 3rd, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCOTTDOC


	how is your thread count done there i find it hard to believe that you can clear a 100+ mesh with one pull on fabric whether it be with a sharp squeegee or what. the standard t-shirt screen here (in NZ) is for t-shirts 43-77 for a base, this is done as 43 squares per cm2 or do we have a different metric.

I believe your standard is actually 43-77 threads per cm not squares per cm2. That would equate to 110-195 threads per inch which are common plastisol mesh counts in the states. (squares/cm2 would yield 16-22 threads per inch which would only be used to print glitter)

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