[demj1308]

Got another nubee question here, made my first batch of shirts and noticed the white ink on the black shirt was a little on the light side. I did some more reading and found that to get a good white ink on darks you shouls double coat the screen with emulsion to get a thicker "well" are for the ink. My question is if i make a new screen with a think emusion coating for the white ink, will there be any issues using this "thick" screen with colored inks ?

 

[sben763]

Yes but you will also get a thick coat on the colors as well. You could use the same technique for coating future screens but when printing white do a print flash print to get the desired ink deposit.

 

[demj1308]

ok, so just print it with a standard coated screen, flash for 10 sec. or so then reprint again ??

 

[sben763]

Yes almost everyone I know does this with white. When you flash just make sur the ink is dry to the touch if its tacky flash for a few more sec. every flash and set up is diffrent so test before hitting the second time with ink

 

[Greatzky]

you want to flash the ink so that it "gels". you want it to be tacky, but not wet. when you touch it you shouldn't get any ink on your finger. If you flash too long you could cure it and other inks won't stick to it well. I think some people say around 240-260F for regular plastisol ink, but i'm sure it depends on the ink brand.

 

[sben763]

international coatings and union inks say 220 for a flash. I will carify Scott is corect when I mentioned tacky I was refering to getting ink when touched. I dont temp when flashing. just make sure the ink is dry to the touch

 

[demj1308]

do i need to have a screen with a thick emulsion coating, or will one pass on each side of the screen with emulsion coater do, i tried a few yesterday with the flash in between coats using white ink with mixed results.

 

[Greatzky]

it might depend on how much emulsion you are laying down on each pass.

I've actually been doing a 1/0 coating lately with my screens with pretty good results, but you have to make sure you are keeping the screens as dust free as possible during drying because there is less emulsion adhering to the mesh and pinholes could be a little more prominent(I've been alright so far)
for a screen that I know will have white ink I will still do a 1/1 though.

 

[demj1308]

i dont seem to be having much luck with white, im just using a standard 1 pass of emulsion on both sides of the screen. I have tryed doing a fill pass then pushing back, pulling then pushing back, flashing between coats, etc. It either comes out blurred, or with the fibers of the shirt visible thru the ink. Perhaps im pushing down too hard and driving the ink into the fibers. I guess over time its a skill i need to master.

 

[scdesign]

It is definitely going to take some time to master. Try using lighter pressure, especially when underbasing. This way the ink tends to sit on top of the shirt more, versus using harder pressure and driving the ink into the shirt.