Couldnt wait to show off my first print to someone.
....could it have been "trapped" better , ( if trap is the right term) you can barely see some underlap
......how do I keep the other colors from sticking to the bottom of the screen ?
......should I Flash dry between each color ? or print wet ? (someone told me wet)
I flash dried the white base coat well, then ran it again
but the outlines I printed wet, should I have flashed each layer ?
I was afraid it would not stick well if I flash dried each layer too much
but I was getting plastisol sticking to the bottom of the screen
Thanks for all the help I got from reading up about it here
the hardest part was getting the graphics done, I hand drew the goat head and lettering and scanned it , then sent it by e-mail to a raster/vector service and he added the perfect font, then I got it back in Ai and sent it by e-mail to a local shop who printed the positives out,
I got a long way to go
gotta get the graphics system down too
Last edited by gumbydave; November 29th, 2007 at 02:03 AM.
you should flash between colors if the colors touch, like they do here. You can do wet on wet if the colors do not touch, but I still think you get better results if you flash. For a first attempt, they look great. I'd be pleased if I were you.
it looks like you have the Riley Hopkins 4 color press without micros right? how long did it take to set up registration? looking good man and you can only get better
Thanks for the encouragement and tips on flashing
still cant figure out how to stop the base coat from sticking to the bottom of the screen , maybe silicone spray ?
I couldn't find the answer in "how to print T's for fun and profit"
It's a 4 color 1 station Hopkins bench , no micro
it took about an hour to set up with no micro and two runs of test printing
I sure wish I had micro now, I could dial it in by dead reckoning
After this first shirt, I adjusted the red and blue outline screens and the second shirt came out better ( the one sitting on the conveyor)
I found out I need to print my white registration marks on black in order to see it through the other screens, my test fabric panels are white
How long can I leave the ink sitting on the screen ?
should I clean it off daily if I want to continue the next day ?
will it get crusty ?
I was told it's OK to leave it on the screen overnight but I find that hard to believe
How long can I leave the ink sitting on the screen ?
should I clean it off daily if I want to continue the next day ?
will it get crusty ?
I was told it's OK to leave it on the screen overnight but I find that hard to believe
You can leave the ink on the screen, its not the best though. If its standard plastisol ink you should have no problem. As I'm sure you know, the ink needs to reach about 320 degrees to cure. So unless you're working out of you're partners shop(the devil), you shouldn't have any problems. I have left ink on my screens for a couple of days, and have had no problem. I don't suggest it though, unless you have no option. Forcing yourself to have a strict clean up policy is essential, even if you are working alone. Otherwise it is too easy to form a bad habit!
p.s. Your print looks great! Be proud! Take pride in everything you do, evn cleaning up. Keep up the great work!
thanks all,
I tried to align the outline screens four different ways and there is always a tiny overlap from the white, about .0002 ( paper thin) it looks like, so I figure its just not trapped enough, without micro it took about two hours to do all that alignment and it was futile
I just did the off contact setup and it stopped the sticking
I'm finding out about different pressures and angles with the squeegie flood and pass
I scraped off the nights ink leftovers into separate containers from the new ink and covered the screens with a thin plastic drop cloth to keep dust contamination down
thanks for the advice
the graphics design part of the forum should give you some good search results for traps, spreads, chokes and all of that fun stuff. for instance the blue trap layer over the white goat looks like either the blue should be spread or the white should be choked. (that is a little white peeking out? my eyes have been better...)
i have a screen on press that doesn't move unless i need room. i run a print every couple of days if it's not in production. it doesn't see a whole lot of dust. it's been inked up a few weeks now.
when i take ink off my screens, it goes right back into the container with the new ink, Before, of course, you add any degradent. no harm done there.
if you are in an environment that sees plentiful airborne particles through the day your precautions are probably for the best.
I tried to align the outline screens four different ways and there is always a tiny overlap from the white, about .0002 ( paper thin)
You would typically choke the white underbase slightly to prevent any white from showing around the outside. That should also make aligning things a little less demanding.
ink sticking to the back of the other screen is likely to be:
1. color not flashed long enough, ink is not cured enough or
2. ink still hot - let it cool a bit - fan it with a file folder - ink cools quickly.
Dont worry about the ink. i leave the ink on for days. if you are done put the excess back in the same container, unless you blended the color, or there is a lot of dust in the ink. Dont worry about not having micros on your printer. i have them and rarely use them. it seems faster when i dont use them. i guess it will come to you with experience. You should flash between colors if they touch. i always flash between color wether they touch or not. The lines stay crisper longer. You need to let the color cool off before printing another color. when its hot its tacky and will stick to the back of the screen, or you didn't flash it long enough. you should be able to touch the print and not have ink on your finger. Are you using enough spray glue to stick the shirt to the board? When your shirtboard heats up the glue wont stick and the shirt will pop off as well. good job. good luck.
My First Print ...help ? 
it really looks good for a first 
