Smacken3

Okay, So I've the first 16 shirts out of 150. I'm not too highly experience with textile screen printing, but know basically what the deal is. I have been doing one flood stroke and another print stroke. For some reason the ink is not laying on too thick. It is uneven in areas once in a while. Was wondering what kind of strokes you do. The more technical the better. I have been holding it up at around 80 degrees for the print and around 45 for the flood.

 

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jundogg

hi. im also looking forward to any help about this matter. ive been experiencing this too! so bad that my prints on dark shirts are uneven and so light or thin as well. i need tips and tricks to have a better print for my black shirts. thanks and regards

 

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Fluid

uneven prints can be caused by a couple of things.
Palette is not level
Frame is warped
inconsistent pressure when printing
too much/not enough off contact
A combination of all the above

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jundogg

nice. thanks for the info richard!

 

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RichardGreaves

Quote: Originally Posted by Smacken3 For some reason the ink is not laying on too thick. It is uneven in areas once in a while.

Mesh has thickness. If you want more ink deposit, you have to use a thicker mesh.

As for stroke, you can adjust this in less than 2 minutes.

Straight up and down is 0 degrees. This doesn't work because there is too much chatter.

90 degrees is when the squeegee falls in the screen. 80 degrees is an excellent flood stroke.

When you print, I want you to hear a scraping noise as the lip of the blade, scrapes over the mesh. No noise, no scraping the inside of the mesh, printing the same amount of ink each time. From automatic printing, I know that 15 - 20 degrees is an excellent start. The feel will help you adjust.

You can play games with your mesh and squeegee combination, like a pro golfer playing an entire round with a single club, but this is not efficient and will not help you when you actually get an automatic press where there is no 'feel'.

Use a variety of meshes first choosing mesh to support the detail of your image, then thickness to decide the ink deposit.

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jundogg

thanks Greaves!

about the "noise". i aint hearing it whenever i stroke. does it mean i gotta give a little harder or my squeegee is a flop?

i notice when i give an 80 deg angle, the blade is curling. is it too soft to handle the downward pressure and pull?

 

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RichardGreaves

Quote: Originally Posted by jundogg I aint hearing it whenever i stroke. does it mean i gotta give a little harder or my squeegee is a flop? i notice when i give an 80 deg angle, the blade is curling. is it too soft to handle the downward pressure and pull?

Here, Mike is about to flood. As he floods, he also lowers the frame and the squeegee, yet pressing very hard. That looks like 45 degrees. Listen for the scraping sound.





More pressure may help even out your print. If you have a mushy blade you will get a mushy print. If the blade bends, you just waste energy bending the blade. You must overcome the mesh resistance, so it shouldn't bend.


You can't play guitar with a business card, you need a stiff pick to stand up to the tight strings. Pressing harder just bends the card, and the strings laugh at you.

I want you to make some test prints with a putty knife. It won't flex over bumps, but you shouldn't have any bumps.

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