When printing white, what's more important, stencil thickness or ink viscosity? That is if you're using high tension screens, correct mesh count, good off contact, correct durometer squeegee and a good push stroke. I've been told many things, but I was wondering what the pro's on this forum have to say. I would very much like to know what you think. Thanks in advance!
What's more important?
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I'm no pro but I will say stencil thickness. The ink viscosity will always be thicker with white.. yes you can reduce it down but you lose how opaque it it's. Where with a thick stencil it will lay down a thicker ink deposit helping you cover better.
Maybe I'm wrong, like I said I'm no pro, just a hobby guy at the moment..
Sent from my SGH-M919 using T-Shirt Forums
Maybe I'm wrong, like I said I'm no pro, just a hobby guy at the moment..
Sent from my SGH-M919 using T-Shirt Forums
Ink viscosity + properly tensioned screens + sufficient off contact + tacky palette adhesive.
I think stencil thickness is lower on the priority list. An ink with too much body/stiffness will try to act like a glue that adheres the screen to the garment - especially if you are printing a large continuous area of white. Even on a properly tensioned screen, there may be spots that stick together between screen and garment. That leads to texture issues on the surface, an overly thick hand feel...
so I think a nice soft ink will stick less, give you less stucco effect and work better. I've run thin stencil thickness (1/1 coating) and doing a couple of passes on a black shirt gave me a satisfactory white opaque look.
Ink viscosity combined with good technique and a proper flash. Stencil thickness means very little. I frequently use screens with 1 coat on one site with great results. IMO, if your pallets are nice and warm and you have stirred your ink you will have a good print assuming that you have all the other basics in place.
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