Ahoy there... I've been experimenting with screen printing on t-shirts for a while. Nothing major.. just screwing around in my garage on personal designs. But recently i've been getting more serious about it and i'm having a couple of problems with a new screen that i just got.
The first, is that the coating trough i have is not wide enough for the screen, so i have to make two passes of emulsion that overlap eachother, giving me uneven coverage. I'm printing a lot of fine lines so the uneveness shows when i print. Is there any way around this? Or do i just need to get a wider coating trough?
Secondly, my new mesh is 120t (I'm printing on paper) and i'm having trouble washing out all the ink after printing. I'm using waterbased ink. Do i need a pressure washer for this sort of thread count? Or can i do it some other way? So far i've just been using warm water and a cloth. I'm on a very tight budget right now... so any tips are appreciated.
For a $20 or so investment, you should get a scoop coater wide enough for your screen and some waterbased screen wash spray.
Not only will the screen wash help you when you are finished printing, it can also open up screen clogs while you are printing. A pressure washer is not mandatory, but is of course helpful. Otherwise, just get nice strong nozzle for your yard hose.
i have a newbie question i think will fit in here can i leave the ink sit on my screens in betweens uses for a few days or should i be cleaning my screen everyday i use it? and if i should be cleaning it everyday what should i be using to clean
i have a newbie question i think will fit in here can i leave the ink sit on my screens in betweens uses for a few days or should i be cleaning my screen everyday i use it? and if i should be cleaning it everyday what should i be using to clean
If you are using plastisol ink, there is no harm in leaving the ink in the screen if you will be using it again soon. Plastisol ink never dries until it reaches that 325 degree threshold, so you will be fine.
The ink may stain your screen, but no big deal really.
Couple of newbie problems... 
