[identityburn]

Hey everyone, I'm doing test prints and having a problem with the screen sticking to the shirt after I do a pass of ink. It comes up after, but slowly causing pock marks on the layer of ink.

I'm using a 110 mesh and maxopake ink from union ink. My guess is that since the ink is so think and it is a low mesh count that too much of the ink is going through the screen causing the shirt to stick. Would that be a good guess, anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

 

[ffokazak]

Maybe try a higher off contact.
Whenever my ink is "Pock marked" i raise it up a bit.
Worth a try.

 

[Fluid]

I agree. Sounds like your off contact is too low or the mesh is too loose.

 

[identityburn]

Thanks for the input. I've experimented with the off-contact already, and that doesn't seem to help much so I'll try reburning it on a higher mesh count.

 

[Squirts]

Thanks for the input. I've experimented with the off-contact already, and that doesn't seem to help much so I'll try reburning it on a higher mesh count.

Hate to mention the obvious but if the shirt isnt held firmly by the pallet adhesive it will lift slightly, sticking to the screen....
what appears from the top looking down like the screen sticking is really the shirt slowly letting go from the bottom...
Combine that with not enought off contact and its a recipe fro frustration...
....Chuck

 

[identityburn]

Yeah I had quite a bit of adhesive on it. The weird thing is, it's only that design thats giving me trouble. Right after I printed another design on a 135 and didn't have the problem at all. It must be a combination of the ink (it is very thick) and the screen.

 

[Fluid]

Sounds like you got it nailed. Dont go too hign on your mesh. For a solid white print on a dark shirt manually printing I would not go higher than a 156.

 

[Squirts]

Yeah I had quite a bit of adhesive on it. The weird thing is, it's only that design thats giving me trouble. Right after I printed another design on a 135 and didn't have the problem at all. It must be a combination of the ink (it is very thick) and the screen.

One other thing.... when you run into it sticking and you.ve eliminated off contact and adhesive problems...try a clean up stroke.... turn the squeege up much farther then what you print at and do one or two strokes without any ink.... I have to do this almost always with white ink.... it will appear to stick then a clean-up stroke and its free.... Good Luck with it...
....Chuck

 

[identityburn]

Chuck, so you're saying to basically run the squeege without any ink on it over the stencil?

thanks everyone again for the tips.

 

[Squirts]

Chuck, so you're saying to basically run the squeege without any ink on it over the stencil?

thanks everyone again for the tips.

Yes exactly ...after you've inked it then do one or two clean-up strokes at a higher angle without adding ink....

 

[identityburn]

ok I'll try it out.

 

[fizz]

Just a quick one.
Is your shirt board hot?
If so it could be the ink is partially curing on the print stroke.
If not a bit of plastisol thinners will alow the ink to flow better and should eliminate the sticking.
Phil

 

[identityburn]

Phil:

It was the first design we put up on the press so the board wasn't hot yet. I'm thinking thinning down the ink will be a good idea as well. I don't know if you guys ever used maxopake ink before from union ink, but it is very thick. The stencil itself is basically a big whole so it lets a lot of ink through so a combination of all these things is probably causing it.

 

[JeridHill]

I still use MaxoPake inks from Union. They are thick but they are good inks. Once the ink is moved around a bit, it loosens. If you thin the ink, you will have a problem with the opacity.

If you stir the ink up really good, it will loosen it up.

I'll reiterate what some have already stated:

Use a spray adhesive. Obviously not too much, but use enough so when you are printing, the shirt doesn't pull up.

If you are using MaxoPake inks, my guess is you are printing then flashing the ink, then printing again. This will cause the platen to heat up and every time you pull your screen down, you are helping ink to stick in the screen. To remedy this, if you are a medium speed printer, I would place a shirt on the platen, rotate it under the heat (getting rid of any shrinkage), place a shirt on the next platen and so on until the first shirt is back to you. Print that one and rotate it under the heat. Flashing the print is all you need. You do not want to cure the ink at this point. I believe the flashing point is a little over 200 depending on your ink. If you cure the ink before you print again on top of it, you could get some flaking. Anyway, by the time you rotate the first print back to you, it will be cool enough to print on. Remove that shirt and place a new one on and rotate it under the heat while you print, remove and place a new shirt on that one. By the time you are finished, the original shirt will get back to you already preshrunk.

Another factor could be your squeegee. If it's way too soft, it will push more ink through or if you are using too much of an angle. I would use a medium to firm durometer squeegee and use about a 70 degree angle. Obviously you don't want it straight up and down, but too far down will push too much ink through your screen.

Hopefully this helps.

 

[identityburn]

Thanks Jerid, I didn't know you could stir the ink to loosen it, I'll try that. And yes, I was printing, then flashing, then printing again. I think after a few prints the hot board could be a problem like you were saying, I'll have to try that also.

One question. How does Maxopake ink work on lights? Is it too heavy of a deposit? I just assume that you would only have to hit it once though right?

 

[JeridHill]

Maxopake inks work fine on lights, the problem is, they are more expensive and a little harder to work with. All my other inks I buy are Union Inks Ultrasoft inks. They are really smooth and easy to work with. I don't have alot of Maxopake in stock because most designs I print on darks have white in the design, so I have to do a white underbase anyway.

 

[identityburn]

I'm not a big fan of doing underbases, so if I use Ultrasoft ink on darks does it work ok if I flash cure it? Or is the opacity not good enough.

 

[JeridHill]

They aren't opaque enough.

I will say, you can get a really nice softhand when you experiment with your inks, your screens and the sqeegee angles and durometers. They all have they're fair share in how the shirt will turn out.

I've been screen printing since 1998, not an entirely long time, but enough to know there are so many factors in printing a good shirt. I've walked into place like Walmart and was stunned at the poor quality of some the shirts they sell. So I've always strived to do the best I could and learn as much as I could. I don't know it all, but I know I'm always willing to learn and even these boards have helped me see some things in a different light.

 

[identityburn]

cool thanks again!

 

[Inkblot]

I've been fighting the same issue. My union ultrasoft inks flow smooth through a 110 mesh. At first I had trouble with sticking with white maxopake. Later, I used a red Maxopake and the same thing. If I keep the ink moving it's not as bad. I'm wondering if I should just not use the Maxopake inks and just print underbase/flash and reprint.

A guy on here recommended using a drill and paddle bit on the ink to get it flowing. I haven't tried it yet, but it's the only thing that makes sense. I use the same 110 mesh on all my inks, plenty of pallet tack, the shirt is not moving. Off contact is not helping.

I also found that a cleanup stroke will help as mentioned. The other thing I've been doing to make it work better is by going from a 80 degree squeegee angle to like a 45 degree or less to push more of the ink through the screen.

I think mixing the ink up good should help though. I plan to try that next time. I haven't researched what the recommended mesh count for maxopake inks is. Maybe we should be using lower mesh counts for bigger screen openings with this ink?