# Problems with two color plastisol print



## reactiongfx (Aug 13, 2015)

Hello...new to the forum, so a little background. My father has been running his own small screen printing business since the 70s. I've been in the sign industry for the past 15 years, and a few years ago I started up my own sign/graphics/screen printing business. My father mostly does simple, single color printing...doesn't do much mutil-color work, but my customers are younger and expect a bit more, so more complex multi-color work is going to make up a lot of my business. We have a four color manual carousel and a small Ranar belt dryer. We print with plastisol.

I'm currently doing a two-color job on 100% polyester shirts (Badger 4120 Core performance shirts). It is a white base with a black top color, flashed in between. I printed all of the backs just fine, but I'm having problems with the front heart print. It seems like the top color is "bleeding" on the edges and just not producing a crisp print. The white prints great and the black prints great by itself, but as soon as the black goes on top of the flashed white, it looks awful! My ink is from Catspit Productions, it is plastisol made by Ranar, I believe, but we also tried using my father's Union Ink with the same results. We also tried a print on a 50/50 shirt, again with the same results. We're both completely stumped. He says he's never seen anything like this in his almost 35 years printing shirts. We are using 110 mesh wood framed screens with Ulano EZ50 sheet emulsion stencils. One thing to note, the screen for the black is ever-so-slightly warped...not sure if that would make a difference. Any input anyone can share would be much appreciated. Mesh too coarse? Is the emulsion too thick? Too much or too little off-contact? ????

Can't seem to figure out how to upload photos...maybe because I'm a new member...I dunno. Don't see any option to "manage attachments." Here are links to a photo of the black alone, then the black on top of the white. (Don't mind the poor registration...I know how to fix that!)

View image: IMAG1317

View image: IMAG1320


----------



## reactiongfx (Aug 13, 2015)

Grrrrr....not really a big fan of this forum so far....not very intuitive. Still can't figure out how to post an image. The "manage attachments" option is nowhere to be found, and my links that I tried to post came through with a bunch of extra code for some reason. Kind of annoying....

Let's try this again:
View image: IMAG1317

View image: IMAG1320


----------



## reactiongfx (Aug 13, 2015)

Third time's a charm??

View image: IMAG1317

View image: IMAG1320


----------



## reactiongfx (Aug 13, 2015)

Well this blows. I also can't seem to figure out how to edit or delete a post. I'm no forum noob...something just doesn't seem right here. I don't seem to have access to anything mentioned in the "How to upload a photo" tutorial. There is no "media" button. There is no "manage attachments" button. Frustrating.


----------



## squeegequeen (Feb 11, 2009)

Things that stick out from reading your post without seeing the image....
Use a finer mesh...110 is to coarse.
Knock the black out of the white
Let the shirt cool after you flash it, then print the black.


----------



## StarDesigns (Aug 4, 2013)

I agree with squeegeequeen. No need for the white base under black. Also would go up in mesh to no less than 156 for the black. 


-Mitchell 
Star Designs
The Factory


----------



## reactiongfx (Aug 13, 2015)

Yes...my dad comes from the old school where you pretty much just use 110 for everything because it "just works.". He doesn't do detail. My understanding is that 110 is okay for a white underbase, but I should be using something about 155-160 for the black. The reason I need the underbase is because I'm also printing red over white on black shirts, using the same screens. Red on black needs an underbase for sure, no? I didn't try it with the red to see if the results were the same....screwed around with the black all night and got nothing done anyhow, other than ruining a half dozen shirts, so called it quits. I also think I should be using a slightly thinner emulsion. Thoughts?


----------



## StarDesigns (Aug 4, 2013)

reactiongfx said:


> Yes...my dad comes from the old school where you pretty much just use 110 for everything because it "just works.". He doesn't do detail. My understanding is that 110 is okay for a white underbase, but I should be using something about 155-160 for the black. The reason I need the underbase is because I'm also printing red over white on black shirts, using the same screens. Red on black needs an underbase for sure, no? I didn't try it with the red to see if the results were the same....screwed around with the black all night and got nothing done anyhow, other than ruining a half dozen shirts, so called it quits. I also think I should be using a slightly thinner emulsion. Thoughts?


You will need the under base for the red on black. I'd probably stay with the 110 for the underbase but move up to 200-230 for the black/red. You'll get plenty of coverage and won't leave a huge deposit of ink. I'm not sure about what your using for emulsion. I use WBP (for water based and plastisol) from Ryonet and just do one coat on each side for most applications. 


-Mitchell 
Star Designs
The Factory


----------

