[Sloth_Machine]

I'm printing a 'size logo chart' inside the collar of t-shirts. I figure i'd do a "S M L XL" and just tape off the ones not being used corresponding to the shirt size.

My problem lies in the tape. No matter which kind I try, low adhesive, medium or high (masking, scotch, packing...etc)...the plastisol ink is causing the adhesive to stick into the holes of the screen...permanently blocking out my other size tabs.

Is screen printing tape really that different and would it fix my problem?

 

[splathead]

Sounds like maybe a cheapy brand? Scotch masking tape (tan) is what i use and have never had an issue with the adhesive sticking in the screen.

Also make sure you don't keep the tape on there longer than it takes you to do the job.

 

[amy_schutt]

Blue blockout tape by R-tape works for us. Another screen printer told us to put a crest print and the back print on the same screen and tape off the one we weren't using while printing the other one. It works, but this last batch of tape was extra, extra sticky and it worried me. but it still worked.

Yesterday, we tried some clear application tape that we use when applying vinyl to do banners. It worked awesome and left no residue behind. We are going to try that for a bit and see if it was just a fluke.

 

[pukingdeserthobo]

when i have 2 images on one screen i put a paper on top of one image then tape it down. print the first image then black it out with tape and so on

 

[Solmu]

I've never had that problem with regular packing tape. But, one suggestion since you are having a problem: you could cut a small piece of paper or plastic (large enough to cover the open mesh and protect it) and tape over that. It only needs to be large enough to stop the adhesive from getting into the mesh; other than that you're still relying on the tape to do its thing.