# Printed My First Shirts Today!



## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

Well a couple weeks back i got my first press 4c 1s and tried just laying ink down a couple times to get used to the process on some screens the guy gave me.. 

So last night I started the trial and error of dealing with exposure for the screens to make my first screen.. after a few fails and printing up a wedge sheet to calculate what i needed for exposure time.. i was ready to set off today and make a screen. So this morning I made my first screen (took two tries).

Once i was satisfied with the screen I decided to try making the shirts.. 

My flash dryer kept poping my breaker (its a 18.9amp dryer on a 15amp breaker) Lol i was going down to the basement a few times .. but all in all i got the job done.. 6 times  (the basement plugs are all 20amp soI'm moving the operation down there.. its a finished basement  One shirt came out horrible.. somehow ink got below the screen and smudged the image bad.. but the rest looked great. 

here is one of the better ones:
http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/?action=view&current=IMG_1019.jpg

I plan to make some more today .. I was found a neat expert textile cleaning gun in the slew of stuff i got from a person retiring from the biz which will make cleaning this next screen alot easier.. cleaning the emulsion in a sink with the regular dish sprayer takes too long and is super messy... I have a washout sink but its too big to fit in the basment with the rest of the stuff. 

I havent moved the exposure unit down there yet .. lol its still on my pourch .. but It works nice at night to expose and go right to the hose to clean it up.. will be nice when I'm all setup in the basement. 

All in all I have to say it was an enjoyable process and i can see it being alot easier when I Know what I'm doing. 

This site has helped alot and is responsible for my first run of shirts today! 

Thanks! 

Equipment used:
4 color 1 station press
Harco 400w Exposure unit
Black Flash Heat Dryer


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## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

Good job! Once you get the knack for it things start going real smoothly. That's fantastic for your first try!

You might already be doing it this way, but if not try laying down just one "stroke" of ink, putting the flash dryer over the shirt for 15 or 20 seconds (just long enough so ink doesn't come off onto your finger), then printing a second stroke. That should help keep the ink from building up on the bottom side of the screen - looks like maybe you tried to print several strokes at once? You can get away with 2, but don't go more than that.


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

What happened is i back flooded the screen twice on one shirt.. a lesson learned hard. ruined a good shirt (was printing on expensive t's since they were for my wife and I ) 

I did do 2-3 coats on the shirts though.. next design i do where i print color over the black shirts I'llbe making two screens with reg marks so i can lay down white (flash it) then lay down the color to really make them pop  

thanks for the advice and encourgement!


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## Steelheader100 (Jan 18, 2007)

Congratulations on your first print. I'm curious about this textile cleaning gun you have. Does it look like this?








If so it's not for cleaning screens with. It's for when you get a little smudge of ink on one of your shirts you can spray it out.


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## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

See, already learning! Now you won't make that mistake again.

I almost always print on a scrap of cloth first, before printing on an actual shirt, just to make sure that everything is exactly as it should be. Even a paper shop towel works (the rolls of blue paper shop towels from the local mega-hardware store are pretty handy to have around, but they do fill up your trash can). Whenever I rush and figure, "eh, I got this...", I almost always ruin the first one. Reminds me, last time I figured I could get away without printing a test pellon first was a 6-color job. Wouldn't you know I forgot to block out a reg mark on one of the screens, so I ended up printing the first shirt with a nice, pretty, red registration mark printed right above the design. 

Oh, and when you wash your design out of the emulsion try using a garden hose with a jet attachment in that wash-out sink you got. You can even do it on the back porch if you're quick & don't let the sun shine on the screen. Put the exposed screen in a trash bag, take it outside & spray both sides with water while it's still in the bag, wait 30 seconds then take it out & immediately spray it out in the sink.


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## Sand (May 15, 2008)

We use that gun to get spots out of our shirts..We put spot cleaning fluid in it. Works great for that purpose. We use a power washer to get ink out of our screens. The spot cleaning gets ink off of shirts and jeans and anthing really you got ink where you dont want it. We also use a shop vacume to hold the fabric in place then spray the fabric on the vacume. The vacume will take the liquid into the system and leaves the fabric dry.


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

Yes The gun i have is simular is the Expert SP1000 i think.. i can adjust the flow/jet so i can get into the areas that are harder to break up .. since I dont have a pressure washer yet. 



Yeah I expect to be in learning mode for a few months.. I'd like to get some sort of order.. but I got such a good deal on the equipment I have .. selling any of it will bring in a profit to put back into more compact better stuff. 

the 6c 4 station harco master printer i have is super nice.. i just cant fit it anywhere in my house  I'd like to find a smaller version of it .. something that isnt 750lbs too.. lol 

Now I'm stumped on what i want to do for a design.. lol I might just draw something up.. i was thinking of some sort of funny saying or something .. idk we'll see .. I think my next one will be white on black I might try a Two color


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

well i did my first really good print .. i'll take some pics later ..and after racking my brain for a biz name I finally came up with something that had an open domain name 

TinyGiantClothing.com .. lol a tiny giant .. is well.. a normal person  anywho I setup my site in a couple hours and just have to get designing more t's and getting the wife to design some too.. this week her project is to design some then i will make her do the screen creation and printing too... so she'll get the hang of it  

feedback would be great  
I have to get my hands on a torso maniquin so i can take some actual pics.. but for now the image itself will work .. since i probably wont be getting any sales just yet


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

Dang good first try! Keep doing what you're doin!


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## acanvas (Sep 27, 2007)

nice job lining up the colors! Oh, my the way, learning mode is life long which is one of the things we LOVE about printing and one of the things can be very frustrating...


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

here is my first two color print.. I didnt know the white i had was a puff ink.. kinda made the 2nd color look a little off center.. guess i have to get another tub of white..or look through my stock lol .. probably another tub there


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

todays new t-shirt..

I gotta say .. i really am enjoying the process.. i've got the screen making down to a science now 

I've decided exposing with my exposure unit on my porch at night is the best.. that way i can expose then hose  and not worry about the sun killing the screen. Its alot cleaner then doing it in the house


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

Nice detail. Good work.


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

thanks .. it amazes me how much detail is possible.. with hardening some pink goo lol


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

Qtx? Also, how did the flashing go?


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## bamzurc (Nov 9, 2007)

very nice thread.. congrats 3mrhythm, on your successfull tries. and now you have a name for your biz... nice work...

can you give me some tips on how you align your designs on your shirts wiht different sizes?


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

out da box: yeah qtx.. good stuff  and the flash dryer works great.. i have the black flash 18.9amp model.. i plug it in let it get to temp then start working .. with the puff ink i find i have to let it sit over it for like 15sec on the first lay dow... then lay down the second coat.. then flash for like 17 sec take it off for a few seconds and put it on for another 8-10 to get the entire print to puff.. 


bamzurk:
lol i just do it .. lol 

the designs i have done so far end up almost touching the collar so .. i just use that as my guide.. but for the most part i just have a neck hole drawn on my platen and i just line the collar up with the line .. seems to do the trick. I'll probably run into issues eventually if i start doing really large shirts.. but for now i'll probably just go as high as xl or 2xl

thanks for the encouragement!


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

in the next day or so i should have all my equipment sold.. the big harco 6c 4s press and the conveyor dryer .. which will be really nice.. i plan to sell my newman screens and get some fixed alum screens.. and give my 4c 1 station press an over haul.. needs a couple new lift arms and some new knobs on a couple clamps.. might just sell that too and get another nice newer compact 4c 1s .. just want somethng with micro registration as I know i'll be using all the colors soon  gotta pay off a credit card or two.. that way i can justify ordering blanks and printing shirts


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

i whipped the site up two nights ago and been tweaking it here and there over the last couple days.. thing i have it the way i want it .. other than maybe removing manufacturer link/images from the index page (since i only plan to sell my own stuff) and remove the brand drop down for the same reason.. maybe put some other type of drop down there .. or install a flash game or something for people to play

I plan to work up a mascot.. a Tiny Person in giant clothes.. or something like that .. something that will basically look like a kid in his dads clothing .. or maybe like a centurian looking guy with way oversized armor .. idk gotta start doodling and see what happens


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

_Comin'OutSwingin thanks .. I forgot about the non link posting rule. i put it my sig. thanks!

there are forums i've been on in the past that ban for that oversight .. glad you guys are nicer here 
_


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

out da box:

did you mean flash drying or the exposing of the qtx?


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## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

Wow, looking great!! You're really moving along; that's fantastic.

If you look for another press, you might consider a 4c / 4s or even 6c / 6s instead of the single-station, just because the printing will go so much faster when you're doing larger runs.


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

I meant the flashing, I used to- well still do sometimes have a problem flashing on a manual with the pallet getting hot and the shirt moving. You white print on blue looks good and it looks flashed, but no blur or double print. Looks good. I find that if you work with 4 or more pallets, the shirts have time to cool before applying the second coat- less moving and headaches.


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

i have a nice Harco 6c 4 station press that unfortunately i cant fit in my basement where i'm doing my printing.. I also have a Harco 240v 8' conveyor dryer too  I bought them with a bunch of other stuff from a guy that kick started me into this business.. also ended up with about 50 gallon tubs of ink 30 roller screens, tension meter..flash dryer and harco exposure unit. 

I plan to keep the exposure unit, flash dryer and all the ink and chemicals ,squeegees and scoop coaters ..but the press is far too big to fit down there.. if i didnt have beams down there i could probably use it .. but i cant ..so i figured i would sell it and take the moeny to buy more screens and to fix up the press i have now or sell my press too and get a newer 4c 2s 

i've been having great luck with the flash dryer .. I've watched tons of videos on youtube.com and done a good amount of reading .. which i will probably be doing for the rest of my life if i stay in the indusrty  i havent burned a shirt yet or had a bad cure (fingers crossed) even had good luck with the two color print i did .. I would like to use that big press .. maybe i'll have to do some measuring and see what i can do.. I have a really nice deck in the back that would make a perfect shirt shop if i could enclose it .. but i dont have the funds to do that .. and my wife probably wouldnt like that much ..lol 


I plan to get some HS kids to get working for me selling shirts and drawing up designs.. i think thats a good way to infultrate the trendy market.. there a bunch of talent artists out there .. do something like design a shirt .. and if we use the design we'll give you a free shirt or hoodie or something .. then the kids that sell them get a commision of a couple bux a shirt


I'm going to try my first metalic prints tonight probably do something like light black text with some silver overlay or something .. we'll see .. I need something on a white shirt.. been doing mostly blacks


lol its funny how much i pay attention to other peoples t-shirts now .. and when i go clothes shopping i pay more attention to whats on the shirts than anything else . 

so far i'm enjoying it .. i ran a paintball business/online store for a couple years and really lost the interest in it quick .. and the products were always changing every couple months so i was changing my site non stop.. this will be nice to only have to add products to the site that i create and not have to worry about getting things off the site that they arent producing anymore  

Question:
Do you guys keep all he screens of your designs or do you reclaim them and only keep a few screens?

i think i'm liking the idea of having all the screens of my designs on hand so i can make shirts as hey are ordered and not having to remake the screen.. not that its a terrible process in itself.. would just make things less demanding when it comes to fufilling orders..


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

out da box:

I dont move the shirt to flash it .. i just do it on the pallet... then if i feel its kinda hot i wait .. and wave it off a bit to make sure its cool.. having more pallets would be nice


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

If you keep the screens, you will have unneeded and unwanted and unused and dirty screens all over the place. Plus you have a small place. Just a thought. If you keep the films, you can always reburn the screens. I know it sounds like a headache, but unless you re-use designs frequently, it'll save you money and problems.
I used to have long set-ups on my manual, but with my new auto, the set-up takes me very little time. And once it's set- it's set! Registration is excellent, especially with tight screens. You'll do good with the roller frames. I need to get me some.
Good idea with the youth. I'm trying to do something similar, but I'm a full-time printer so time is little and precious.
Good luck.


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## macmiller (Jul 23, 2007)

keep the rollers! i've got 11 now that i got a good deal on. i'm still learning to mesh them right, but the few i've stretched, i love. 

clothes shopping!! i just look not buy. i'm too cheap to spend 20 bucks or so on something i can make, but then i'm too busy and wear blank tees that i order extras of from jobs!


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

this guy makes those newman rollers super easy to mesh .. lol i have a box of mesh and tons of screens.. no torque wrench though..or that roller wrench

YouTube - How to Stretch a Newman Roller Frame


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

lol i just did one with a wrench and a socket.. and made sure the tension was the same all around the screen... i'll try using just for the heck of it 

it was pretty easy though .. maybe i will keep these suckers


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## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

> Question:
> Do you guys keep all he screens of your designs or do you reclaim them and only keep a few screens?


I used to keep them all, but now I only keep the ones I know will be used within a month. Once I got a pressure washer and wash-out area set up it was so easy to reclaim that it became easier / cheaper to re-burn the screens again later than storing them and buying new screens for every job.

I do the same thing, walking around looking at what people are wearing! I go to the mall and just watch people. I've finally gotten to where I can usually guess the brand of blank that the shirt was printed on based on the cut & fabric. I'm obsessed! haha.


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## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

3mrhythm: I love your scattered logo t. Keep up the good work!


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

here is my newest  











I was a little off on my alignment.. i spaced it not thinking that using two different size frames would throw off my alignment lol.. i got to registering it and noticed.. crap i was like 3" higher on the shirt with the second layer  
lol so i printing adn flashed the first layer.. then put the transparency down over it and re-registered it then layed down the red ink.. came out okay.. could be better.. I gotta get a torque wrench and frame wrench so i can stretch those 20 screens i have  they are all the same size.. will make things nice and easy


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

therasa.. thanks! 

my wife and I did a mural on our wall in our movie room and the tree/birds were actually part of that 

i originally got the idea from a t-shirt we found at target.. i bought the shirt.. scanned it and edited the image to what i wanted.. incorporating things from movies and games into the image .. then we used an overhead projector and traced it on the wall then painted over it with black .. then used a paint pen to highlight with silver

i'll try and snap a pick of it and post it . it came out nice


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

Sheepsalt said:


> I've finally gotten to where I can usually guess the brand of blank that the shirt was printed on based on the cut & fabric. I'm obsessed! haha.



yeah.. thats pretty bad ..lol 


I've just been buying fruit of the loom shirts from walmart for 3-4 bux each .. for now it works If i'm getting 15 a shirt plus shipping.. i'm not going to squabble over a few cents .. not until i start selling alot of shirts.. lol or maybe even one ..lol 

I'm having fun designing and getting onto the shirts and in the store... i'll have one copy of each shirt that i have in the store.. that way i know i have the skill to produce the shirt .. and can take a picture of the shirt and prove that i can produce the image i'm showing the customer.. makes it look more legit and helps me learn and get on the press rather than just playing on photoshop all day or doodling on the sketch pad


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

Nice print. Good detail on the old English fonts. What mesh did you use? How do you expose your screens?


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

i use a harco exposure unit i think its 110 mesh for 3min 10 seconds then wash it out with a garden hose


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## Scott747 (Feb 21, 2008)

Just curious if you have washed any of your shirts. One of me bigger mistakes was thinking I cured the shirts correctly only to find out that they were bleeding out after being washed...


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

Yeah i have washed some shirts i made for the pet store i work at .. i might go ahead and wash the Old English one I did .. I like that shirt and will probably confiscate it 

thats a good point..

but i usually leave the flash dryer on it for 13-20seconds or until i get a tiny bit of smoke.. seems to be waht most vids and sites say to do


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## Scott747 (Feb 21, 2008)

My issues could be with my flash dryer. I decided to build up a sizable amount of designs and inventory before going live and was busy piddling away making shirts before I started washing them. Wife asked "Is this how it's supposed to look?"

Many were ruined while a few actually came out looking like it was meant to be that way. This shirt below now has a drip look to it... Always learning. Great start on your shirts btw...


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## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

3mrhythm said:


> therasa.. thanks!
> 
> my wife and I did a mural on our wall in our movie room and the tree/birds were actually part of that ...i'll try and snap a pick of it and post it . it came out nice


I would love to see it! Thanks!


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

Scott.. looks good.. i like pushing the detail limit .. seeing how fine i can get the lines.. i have a really nice skelleton i drew a while back with all sorts of lines.. kinda dark..lol holding his empty sockets as his eyes hang below.. but it came out really really well.. i might try that one on a shirt next .. see how that comes out 

Theresa here is the mural:


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

Ccott-- i let my flash dryer warm up while i setup my screens so i know its to temp when i use it .. i also keep it like 1-2" from the shirt so i know its getting the heat to it .. like clockwork 12-17 seconds and i get smoke when i swing it off the shirt.. 

i think the rule is if you get smoke the shirt is cured. sometimes i leave it on there and just trust that its cured .. after like 15-20 seconds i figure it is .. alot of times even when doing the same color i cure between coats .so i dont have to try to cure like 3layers deep of the same color and risk burning the shirt.. idk if thats normal .. probably a waste of time.. lol but it makes me feel like im goin the extra mile


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

this is my skeleton guy.. probably will print him white on black with some sort of distorted or decaying font around him


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

i was able to get my 6c 4s press into the basement after all.. had to relocate a lollycolumn but it works down there now  

i can only use two of the stations and dont have the room to rotate the platens but the screen arms all rotate with the roller screens on them  

so i'm a little more excited now.. this press has the xyz micro reg and is way way more solid than my last press  

i should be able to crank out some nice stuff now 

i just gotta get my hands on a torque wrench for the roller screens


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## acanvas (Sep 27, 2007)

YOU ARE SO ROCKIN IT!!!! Congrats, I love the idea of the white aspects being puff...kinda fun. Someday I'll have to take the time to post the tee we did for a client that was truly 3d...one color no puff, next color approx. 5% puff, next color approx. 15% Puff!!!!! there all circles that over lap each other. A total pain in the *** to cure correctly but it looks cool and I still see people wearing them after a ton of washings there still 3d......thank god for that...i'd never worked with puff before that design..hehehehe


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

acanvas.. yeah that sounds like alot of work.. but i'd love to see it. 


I got a great phone call today.. a friend of mine is in a band that in the last few months has really started getting popular.. they hooked up with a promoter and he's getting them into alot of shows.. they were talking to another friend of mine today and found out that i'm doing shirts.. they said they will do 100% of thier clothing through me.. and said that they want to make sure that i put my logo or url on the shirt somewhere.. like back outside tag or something so i get the exposure.. This cold definitely be my break into the local music sceene which would be a huge boost to get things up and going. I sold my online paintball business a few months back and paid off some bills and bought some toys.. I'm slowly starting to miss the extra income.. so this will be nice. I'll give them free tinygiantclothing shirts too with my URL on them for them to throw out in the crowds.. and have a special contacts page for bands to contact me for custom screen work  

I love when things start working out  God is good


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## bamzurc (Nov 9, 2007)

nice designs you got there...


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## willie.valencia (May 29, 2008)

good going!

The problem with the ink going under your screen might be the angle of your squeege and or your off contact is a little high.

When you pull your squeege try keeping it in a 45 degree angle and enough pressure agaist the t-shirt pallet.

If you have more problems let me know.

Keep your faith, you'll do well!

willie.valencia


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

Here are the two shirts i designed for them last night .. they are a heavy death metal sort of band


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## willie.valencia (May 29, 2008)

they look excellent, all you need is time man.
OJT is the best teacher.
Follow your call!


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

thanks willie

I got my first order off craigslist today .. doing large patches that will be sew onto the fronts of pillows.. just a basic tree silhouette charged $20 setup fee and $6 a print no charge to switch ink colors.. so she's getting 3 in white on black and 3 in black on white and will get a ton more as her product starts selling 

I gotta get my exposure unit to the basement so i can expose durring the day . I have been exposing at night so i can washout outside with the hose and not worry about the sun


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## 3mrhythm (Apr 27, 2008)

second one i was a tad off on the HOME but not bad.. that was on my new press


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