[My glory]

I cant get a good print. Every time I flood my screen I can't get it all over the image and once I do theres just way too much ink on the tshirt side of my screen and my print ends up looking like a chunks of ink and some parts of my image don't even get printed and some parts do sometimes the whole image gets printed but then there's a large amount of ink on my tshirt side I try flooding the screen with a fair amount of ink while applying no pressure and pushing the squeegee with a good amount of pressure and nothing I have also tried pulling after lots of failed attempts at pushing but every time, too much ink ends up on my shirt end my prints come out horrific. I'm getting frustrated someone please HELP!!
WHAT AM I DOING WRONG

 

[missswissinc]

when you scoop the ink onto the screen do you spread it out so that one side doesn't have more ink then lets say the other. should be a even amount along the bottom. that is one thing I have done and seems to work abit so that you can see if the ink is heavier on one side then the other. also what are you printing on are you printing on dark color shirts. if so you need to flash it. alot of screen printers make another screen with the image and its going to be a all white screen. this will help you doing the imprinting. I hope I helped abit.

 

[My glory]

Thx for the reply and yes I try my best to spread the ink evenly and im printing black ink on white tshirts if there's anything u think I might not be doing right let me know th again

 

[Preston]

Thx for the reply and yes I try my best to spread the ink evenly and im printing black ink on white tshirts if there's anything u think I might not be doing right let me know th again

There are a lot of variables here that are unknown. From what I could get out of your post above, you are having trouble flooding and ink is seeping thru the screen and thus you end up with a lot of ink on you shirt. Probably all smeared and funky looking.

So, what mesh screen are you using? What type of ink? How much off contact on your screen? Is it the same from front to back, side to side, corner to corner? Are you flooding with the screen down all the way or are you holding up slightly above the shirt? How much squeegee pressure are you using to flood? How much squeegee pressure are you using for the print stroke? After the print stroke has all the ink sheared clear in the image area?

You are doing a pull to print stroke right? Try this. Do not flood. Place your squeegee behind some of the ink in the well to where you have a good bead of ink all the way across the squeegee blade length. Now with firm pressure pull a print stroke. Now lift the screen and see how it looks. If it needs more ink then repeat the print stroke again.

From your other statements it sounds like you are flooding with to much pressure and or the wrong squeegee angle. Couple that with low mesh screen and you spell disaster.

 

[InkedApparel]

black ink is much thinner than most colored inks..and the more prints you make the thinner it will become...so it is best to use a higher mesh screen when printing black ink..or any thin ink for that matter.....what mesh count screen are you using?

Inked

 

[My glory]

I am using a 110 mesh and I'm pulling not pushing and it is off contact and seems to be a bit higher in the bak it's about three nickels staked high in the front an every time I lift the screen it gets stuck to the tshirts

 

[missswissinc]

sounds to me like you are flooding the screen for no reason. The wife and I did a screen printing class down in Long Island NY and with white on black we flooded the screen. However, when we did black on white no flood. just make sure we had enough pressure pulled towards yourself and that was it. some people had a problem doing it. hey thanks for that other tip about using a higher screen mesh for the other inks. I will be doing a couple of shirts shortly and will use that tip.

 

[Rusty44]

I am a waterbased ink printer, but I would definitely encourage you to practice, practice, practice on scrap shirts before jumping to print a shirt for sale. I never used a mesh less than 160 and even up to 220 with Black or colored inks. Be aware of the angle you are hold the squeegee when pulling the ink through the screen, that makes a difference along with the amount of pressure. Some people push, I pulled. You don't always have to flood the screen. Another thing to consider is make sure that when you pull your squeegee that it remains the same angle all the way across the screen. It's a normal tendency to lift it near the front of the screen ... I use a rocking motion, placing one foot forward and one back, to give me that consistent pressure and angle. I never use an offset. Sounds like too much ink .. just practice using the different suggestions and tips and you will find your mojo. Good luck.

 

[TshirtStan]

I agree with Rusty!! I have had people come to the shop and watch me. Looks easy!!!! So they try and end up with a print like you are talking about. Honestly, I don't flood the screen anymore. Just make sure there is enough ink on front of your squeegee and at about a 35 degree angle medium pressure pull consistent and equal pressure. It looks easy.... But you have to apply the pressure like you are a machine... Constant and equal.

Hope it helps.

 

[inkdrips]

Your off contact sounds a bit high to me. You should try to get it an even 1/8 inch fron the shirtboard max for tees. I set my off contact with a big sheet of basic corrugated cardboard. Like from a box they ship screens in. Is your screen washed out correctly? If you are spraying out your screen and not blotting it dry you can get thin deposits of emulsion stuck in some of your mesh. Thus making it really difficult to get ink through those parts. You could also try pushing if you can't get the force needed with pulling ink. Also your squeegee should be bigger than the print by about a half an inch on either side.

 

[Preston]

Ok, I agree 100% with inkdrips in that your off contact is to much. The other thing I noticed is you said "every time I lift the screen it gets stuck to the tshirts". It sound like you are not using any pallet adhesive to hold the shirts down in place.

 

[TYGERON]

I cant get a good print. I'm getting frustrated someone please HELP!!
WHAT AM I DOING WRONG

OK. I always say screen printing should be fun. What you're doing "wrong" is you're not letting it be fun.

And all the tips mentioned are good.

If you're at a point where you're frustrated, I suggest you put the squeegee down, walk away from the press and go do something relaxing and take your mind off screen printing for a while.

When you come back to it, don't even look at a screen or ink or piece of equipment until you've either purchased a comprehensive screen printing course on DVD, read a book or watched a Youtube series that covers the process from start to finish.
Make sure you are clear on exactly what is being done and why, then go at it again. A good instructional method should address the issues you're having and may encounter.

It's like taking drivers training, using a simulator, then getting behind the wheel.

A forum member posted awhile back that she studied a video series, did everything it said to do and she experienced none of the common beginner issues. She of course is quite exceptional

I don't want to make it sound too easy. But there's an order and technique to the whole process.

It really is fun.

Let it be fun

 

[foot print]

Make sure you clear the screen.. That is very important .. Flooding the screen is a good thing.. I flood the screen towards me and push print..


Sent from my iPhone using TShirtForums app

 

[InkedApparel]

I will say it again...110 mesh is not the correct screen to use for a thin ink like black ......you need a 230 mesh for black ink.......and 1/8th inch or a pennies worth of off contact is good...

Inked

 

[TYGERON]

Just like whites, there a different blacks and they're not all "thin". The black I use often wouldn't be considered "thin". It's rather heavy and as such it allows a great deal for modification. I print it through a 110 sometimes when I deem the situation necessary. I use higher mesh counts and modify it accordingly for ease of print and adequate coverage.

It is a balance between ink viscosity, mesh count coupled with set-up and technique. And even with black and other dark colors printed on white and lights, I try to get more of a "top layer" ink deposit than one "into" the fabric to lessen fibrillation but still avoiding a heavy hand.