Water Based on Press clean up

1623 Views 10 Replies 6 Participants Last post by wwpro, Aug 19, 2010

wwpro

Discussion Starter · Aug 16, 2010

Hi there

I just received my silver press 4/1 and I'm ready to try my first "more-than-one-color"

I'm making a 3 color, blue and black, and a foil adhesive as my 3rd. Because of that I want the blue and black to be water based so I don't have to mix foil resist on my plastisol just for a few shirts.

I've printed with water based inks (speedball is all i have now) but always one color, so I printed whatever was needed, clean up and store everything, but now I want to leave this job on the press for more than a few days, and I want to know what I can use to clean my screens in the press.

I'd like something that can be readily available, i don't want to order anything else for a few weeks.

I'll need screen opener and will order some water based cleaners, but I need a temporary solution now.

thanks

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1 - 11 of 11 Posts

adivito

· #2 · Aug 18, 2010

water. thats why waterbase inks are nice to work with.

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Dan K

· #3 · Aug 18, 2010

Water will do it. We don't use any solvents for cleaning water based inks. If you plan to reuse the screens, just make sure to dry them well after you wash them otherwise the emulsion will break down. You will want to make sure to use a water resistant emulsion too, and even with that, if you wash it once or twice, make sure to check the screen before you use it again to be sure the design hasn't broken down or lost anything... Water resistant emulsion will hold up through a print run, but I don't know how long it will last if you print, wash, print, wash...

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pukingdeserthobo

· #4 · Aug 18, 2010

i just spray some water and clean it up with some shop towels. after the run i wouldn't wait to long to clean

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Solmu

· #5 · Aug 18, 2010

Dan K said:
Water resistant emulsion will hold up through a print run, but I don't know how long it will last if you print, wash, print, wash...

I typically print small print runs, so my experience isn't going to be applicable to a volume shop, but I typically do the print, wash, print, wash, print, wash thing without problems.

I've only rarely had problems with screen breakdown. Most of those sort of problems have come from improperly exposed screens I was trying to jury-rig into submission

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Dan K

· #6 · Aug 18, 2010

Solmu said:
I typically print small print runs, so my experience isn't going to be applicable to a volume shop, but I typically do the print, wash, print, wash, print, wash thing without problems.

Thanks for the info, that's good to know. We always breakdown screens, reclaim, coat, then put them back into production immediately...

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Unik Ink

· #7 · Aug 18, 2010

Has anyone ever tried wrapping the screen in a few layers of saran wrap (still setup on press w/ink on screen) to keep the ink from drying in the screen? I have been meaning to try that, but keep forgetting to grab the saran wrap out of my pantry.

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Dan K

· #8 · Aug 18, 2010

Unik Ink said:
Has anyone ever tried wrapping the screen in a few layers of saran wrap (still setup on press w/ink on screen) to keep the ink from drying in the screen? I have been meaning to try that, but keep forgetting to grab the saran wrap out of my pantry.

What's up Justin? I have never tried that. It seems to me like sealing that moisture in the screen so the ink wouldn't dry would result in the emulsion breaking down though... If you try it let us know...

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Unik Ink

· #9 · Aug 18, 2010

Dan K said:
What's up Justin? I have never tried that. It seems to me like sealing that moisture in the screen so the ink wouldn't dry would result in the emulsion breaking down though... If you try it let us know...

Hey Dan, I'm doing alright. Trying to fight this Mississippi heat/humidity. How's the weather out in Cali this time of year?

I was thinking of trying the seran wrap as a short term solution like when we take a lunch break. I agree that if left overnight, it would probably affect the integrity of the emulsion.

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Dan K

· #10 · Aug 18, 2010

Usually where we're at it's pretty hot, like 80-90 coastal (where the shop is) and 90-100 inland (where I live), but not this year, it's actually been cold all summer, like long pants and sweatshirt more than half the time. It kinda sucks, but we don't have the humidity to deal with, it's dry...

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wwpro

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 19, 2010

While I was printing one of my screens touched another color and I did try to clean it using a moist paper towel, but after half roll of paper the screen was still contaminated with that color.

Printed on several scrap tshirts to see if that would help to completely remove the contamination from under the screen but it didn't work. I have very little patience so I took everything down without printing one single tshirt.

When something like that happens, what's best to do to be able to keep working without messing garments?

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