[teezecrost]

Hey, everyone. Am I the only one who hates printing on hoodies and sweat shirts?

I have a design which comes out awesome on t-shirts, and just OK on sweatshirts.

The problem is: I lay down a nice (relatively) smooth white underbase, but one of my colors contains 2 different % of halftoned areas, which come out totally patchy and unattractive.

In most cases, 1 stroke is enough for this screen. In cases where I do 2, the halftoned areas fill in a little, which looks bad, but is expected. But even on a single stroke, I think the fabric is just too bumpy to get the detail I get from the tees.

Anyone have advice? Am I just expecting too much from the fabric?
Thanks.

 

[jeron]

I don't know, I have yet to print with halftones, but I would think maybe try coating your screen more when making it... if your stencil is thicker it will lay down more ink with a single pass.... just a thought... maybe I'm way off though but that's what I would try..

Thanks,
Jeron

 

[red514]

the sweat shirt/hoody fabric will absorb more ink compared to a regular jersey knit tee. if there's no underbase under the halftones, they will be much more subtle then what's printed on a regular tee.

 

[selanac]

Also hoodies have a lot of Polyester. If you don't have low bleed, the ink will bleed through.

Doesn't matter if it's a t-shirt or hoodie. I'd make sure to get Low Bleed Poly Ink. Also, the offset is important too with laying down a good print.

 

[Decal_Designs]

I'm kind of leaning towards Jeron's answer. What is the mesh count you're trying to use, and what is your coating method? What is your screen tension? These variables could make all the difference for you.

 

[teezecrost]

I'm kind of leaning towards Jeron's answer. What is the mesh count you're trying to use, and what is your coating method? What is your screen tension? These variables could make all the difference for you.

roughly 30 n/cm each, printing 160 base, 200 halftones on top. Single coat sharp edge/ single coat sharp edge both.

 

[jeron]

That isn't giving you a very thick stencil... Try a 2/2 or even 2/3 coating and see if that helps at all... the thicker the stencil the thicker the ink deposit on the shirt...

Thanks,
Jeron

 

[jgabby]

but too thick stencil for halftone, and you will have ink transfer issue.

I like 230 for underbase and 305 for color and making haltone on hoodie.

Try to found a tight weave hoodies or the brand that have the smothest possible surface (sorry not fluent in english and don't know how t osay this)

 

[teezecrost]

Thanks, everyone. I think the "tight weave" mentioned might be the key. The underbase I really am not having a problem with in terms of thickness, although maybe thicker would end up smoother.

 

[Omni]

In my experience, the thickness of the Hoodie material compresses during the print stroke like a sponge would, where a T shirt is not as thick and spongy as fleece material......So you have to put a bit more squeegee pressure on your stroke......To compensate for this I generally raise my off contact and absolutely use a sharp squeegee.....Not sure what halftone % you are working with, so can make no analysis there......Perhaps thickening your ink a bit as well.......Lots of variables occur when you are dealing with halftones on fleece, compared to a thinner fabric of a T-shirt, which provides a harder overall surface to print on.....