# My screens won't stop sticking!! Please help!!!



## MAURINE GRAPHICS (Dec 2, 2012)

I have been trying to do multi colored jobs and for the life of me I cannot get my screens to stop ripping the shirts and test pellons right off the platen. I have tried more adhesive, less adhesive, cleaning the platens and bottom of the screens very well with ink remover, more off contact, less off contact, making sure it's level, different printing pressures and angles, more and less passes with the squeegee, etc!!! Absolutely nothing works! My screens are only a month and a half old, I purchased them new from Ryonet, and the tension feels good (as far as I know). I am brand new at this, and for some reason decided to start taking on 5 and 6 color jobs instantly, and now I have no idea what else I can try. I've searched threads on the topic but can't figure out anything new to try. The 5 color job I am doing right now seemed to be fine for a day and a half while I was trying to register it (yes it's been taking me that long to try to register with micros, maybe I'm in the wrong business!), they weren't sticking for a while, then all of a sudden today, sticking like crazy! 

Just for more descriptive info- print order- light grey 110 mesh (not sticking a bit), flash, dark grey 110 mesh (not sticking a bit), flash, white 200 mesh (just a slight pop when lifting the screen, but the shirt/pellon still is sticking fine), flash, red 200 mesh (shirt/pellon either sticks very bad or completely lifts with the screen), flash, if I make it to the black, 160 mesh (shirt/pellon sticks very bad or completely lifts).

Does anyone have any ideas????


----------



## DigitalMayhem (Aug 4, 2007)

Print wet on wet without flashing each color?

Sent from my LTEvo.


----------



## abchung (Jul 16, 2009)

I don't know much about 110, because they are just to coarse for me. Which mean laying a thicker layer of ink.

Have you tried flashing it longer? Just be careful if you are laying down an under base.

I usually use 305 thread/inch, medium thread diameter for multi coloured jobs at 30N (feels like a drum).


----------



## Jklavinsprinting (Apr 24, 2013)

What kind of pallet adhesive do you use? How long are you flashing each color? If it is spray adhesive, in my experience the hotter it gets, the shorter it lasts. I use Albatross ALBA Brush Tac Adhesive, and it sometimes lasts through multiple jobs. How are you curing?


----------



## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

Travis, Flash longer after the 2nd gray and white and make sure you cool down when I had my silver press I had a fan set up inbetween flash and print staion for a 10 second cool down as getting too hot can cause platen to warp. look at your screens that are sticking if you can see any of the previous colors then you are not flashing long enough or no cooling down enough. If the screen has ink from previous screen you will probably have to clean off. you can try to print light gray the dark gray wet on wet before flashing but you may get a mix on that .5 trap btween the grays try it if you can make it work will save time. then flash print white flash, then print red, black wet on wet and cure

That ryonet white was doing the same thing to me. white take longer.


----------



## MAURINE GRAPHICS (Dec 2, 2012)

I'm gonna play around with the wet on wet when I get home. You had the ryonet white making your garments stick? I actually took your advice and bought some Excalibur inks. I bought white, I'm gonna try switching the white to the Excalibur when I get home too. With my luck, nothing is that simple, but I guess there's a first for everything.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using T-Shirt Forums


----------



## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

Yes cause of its thickness and the layer it leaves. Flashing longer fixes the problem but then you have to cool longer. Which Excalibur white did you get? if it the Artic white mix and print, if its the Athletic white mix very well, if you have some reducer a few drops will make the athletic white print like the Artic white without reducer. Good luck You'll get it just don't give up it does get easier


----------



## MAURINE GRAPHICS (Dec 2, 2012)

I have the Arctic White. Don't bother reducing it? 

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using T-Shirt Forums


----------



## MAURINE GRAPHICS (Dec 2, 2012)

JKlavin, That's the first time I've seen brush adhesive. Does it seems to hold up better than spray when the platen starts getting hot? I am just using the Ryonet mist adhesive. I would like to get aluminum platens but I wanna hold off until I upgrade to a new press.


----------



## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

No you shouldn't to reduce. But since you have those 20% halftones you can add a little amount if they start to clog on them but I'm my experience the more the reducer added the longer the flash required especially white and that requires more cool down and with only 2 stations you can get the platen really hot then you have to take a break. When I printed with 2 stations it was a good excuse for stiff drink. 

Water based adhesive not only holds up when flashing this is when it works best. On T-shirts I can get 50-200 shirts per platen without the need for cleaning or reapplication. It won't seem as sticky but it holds. Ryonet has some great stuff. CCI Pro bond. But a pint or qt. mix 1/1, 2/1, or 3/1 water to your liking. For t's it 2/1 so your tripling your product. Get a ketchup/mustard squeeze bottle kit. I put a couple of squiggles on the platen and roll with a small paint roller. Keep the end in a bag tied up after printing. Most card it on but I like the more even coat of the roller.

After it looses sticky just flash and wipe with a t and water to remove fuzz. Flash and start printing. Most of the time no need to apply especially if you start with 2 coats like I do. Also if you don't have platen tape try it.


----------



## FDR_Graphix (Oct 27, 2009)

You should only have to flash your base. Put on a new pellon and go through ALL your colors ten times with that same pellon wet on wet. Once you have cycled though all colors you are going to have a ridiculous amount of ink down, but what you are doing is "loading" the bottoms of all the screens. Once they have a good amount of ink on the bottoms they will no longer want to lift the garment. I guess I should make it clear that you will only print the base once and flash it. Then run through all the colors over it. 

Let me know if this helps.


----------



## Omni (Mar 28, 2012)

Good advice given already.....If none of that works out for you (as it should).....try lightly spraying a little silicone spray on the bottom of your screens......if you don't have silicon spray......unscented Endust is a reasonable substitute........


----------



## MAURINE GRAPHICS (Dec 2, 2012)

Spot on, Sean. It was actually probably a combination- Not flashing the Ryonet long enough and letting the platen heat up too much. I printed the greys wet on wet and flashed everything else, used the Excalibur and gave a little cool down time after the white, and no sticking. A slight pop, but no lifting. Thanks guys!


----------



## MAURINE GRAPHICS (Dec 2, 2012)

Quick side question since were on the topic of wet on wet- If I am to print halftones, lets just say red and yellow flames for example, would I be able to do that wet on wet or would it not work since the colors are basically on top of each other?


----------



## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

You would knock out the red where the yellow is and vice versa. If you had a red, yellow and orange flame if properly separated you could print 2 colors and have 3 with many tints in between. Then add a shading screen(black halftones) and a highlight screen(white halftone) and there is several hundred different shades and colors. 

How did the highlight white come out. I am switching a bunch of equipment in my shop right now. Went last week got a Newman Pin Registration system and had a bunch of 23x26 roller frames. Since changing back and forth between 18" and 23" frames is a pain with this system I decided to sell all my 18" roller frames so I been stretching new screen and moving stuff around and other work. So it will be a few before I finish on how that was done. I'm waiting to see it.

Since the print order was light gray, dark gray, white, red, black I think the black and red touched so that was probably a good call on flashing those 2. Since I have a 6 station and my flash is almost on the shirt for cotton I can get away with vey quick flashes. I would have printed the same way.


----------



## MAURINE GRAPHICS (Dec 2, 2012)

Whenever you upgrade on things keep me in mind! I'll always buy used stuff to upgrade myself. The highlight white came out awesome. I actually changed the print order. Light grey dark grey wet- flash. Then Black, because the words at the bottom in black were covering the white too much. So I did the black, then the white then red. If I hadn't underbased the red I would have done the white last, to print over the red letters too. But it came out awesome in the end. I'll send you a pic once I have it on the shirt.


----------



## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

Oops. My bad on the black white over print. When you see how I vectored the file instead of the way the other guys did it there isn't thousands of fragments and pieces everywhere. But see you were able to adjust and make it work and that's what it takes in this business. 

Anyway I should have just re vectored it from the get go as the seps would have taken 10 min without all the problems encountered. That's the way I will make a video or tutorial. Not the hard way!!!


----------



## MAURINE GRAPHICS (Dec 2, 2012)

Trust me, if you're not swamped, you'll be doing the vectorization next time.


----------



## MAURINE GRAPHICS (Dec 2, 2012)

PS- I owe you a beer or twelve. Let me know if you ever come on over to the dreary Upstate New York.


----------

