darwinchristian

I know this topic has been discussed at length, but i am having some difficulties with the process.

I'm running Wilflex's Bright Tiger white through a 156 for my underbase, p/f/p on black Hanes PrintPro XP Ultimate Cotton Hoodies.

The ink is clearing the screen very well, and the end result with the white does not look bad. Seemingly sufficient fiber mat-down. Until I print my Union maroon color on top with a 230. It leaves little specks of white showing through.

I've tried p/f/p with the red, but the specks remain. I am in the process of drying a new screen with red on 156.

I absolutely hate the idea of a 110 underbase, but am willing to try it if someone tells me this is the problem.

Should I expect decent results with the new screen, or is there something going on elsewhere?

any and all help much appreciated.

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torodesigns

Derek you are heading in the right direction . . . you probably can use a curable soft hand or detakifier to thin the red and see if it clears the screen better on that 256 . . if you don't have any then you may need the 155 screen. Let us know.

 

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torodesigns

Also, one more thing to try is make sure your second layer of white is gelled enough to run the maroon.

 

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darwinchristian

Quote: Originally Posted by torodesigns you probably can use a curable soft hand or detakifier to thin the red and see if it clears the screen better on that 256 . .

The viscosity of the red is actually real thin and nice. I believe that the specks are caused by slight depressions in the white layer, and the thin red ink is having difficulty filling them. That's why I'm hoping the 156 mesh will allow more ink to fill the void. Will post back on that.

Quote: Originally Posted by torodesigns Also, one more thing to try is make sure your second layer of white is gelled enough to run the maroon.

I'm definately gelled well. I almost think I'm flashing too long.

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jeffie

Hey, you said you are pfp white...me thinks should be pfpf then red...... just asking have you tried just red 156 screen pfp that is how we roll of course we are more "industral" printers as opposed to "artsy"....jeff

 

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EastBayScreen

Ideally the voids wouldn't be in the white layer to begin with, so I'd address that problem first.
But since they are, try more pressure on your red hit. Not too much though, or you'll squish out.
Remember that printing on an underbase is like printing on a piece of flexible plastic, not a piece of cotton.

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robman

You are most definitely over-flashing the Brt Tiger. Modern bleed-resistant inks use an expansion agent for the dye migration resistant properties (hence why these inks are packaged in oversized containers many times).

When overflashing -- you are releasing the gas through the overprint color -- resulting in tiny "pinhole" like appearance. Use a temperature gun (less than $100) to measure flash. The ink will gel dry to the touch by 230 F. Anything higher is unnecessary.

Hoep this helps!

 

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darwinchristian

Quote: Originally Posted by jeffie Hey, you said you are pfp white...me thinks should be pfpf then red...... just asking have you tried just red 156 screen pfp that is how we roll of course we are more "industral" printers as opposed to "artsy"....jeff

I was pfpf then red, to be sure... then flashed again for a trap black with halftone shades through a 305. the 230 mesh for the red seemed an obvious mistake. shot a new screen on 156 mesh and the situation improved, but did not result in "perfect."

Quote: Originally Posted by EastBayScreen Ideally the voids wouldn't be in the white layer to begin with, so I'd address that problem first. But since they are, try more pressure on your red hit. Not too much though, or you'll squish out. Remember that printing on an underbase is like printing on a piece of flexible plastic, not a piece of cotton.

I've found this to be some of the most valuable advice i could have hoped for. I've been so adamant that 110 mesh is overused and a waste of emulsion and ink that i desperately wanted to print forever without it. what a newbie i feel like. once i switched over to the 110 for my white layer, coupled with the 156 for the red, i resulted with a perfect print. sure, a little heavier than i wanted but on a 10 oz hoodie who cares...

Quote: Originally Posted by robman You are most definitely over-flashing the Brt Tiger. When overflashing -- you are releasing the gas through the overprint color -- resulting in tiny "pinhole" like appearance.

This may be the case, and it'd be interesting to run it again with slower times and less heat in the flash. I did, however, when curing the hoods through the dryer reach a bit above 400 degrees surface temp (with the temp gun) and got that gassy pinhole look. With my cheapo conveyor dryer i ended up having to run each item through twice, constantly monitoring temp.

the good news is... everything came out perfect and i only messed up the test hoodie i ordered. and it passed the wash test. the customer was happy.

thanks to all for the input. this has been a good learning experience for me to be sure.

derek

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