Lot of pressure on flood to force ink into stencil
Light pressure on flood
85° squeegee
60° squeegee
P/F/P
P/P/F/P/P
I printed some tees the other day, and didn't have this problem. They were 100% cotton, 2 different brands. A couple walmart tees, and an old hanes beefy-t.
Then I printed a couple on FOTL 100% cotton, and got the fibers, then I started testing on the red 50/50's because they are old, and free.
My last effort was a thicker stencil (2/2), and it seemed to help. I got less fibers poking through, but there are still some, and it took a LOT of ink to get to that point. I have 1 print that I printed 5 times with flash in between, and 2 strokes per print. The print is almost as thick as a credit card, but there are still fibers poking through, and I'm sure as soon as I wash it, they'll turn red.
I've tried to hit my first stroke as lightly as possible, and only hard enough to clear the screen with no luck. It seems like I either leave a lot of ink spread out in the screen, or it's smashed down into the shirt. On these thin 50/50's you can see a lot of ink on the inside, but on the 100% cotton you can only see pinholes.
what direction stroke are you using....meaning are you pulling or pushing?
it seemed to help me when I push about 80 degree angle...plus I changed inks.
I coat a 1/1 let dry then coat 1 more time on the shirt side......gives a thicker stencil.
then I flood the screen then push stroke flash and flood again then push stroke 1 more time.....been alot better that way.....the shirt has alot to do with it also.....Ive noticed some shirts will have the fibers and other wont....using the same technique on different shirts...
I tried a push stroke, and just couldn't get it to work.I would end up pulling a little ink back over the print area, and it would show up on the print. Not to mention it didn't help with the fibers.
The 2/2 screen worked better, but didn't solve the problem either.
What ink are you using now?
I tried some ink that I had (QCM XOLB Creamy Glacier White) which is ironicly anything but creamy. It's really thick, like cake frosting out of the fridge. It's a pain to work with because even with a lot of adhesive, and extra off contact the screen wants to stick to the shirt, and pull it up. This gave me some problems, but I was able to get totally opaque coverage with P/F/P, and no fibers coming through. It would leave weird spots though. I contacted my local distributor, and their gonna send me another sample to see if the one I have is too thick. If so, I'll be looking for another option.
I've given up on the Union 1020 though. I wasted almost a quart, and 10 shirts trying to make it work (large print 6 times on each).
try using a higher mesh count like 160 2/2 I use triangle fast flash white not sure of the number, also on 50/50 try a no bleed polyester white that will help as well/
I really like the qcm xolb 158 and triangle phoenix. They are easier to work with than most I've used. I can clear the screen with very little pressure and let the ink sit on top of the shirt keeping the fibers down and out of the way. We use one stroke, flash and one more stroke on our white prints, usually with a 110 to 156 screen. We get less fibrillation using the lower meshes but it isn't very noticeable from the higher meshes.
I tried a push stroke, and just couldn't get it to work.I would end up pulling a little ink back over the print area, and it would show up on the print. Not to mention it didn't help with the fibers.
The 2/2 screen worked better, but didn't solve the problem either.
What ink are you using now?
I tried some ink that I had (QCM XOLB Creamy Glacier White) which is ironicly anything but creamy. It's really thick, like cake frosting out of the fridge. It's a pain to work with because even with a lot of adhesive, and extra off contact the screen wants to stick to the shirt, and pull it up. This gave me some problems, but I was able to get totally opaque coverage with P/F/P, and no fibers coming through. It would leave weird spots though. I contacted my local distributor, and their gonna send me another sample to see if the one I have is too thick. If so, I'll be looking for another option.
I've given up on the Union 1020 though. I wasted almost a quart, and 10 shirts trying to make it work (large print 6 times on each).
Thanks Again!
I tried willflex white tiger ....and I like it ......very creamy ...very opaque....I use a 230 mesh ,coat 1/1 , p/f/p pushing on both strokes.... nice bright whites all the time..no hairs.....
Alan, can you comment on the viscosity of the 158?
I could put my container upside down on a table, walk to Egypt and back , and it will not have moved.
Jif creamy peanut butter is what I would liken it to, but with a high viscosity. It's thick but still very manageable and would stick to the ceiling. That fluffy yet heavy feel is what I like because with the right print stroke, the ink will just lay on top of the shirt instead of encapsulating and essentially becoming a part of the shirt fiber. On some designs it allows me to use the stencil thickness to determine how much ink will lay down along with mesh count.
Mine seems quite a bit thicker than that. Hopefully new batch will be here today.
Do you have to use a lot of off contact with it? I need almost 1/4" with it, and it wants to pull the shirt up, or hold the very center of the screen down. My screens are all new within the past few weeks, and haven't had much use so I think they're tight.
I'm using about 1/10-12" off-contact on the auto and around 1/8" on the manual. It shouldn't stick to the shirt at all with that much OC unless your adhesive isn't holding correctly for some reason. I've never really had a shirt come off a pallet ever and I use a water-based adhesive that looks like elmers glue. It's hard to really tell if your screens are tight unless you've felt one that is super tight and have something to relate it to. I used to think our static aluminum screens were tight but I got a tension meter and found out we shouldn't even be using most of them.
One method we tried on 50/50 shirts was to press the shirts on a heat press first then put on your printer and print. Another especially red shirts was to heat the shirt first with your flash and then print. Also a higher mesh screen helps. On the thick inks, I always add a reducer sometimes as much as 50% and have had good results with prints, also ask for a low bleed white. Also try putting one of the shirts you already printed on a heat press and pressing it at around 300 for about 6-8 seconds (remeber to cover with a teflon sheet and rub with a rag to cool it down a little before lifting it off)
Your problem results from a combination of factors.....pre-wash fibrillation is a common problem....but easy to fix.
1) Shear the ink first....it will help immeasurably....platisol is thixotropic....it's viscosity will change when mixed...this reduces the tack of the ink.
2) You were right to second coat....this allows more ink to sit on top of the cotton..and allows a more consistant ink film
3) Your screen should be 25-30 newtons....if it is less, the tackiness of the ink has a larger tensile strength than the mesh...that is bringing up the fibers as well
4) Try 65/95/65 squeegee....this also will bring a more consistant ink film
5) 1/8" off contact is what you should be shooting for....but any off-contact is pointless if the screen tension is low...
As I followed the thread on this subject, it seems that shearing the ink should be your main concern.....
A good 10-15 mins with a mixing tool attached to a drill (make sure it is a variable speed drill) should go a long way in solving the problem.
Best,
Adam
P.S. Judging by the amount of gloss shown on the print in the pic, you may be overdoing it with the heat.....remember, in most cases, gloss=heat
... Also try putting one of the shirts you already printed on a heat press and pressing it at around 300 for about 6-8 seconds (remeber to cover with a teflon sheet and rub with a rag to cool it down a little before lifting it off)
Hi there - I know this is an old comment - but I have a quick question - I have finished a run of white ink on navy shirts and red shirts 100% cotton. Most of the prints are pretty good but a few of them have the fiber thing going on. If I stick one in a heat press for a few seconds is there anything I should worry about? Ink spreading - some sort of design bleed? Scorching the shirt? My project is all done - but I would love to smooth those few out if possible.
Fibers poking up through white ink 
