[tkster95]

I tend to get a lot of imperfections when printing white ink. Pieces of lit or fuzz not wiped off shirt get stuck under the ink. If they go unnoticed after a p/f/p they look like little pimples in the print. I can scrape them with my fingernail and remove a piece of the ink and lint/fuzz along with it. I then have to patch it up the best I can. I usually get a bit of ink on the corner of an ink card and try to fill in the hole making it as uniform as possible. Sometime I can patch them up good but often times it leaves a tiny mark that if examined carefully can be spotted. They seemingly come out of nowhere and are incredibly annoying. When I put the shirt on the pallet I whip it down multiple times with my hand to get any debris, lint or whatever off but still they show up.

Anyone else dealing with these? Could it be the shirt I'm printing with; District Threads "concert tee" DT5000? How do you typically prep a shirt when putting it on the pallet? Was thinking I should get a lint brush or one of those dog hair rollers with the double sided tape. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[beanie357]

Our printers just give a quick swipe of their hand after loading
We are mostly autos.
Suggest you have some unusual high lint garments.
Lint roller is our solution for the occasional trouble piece. One on each printers cart. But do not get used often.
If we hit crappy garments, usually write off recommended list for retail or contract customers

 

[Printavo]

Hmm, that sounds strange. What wholesaler are you using? I'm assuming your guys' working environment is clean too?

 

[tkster95]

The print I'm having issues with is a fairly large area spot color. About 12' x 12" and needs to be a nice uniform print. I purchase mainly from sanmar. I used to print on gildan 2000 a lot and never really noticed it with those shirts. I switched to the District Thread cause it has a nicer fit, softer feel and priced better, Now, I'd say 1 out of 3 with the District threads ends up having some sort of imperfection.

The district threads shirt is a 4.3 oz soft style tee vs the gildan a 6 oz heavy cotton. When I switched to the softstyle I though maybe the fuzz balls were because of the softer cotton.

Clean shop and brand new shirts. I take my time loading each one onto the pallet and make sure to give it a thorough wipe down and visual inspection... but still happens.

I like sanmar cause it is free shipping but not sure if they have a comparable shirt to the DT5000. Its a great fit and nice feel.. sucks cause I really like that shirt but if it's gonna give me fuzz balls I think I'm gonna have to find a new shirt. Any suggestions on a soft style tee below the $2 mark from a distributor with free shipping?

 

[tkster95]

I'm a bit surprised this isn't a more prevalent problem in the screen printing world. I really seem to struggle with these fuzz balls.

I'm on a manual press and I wonder if my technique has anything to do with it. For the white ink in question; I flood then push 2 times, then flash, for the second layer I do the same flood and push 2 times. I'm printing on an antec legend so my prints hold great registration, and as long as I get a good flash in between it always has a uniform ink distribution... its just the fuzz balls that get stuck under the ink that mess it up. I always hear people saying that auto's print with a glass like finish. I wonder if the fuzz balls would be a problem with an auto on the same shirt.

I've found a technique for anyone else out there that may deal with them from time to time... It helps if you catch the fuzz ball / imperfection right away, best after the first flash if you're doing a p/f/p. I keep an xacto knife close by when I'm printing. If I notice a fuzz ball / imperfection I scrape it off with the xacto knife, then I dap the tip of the xacto knife in the color ink I'm printing with and get a bit into the area where I scraped off the fuzz. I then take the blade part and smooth out the print until its uniform. Works much better than using am ink card like I was trying to before. Still not 100% perfect every time but works well. If I then hit it with the heat press after print is fully cured it usually makes it unnoticeable. It is a pain in the butt though.