White on black not looking good...

5788 Views 57 Replies 21 Participants Last post by cv.graphink, Jan 2, 2011

TheShirtBox

Discussion Starter · Jul 8, 2010

I am trying to print white on black for the first time with my new press and it really looks bad. It looks really sharp on a test pellon but when i printed onto a junk shirt it looks like crap. Can anybody tell me what I'm doing wrong? I have my off contact set with an 1/8th inch board of pegboard. The press is a riley hopkins 6/4.

(in the picture, the windshield is supposed to be solid, but it's all weird and crackly looking)

See less See more

2

1 - 20 of 58 Posts

mediapress

· #2 · Jul 8, 2010

Hi there
Are you using Silk screen or DTG ?
well if its Silk screen it look's your outlince is to thin, but DTG use High quality prints ..

Thanks

TheShirtBox

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 8, 2010

Its on the Riley Hopkins press. So it's screen printing...
outlince? what are you talking about?

I'll try to post up a picture of it on the test pellon thing so you can see how it should look. I'm not sure if it's because this shirt is old and maybe frayed a little?

Smokestack

· #4 · Jul 9, 2010

There are a couple of problems i can see right off the bat. Personally, I never use only one screen on halftone jobs on black.. one of the problems is that there is solid white in the image, meaning.... to get the solid white to cover correctly , using a fine mesh screen on a manual press, double stroking is almost always necessary. The problem there is if you double stroke to get the white to cover well, you are going to have serious dot gain on the halftone part of your image. Common sense normally says that 1 screen should be fine but in reality.... I would print underlay one stroke, maybe even a gray screen for the midtones, and a highlight white for the solid parts of the print only.. Alot of times its best to trial and error it.. That's the only way you can really get a sense for these types of jobs

See less See more

JeridHill

· #5 · Jul 9, 2010

My guess your problem you are having is the rough look of the ink. What mesh and white ink are you using?

brice

· #6 · Jul 9, 2010

mediapress said:
Hi there
Are you using Silk screen or DTG ?
well if its Silk screen it look's your outlince is to thin, but DTG use High quality prints ..

Thanks

Not sure what you are trying to say, but I suspect you are a DTG printer and everything looks like a DTG job to you.

RideOutWear

· #7 · Jul 9, 2010

I just got through the same trouble. Try pushing your ink instead of pulling. After the first push push again with no ink this time. Then flash, let cool and do the same thing again and see if that helps. It did me. This is all based on the idea u r using correct mesh.

Celtic

· #8 · Jul 9, 2010

Yes, I agree about using a push stroke. Almost always the best way to go!
Secondly, yeah, what mesh count are you using?
It looks like a 110 perhaps????
Also, you want to have a good, tight tension to the screen.
And, it doesn't look like you've got the right off contact.
I've got a Hopkins press too.
You might need to adjust your screen angle too...on your press.

thutch15

· #9 · Jul 9, 2010

TheShirtBox said:
I am trying to print white on black for the first time with my new press and it really looks bad. It looks really sharp on a test pellon but when i printed onto a junk shirt it looks like crap. Can anybody tell me what I'm doing wrong? I have my off contact set with an 1/8th inch board of pegboard. The press is a riley hopkins 6/4.

(in the picture, the windshield is supposed to be solid, but it's all weird and crackly looking)

Looks like you are not getting the screen cleared. It is a lot easier to clear on something like a test pellon. Assuming all other settings are correct then try printing/flood/print. Also other problems could be high off contact, low mesh tension, or dull squeegee.

jsf

· #10 · Jul 9, 2010

I would redo the design, lessen the white shades and tones. Printing halftones with print-flash-print is sometimes imperfect, too much ink will just cover your design and it will not look that realistic but a bunch of inks on fabric.

See less See more

TheShirtBox

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jul 9, 2010

I am using the ryonet white. The screen is a 230. It is brand new and so is the squeegee. I did a flood-pull- and a final pull to do my best to clear the screen. Then a flash and then a pull without flooding. I will try the push... Also maybe my off contact is too high? Thank you all very much for your ideas!! Keep them coming please.

Celtic

· #12 · Jul 9, 2010

TheShirtBox said:
I am using the ryonet white. The screen is a 230. It is brand new and so is the squeegee. I did a flood-pull- and a final pull to do my best to clear the screen. Then a flash and then a pull without flooding. I will try the push... Also maybe my off contact is too high? Thank you all very much for your ideas!! Keep them coming please.

No, your off contact is not too high.
What I'm thinking is you need to adjust your angle adjustment on your Hopkins.
Look at your info sheet at the graphic.
You want your screen to be level and I'm thinking that it's not.

TheShirtBox

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jul 9, 2010

I'm not so sure about that... I would think if it printed on the test pellon it would print on the shirt just as well? I'll have to experiment with it a little bit tomorrow... Are you saying that the angle is off, as in the top of the screen is lower/higher than the bottom? Just to be clear. I did my best to make them very level using a spacer sheet and leveled it using the Ryonet instructions that were on the video.

TheShirtBox

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jul 9, 2010

JeridHill said:
My guess your problem you are having is the rough look of the ink. What mesh and white ink are you using?

This is really what I'm talking about. since it looks really good on a test pellon, I don't understand why it looks so crappy on the shirt....
Just to repeat it, it's a 230 mesh, and the Ryonet white.
Also I do not want to burn a separate screen, my customer wanted to save money so i'm trying to get this to be all on one screen.

vil3nr0b

· #15 · Jul 9, 2010

I have a Riley Hopkins 4/4. We cannot ever get the Enviroline white-inks to show up on black. I like the gray look myself, but you know customers. Instead we found a local company in St. Louis, MO. called Lawson's Screen Printing Supplies. Their Gen IV white ink looks like plasticol with just one stroke and I haven't had any problems on a 220 screen.The drawback is a weightier image vs. the preferred natural feel of the Enviroline. You can also do a layer of white and without moving the shirt, flash dry it to about 180-220. Then add another color after cleaning out the screen, put the next color on, swipe, and cure all the way. It pops big time but just weighs more than I personally prefer.

JeridHill

· #16 · Jul 9, 2010

Are you using a clean smooth platen with no buildup on it?

TheShirtBox

Discussion Starter · #17 · Jul 9, 2010

The pallet is nice and new. No build up at all. Freshly sprayed with tack. It is plastisol ink. With one pull on the test pellon it is very opaque but not nearly the same result on the shirt

wormil

· #18 · Jul 9, 2010

TheShirtBox said:
I'm not so sure about that... I would think if it printed on the test pellon it would print on the shirt just as well?

Pellons are smoother than some shirt fabrics and are less likely to move when you print on them.

TheShirtBox said:
Also I do not want to burn a separate screen, my customer wanted to save money so i'm trying to get this to be all on one screen.

At some point you can spend so much time trying to get it right that it would have been cheaper to do it a different way.

RideOutWear

· #19 · Jul 9, 2010

I say mess with off contact and maybe you are pressing to hard. The test square is different than the shirt the ink will go
Into the shirt more.

InkedApparel

· #20 · Jul 9, 2010

if you want this to look good ..the I suggest separating the screens and the solid in the image and burn to separate screens...put the extra cost aside and put out a nice looking job.....p/f/p the solid to get them opaque and hit the screen once...this will leave an open screen image and a nice solid white for the solid area.

Inked

1 - 20 of 58 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.