[sgcustoms]

Hi all,
I just bought a 6 color 1 station manual press and I'm having quite a bit of trouble with registration.
I've tried flashing before printing,pre-registering, choking the underbase, no warped screens, checked the tilt/off contact...

I'm using a 110mesh for the underbase with brand new screens. Any ideas on what could be causing this?
I am still learning so any help would be useful and appreciated.

 

[bern]

It may be the press itself , the cheap presses will flex and that will throw your registration off . Also check for any play with the platen . You will find where your problem is just needs some time to investigate where it is

 

[sben763]

What brand press did you get. I can tell you when I first started I thought the press was to blame. Make sure your off contact is set correctly and when lowering the print arm make sure it hits the stop. Then there is making sure your using a consistent stroke. Also with a starter press setting up your artwork before going to press will help by creating traps, chokes, or spreads within the artwork.

 

[sgcustoms]

It's a silver press, I thought I did alot of research when I bought it but I am seeing others having issues with the same things. I'd like to try everything I can before I have to admit it's the press and sell it.
How do I know if I am setting my off contact correctly? I've heard other using a penny to measure.

If it is the press is there anything I can do about the flex?

 

[bern]

It's a silver press, I thought I did alot of research when I bought it but I am seeing others having issues with the same things. I'd like to try everything I can before I have to admit it's the press and sell it.
How do I know if I am setting my off contact correctly? I've heard other using a penny to measure.

If it is the press is there anything I can do about the flex?

I think the silver press is fine . I thought the problems the others were having was actually adjusting the screens into registration which is possible without micros .

YouTube is a fantastic resource centre , I love it and there is so much to learn from these videos .

Off contact

YouTube - Off contact set up - silver press


Ryonet has videos explaining everything from setup to getting a great print on your press .

Also have a look at the videos by vastex , there is a good one explaining the tape trick . He prints , flashes then covers the print with clear tape . This allows you to print on the tape see if the next screen is aligned , if not wipe the ink off adjust and try again .

 

[superD70]

99% chance its you and not the press, I have one and have had zero issues with registration.
first thing check that every bolt on the press is tight.
make sure the registration gate screws are nice & snug against the arms.
make sure the arms are hitting the stop bolt before your screens are coming into contact with the platen.
make sure the off contact & tilt is the same on every screen, this is the most important step of setup.
make sure your screen clamps are tight on the screen, I mean super tight, tighten each knob a lil, back & forth from knob to knob till they are tight, then tighten some more.

 

[sgcustoms]

I think the silver press is fine . I thought the problems the others were having was actually adjusting the screens into registration which is possible without micros .

YouTube is a fantastic resource centre , I love it and there is so much to learn from these videos .

Off contact

YouTube - Off contact set up - silver press


Ryonet has videos explaining everything from setup to getting a great print on your press .

Also have a look at the videos by vastex , there is a good one explaining the tape trick . He prints , flashes then covers the print with clear tape . This allows you to print on the tape see if the next screen is aligned , if not wipe the ink off adjust and try again .

Wow thats a great idea with the tape I never thought of that! Do you happen to have a link to this video?

 

[tkster95]

When I first started with my silver press I had a lot of difficulty registering, esp multiple color prints. I figured out a couple tricks...
Whenever I would tighten the knobs to secure the screen to the head of the press it would always ruin my registration. The screws that would hold the screen in place would move the screen around when tightening it and ruin registration. It would take forever to get it perfect. I found that if I put a piece of cardboard in-between the screen and the clamp it would alleviate the issue and make it so much easier to tighten it securely with out moving the screen around.
Another thing that always screwed me up was making sure the arm was secure every time as well. The silver presses come with two white plastic screws that can be adjusted to hold the arm in place. I looked over this detail for the first couple weeks and couldn't figure out why I was getting smeared prints. It can get annoying but every couple prints make sure the screws are secure and doesn't allow the arm to move. I found that it makes a screeching sound when good and secure (the metal arm rubbing against the plastic screws). that sound is pretty annoying but lets me know i'll have a good registered print. Good luck printing!

 

[bern]

Wow thats a great idea with the tape I never thought of that! Do you happen to have a link to this video?

Here is the link

YouTube - The Tape Trick on a Vastex V-1000 manual screen press.

 

[sgcustoms]

Thank you! I'm definitely going to try this my next round of prints, we tried a bar key in place of cardboard but it didnt seem to make much of a difference.