Help! Logo comes out blurry on t-shirt!

1203 Views 9 Replies 9 Participants Last post by webtrekker, Aug 3, 2018

Israel77

Discussion Starter · Jul 29, 2018

Hello everyone! I'm in urgent need for some answers. I am doing my first screen printing job and I'm printing on a red T-shirt using white plastisol ink (Chroma-Tex brand). I exposed the artwork on a 200 screen for 7 minutes on a fluorescent exposure unit. I would flood the screen, lay it down on the garment then do a forward push twice. I would then flash it for 10 seconds and then hit it again a, after which I would lay it down in the belt dryer. The artwork doesn't come out crisp. Does anyone have any suggestions or any idea where I am going wrong?

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hawaiianphatboy

· #2 · Jul 30, 2018

There are a few questions most would ask before answering your question, so you might want to check them first.
1. are your screens tight?
2. is your squeegee sharp?
3. are you pushing/pulling the squeegee at the right angle?
4. is your screen secured tightly between hits?
5. sometimes it just takes practice to get your technique down good.

Aloha and good luck

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TABOB

· #3 · Jul 30, 2018

A photo would help, because "not crisp" could meant a number of things. Most likely, your screen has some play.

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gardenhillemb

· #4 · Jul 30, 2018

Check the tension on your screen and you should also not be using a 200 mesh for white ink on a manual press. Go down to a 140 or 156 and make your life easier.

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Ripcord

· #5 · Jul 30, 2018

gardenhillemb said:
Check the tension on your screen and you should also not be using a 200 mesh for white ink on a manual press. Go down to a 140 or 156 and make your life easier.

Since this is your first time printing with opaque ink you might even use a 110 mesh. I used that for the first few years and it can hold plenty of detail. It goes without saying that the coarser the mesh the easier it is to get ink through it and onto the fabric.

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jimlatro

· #6 · Jul 30, 2018

also make sure you have a little space between screen/shirt

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Jeepcachr

· #7 · Aug 3, 2018

Are you using a temp adhesive on the platen to keep the shirt from moving between passes?

What fabric are you printing on?

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mustangFWL

· #8 · Aug 3, 2018

How does the artwork look before you expose the screen?

How does the screen look after you wash out the exposed image?

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Jeepcachr

· #9 · Aug 3, 2018

Do you think he'll be back? I dislike these kind of posts on the internet. New member posts vague problem, lots of people try to help, new member never comes back.

Edit: Yes I do realize that I'm a new member here but I've been posting to computer forums since before there was a internet.

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webtrekker

· #10 · Aug 3, 2018

Jeepcachr said:
Do you think he'll be back? I dislike these kind of posts on the internet. New member posts vague problem, lots of people try to help, new member never comes back.

Edit: Yes I do realize that I'm a new member here but I've been posting to computer forums since before there was a internet.

That's why the first reply should be a question to the poster for more info on something, then if there's no follow up post just forget about giving any help.

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