[pytwd]

Hi, utter total noob here. Wondering about simulated process. I hear its the best, compared to indexed....in terms of capturing a realistic image.

I will be printing on black paper, and I am wondering with simulated process printing on paper.....Is it fine to let the inks dry fully...in between screens?

I keep reading about having a tackyness to the inks w simulated but all the info i am getting has to do with printing on garments w a production line in mind, so hoping that just a speed things and its fine and a good thing for them to fully dry


Thanks

 

[Mosstone]

Are you using plastisol to print on paper? Simulated process with plastisol can require up to 14 colors, (depending on the design), but using the proper inks, you should be able to do it with a white base and regular 4-color process... What kind of press are you working with?

With simulated process on T-Shirts, you can't flash between every print, so you have to print several colors wet-on-wet before it reaches the flash, which will result in ink building up on the print side of the subsequent screens, and has to be cleaned off periodically to maintain image clarity. Most plastisol inks intended for simulated process are formulated to have minimum 'tack', so it can be printed wet-on-wet without a lot of build-up.

On paper, though, I would not use plastisol. The solvents will seep into the paper and the ink won't fuse to the substrate (plastisol doesn't technically 'dry', it cures, or fuses to the fabric).

A thinner, solvent-based, or water-based process ink intended for printing on paper (glossy? matte?) would be better, and you most likely will have to dry between colors and re-register.

 

[pytwd]

Thanks. Good info on the inks, i will keep that in mind. Yeah I am looking at something where they can sit for awhile and dry between layers because my printing capabilities I will be slow going.

14 layers actually doesn't scare me off...I just want the most powerful translation of my artwork onto the page. That said, anything less that is effective is definitely welcomed.

4 color CMYK , from what i could gather produces an image of less quality. What ive read just keeps talking about simulated being better. And I just needed to know if simulated was ok to dry between layers, because most likely I will be moving slow in that regard.

I've read some on indexing too, but people were telling me it was quicker but simulated was a better quality.

Oh in regard to my table...Just a DIY setup is what i am looking at. One table.

Thanks for the feedback

 

[Mosstone]

Well, the first thing you should do is find out what process ink is appropriate for the substrate you'll be printing on, and the effect that you're after. Also, not all inks air dry. Some dry with heat, others with UV. If you don't have the means to cure the ink, you'll have to look for something else.

It's a fair bet to say that you'll have to let each color dry before printing the next one, otherwise you'll end up with a muddy mess. I did a little large-format commercial screen printing about 100 years ago, which involved a lot of 4-color process, (we did a lot of printing for departments stores, restaurant chains, car dealerships, etc.) but any recommendation for ink type/brand would be a guess filtered through my hazy memory...

Plus, I don't know what you're printing on, or what kind of results you're looking for.

Hopefully someone else here will have some more specific recommendations.