one month in...what i've learned,what i need to know!
hello everybody,i'm Jason ,i'm a massachusetts firefighter was injured on the job and awaiting back surgery and thought to start a screenprinting buissness as a part time gig.i'm brand new to the buis with no prior printing,design or art experience and i'm trying to learn through trial and error and with internet info and i need to say thanks to everybody on these boards! it seems like whenever i have an issue i look around here and find an answer,i feel like i'm ahead of where i should be thanks to this board.with all that said I have some problems with the way my work is coming out,they are:
-the ink looks too shiny almost cheap looking when cured. (international coatings ink)
-not getting a nice clean crisp even coating,heavy on one side of image light on other
-using softhand,i have mixed it at 5% and it seem to do nothing so i did 25% and its still not very soft
-i have to continually clean the print side of my screen because ink is getting under design and i lose detail
i not sure what i'm doing wrong
the only thing i'm positive i learned was I NEED MICRO REGISTRATION!
man,its a pain lining up and lveling those screens.....
thanks everyone
Re: one month in...what i've learned,what i need to know!
well sounds like you got your hands full. dont mean to break your spirits here but screen printing is not exactly something that is a good side gig for someone that just had back surgery, unless you have an automatic press. none the less go for it, i applaud your courage. to start from scratch is a huge step. i worked in a shop for a couple of years. this was about ten year ago. i just got back into it, alot of things to learn. i recommend studying every single aspect. graphics, how to create them for screen printing. overlaping colors, adding outlines for seperations etc.etc. making a good positive, using the right paper/film for your positve, having the right printer to print them, the right ink for your printer, not to mention the right rip software. study your ink, how it cures what temp etc. screens(mesh counts, different meshes, how to clean, reclaim, degrease, haze removal, drying, coating, drying, burning aka exposure time. seting up. just because you have micro registration does not mean your out of the woods. some machines are still hard to use with this feature. is your machine calibrated correctly. are your pellets warped, is you flash curing to much and having the second coat wash off. is your final cure at the right temp.. i can go on for pages and pages.
to answer your qustion about ink getting under your design. your stencil is probbably to thin. you need a nice thick stencil in most cases. a gasket of sorts. you also need the thickness on the print side, not the squeegee side. this creates a space for the ink to lie in and be built up. if your stencil is to thin, your ink is just spreading because of your preasure. hard to explain in words. but i think thats your problem
if you have alot of problems lining up colors it can be your artwork, your positives, screens, mesh counts, exposure time. heres a small example. i expose some screens longer to thin out somelines during exposure, or vise versa. i also use different mesh counts like lower counts to get my ink to spread just a bit more than higher mesh counts. this helps in butting up my colors. all trial and error.
bottom line is there is alot to learn, alot of headaches. my advice is work on each problem. weed out cheap equipment. over the past two years i have repalced my wood pallets with alluminum. because i warped them because of high temps when flash curing. i monitor my flash cure and final curing with a temp gun. i learned how to make nice thick stencils. i also learned a good preasure stroke for printing finer detail work. and all this is just the tip of the iceberg.
go to conventions and screen printing shows, take all the workshops you can, subscribe to all the industry magazins, ask alot of questions. it wont happen overnight, but when you solve a problem it builds your confidence. i learned more taking two days of workshops than i did working two years working for someone. when i learned about stencil thickness it solved alot of my problems.
hope this helps. read, read, and read. when professionals right an article its because they have gone through the trial and error phase. dont ignore the fine print
Re: one month in...what i've learned,what i need to know!
Jason
I'm in the same boat. I have found a lot of great info and help form
silkscreensupplies.com. They are good to work with and they are a lot of help
Re: one month in...what i've learned,what i need to know!
Not all inks are made the same. You may have purchased an ink designed for printing on dark garments where you have to leave a film of ink on top of the shirt surface. Light colored shirts should be printed with an ink that is absorbed by the shirt so you can print wet-on-wet without smearing the inks.
In these forums it is very helpfull to be specific about how you are printing. Who did you buy from, where do you live, which ink and mesh count.
Mesh count is a clue to mesh thickness which will determine you ink deposit.
Squeegee angle and softness will influence the amount of ink you transfer through the mesh.
I agree with comments I read above about the strain on your back. Keep one of your feet under the printing platen and try to arch your back.
You will intinctively bend to keep your balance, but bending forward puts extra strain on the back and spine.
When you stand or sit, (depending on your weight) the load on your spine is equal to 100 pounds. Bending forward 30 degrees with your arms outstretched and the load on your spine jumps to 300 pounds as the back muscles contract to keep you from toppling over. Add a weight ( the squeegee) or try to excert pressure at the end of your arms and the strain increases to nearly 500 pounds (depending on the pressure).
Reduce this strain by getting your lower back closer to the press.
This is good advice for anytime you lift a weight. Keep your back
straight and use your legs. Instead of standing with a leg straight up and down at the edge of the platen, move your leading leg under the platen and bend it like a boxer. You will be able to reach farther down the platen with less strain. Move your loading table as close as possible so you don't have to move your feet when printing. Do the same for the take off position and move end of the platen 18" from the belt. I shudder when I see a printer taking 1000 to 3000 steps during a day. 3000 average strides is nearly 2 miles.
Re: one month in...what i've learned,what i need to know!
I have also purchased the "How to print t-shirts for fun and profit" it's very informative (I recommend as well). Although, I find that I learn better when watching someone else. I also purchased this video which does have a few holes, but has helped me tremendously. And always use all the material you have to cross reference and figure out what works best for you.
There are a lot of other DVD's out there as well, but I have not personally watched any of them so I cant really give you and info on those. There are quite a few videos on this site that you may want to look into as well. You don’t have to buy them from this site either, you could always look them up to see if you can find them cheaper on google, amazon, ebay, or what have you.
Re: one month in...what i've learned,what i need to know!
thanks to everyone for all the great advice.
amp,that makes perfect sense about the gasket,thanks.i have been going with a thinner coat of emulsion due to some earlier screens not washing out.
to answer what equipment i'm using it ryonet's blue 4 color press w/110 mesh screens. i expose my screens with a halogen light mounted/pvc frame cheapie,similar to what ryonet sells.
does anyone use international coatings ink? what are your thoughts about it?
thanks again
Re: one month in...what i've learned,what i need to know!
If You Are Having Problems With Screens Washing Out, Let The Screen Sit A Minute Or So After You Have Scrubbed It With The Emulsion Remover. If You Are Using A Concentrate Try To Make It Stronger By Adding Less Water To Your Mix.
Re: one month in...what i've learned,what i need to know!
Quote:
Originally Posted by amp267
If You Are Having Problems With Screens Washing Out, Let The Screen Sit A Minute Or So After You Have Scrubbed It With The Emulsion Remover. If You Are Using A Concentrate Try To Make It Stronger By Adding Less Water To Your Mix.
sorry,i should of been more clear,my image was not washing out after i burned the screen,i think my emulsion was too thick so i went thinner and i think thats probably my gasket problem
Re: one month in...what i've learned,what i need to know!
Your Positives Might Not Be Dark Enough. If You Are Having Problems With Wash Out, Make Sure When You Wash Them Out, To Try To Do It Under Safe Lighting To Prevent Your Positive From Being Exposed Before Having Enough Time To Wash It Out.
When I Started To Make My Stencils Alot Thicker, It Added About Double The Wash Out Time, Then When I Had A Thin Stencil/screen.
The Problem With Not Having Dark Enough Positives Is That Light Gets Through And Prevents Your Image From Washing Out. You Can Try Less Exposure Time But Then You Run Into The Problem Of The Rest Of The Screen Not Hardening Properly. You Should Look Into Getting An Exposure Calculator. This Will Help You Determain The Right Settings. You Might Also Think About Getting A Printer With A Rip Software. This Will Help You Lay Down A Nice Dark Positive, And Also Make Halftones. I Have Been Getting Away With A Cheap Cannon Printer To Make My Positives, But I Still Run Into My Fair Share Of Problems. I Will Be Getting An Epson R1800 With One Of The Rip Software Programs Out There. Still Doing Some Research
one month in...what i've learned,what i need to know! 
