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thining plastisol



 
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Old August 15th, 2008 Aug 15, 2008 6:36:34 PM -   #1 (permalink)
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Question thining plastisol

Has anyone ever done much with thinning of plastisol inks? I'm printing white on black shirts and think maybe my ink is kind of thick. It doesn't flow to good or I have to press hard to get it to shirt, and I have to do many coats to get coverage.
 
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Old August 15th, 2008 Aug 15, 2008 7:02:17 PM -   #2 (permalink)
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Default Re: thining plastisol

If you thin your highly developed white ink, it will be like milk that will soak and penetrate the shirt. You won't be happy with the result. You are probably trying to change the ink because it is the only thing you can change, once you made that screen. I don't think it's a good idea to ruin the opacity of your white ink, focus on what you can do, to make the ink transfer through the mesh and form a film on the surface of your shirt.

The single most important variable for printing white ink is higher tension, or the crutch of raising the off-contact, so the squeegee increases the mesh tension as it brings itself into momentary contact with the shirt.

Remember this will also stretch your image as you stretch your mesh. Not good for registration, but your image will print better. Be Fred Astaire, not The Hulk.
  • High tension
  • Low off-contact
  • Stiff blade
  • The ink has no chance!
Make a test on scrap fabric and raise the off-contact as high as you can. Put wooden stir sticks under the frame to elevate it. Print the image with a stiff blade so it doesn't bend as it has to overcome the mesh tension. If you have a putty knife, print an image with that too. Yes, you might have to round the corners of the blade.

Make another type of test by printing your image on a piece of dark paper. It will be perfect. Cure the paper. Peel the ink off the paper. Spread it on a dark shirt.

That is what your ink and screen are capable of.

This is why the transfer is still the best white ink image - all on the surface. We can learn from that and try to duplicate the idea.
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Last edited by RichardGreaves; August 15th, 2008 at 07:21 PM.
 
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Old August 15th, 2008 Aug 15, 2008 9:23:41 PM -   #3 (permalink)
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Default Re: thining plastisol

thankyou veery much for the help. I definitely will not thin it.you sound like you have a lot of experience at this
 
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Old August 15th, 2008 Aug 15, 2008 9:24:54 PM -   #4 (permalink)
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Default Re: thining plastisol

and thank you also fred. It's nice to receive help from you nice people.
 
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Old August 15th, 2008 Aug 15, 2008 10:11:25 PM -   #5 (permalink)
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Default Re: thining plastisol

I used to print white by pushing, not pulling the squeegie at an almost 80-90 degree angle with a stiff blade. This had the effect of leaving a heavier ink deposit allowing for more opacity. A lot of jobs could have passed without print-flash-print. Try it, it'll work.
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Old August 15th, 2008 Aug 15, 2008 10:14:02 PM -   #6 (permalink)
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Default Re: thining plastisol

I'll try your push method the next time I'm doing white. Thank you for the help
 
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