# learning to print with water-based ink



## LCrispa (Nov 24, 2006)

I'm having trouble getting consistent results (that is, not screwing up every single print). 

I've got a really low-tech set-up with some professional tools:
Professional screens, emulsion and squeegee, and printing on a table, while eye-balling the placement. 
Ink is Speedball because I can't have anything toxic in the house. Also, I want to print on organic and keep things as green as possible.

I'm not having trouble with the inks drying up, but I AM having trouble with getting either too little ink on the shirt, or a whole lot of bleeding through the opening. 

Today I lowered my "off-contact" to less than an 1/8 of an inch, and that seemed to help. I also flooded the ink over the stencil in between prints and that helped a bit, but it also caused some more bleeding. 

I would love any suggestions/advice. At the moment, I'm wondering if the ink has anything to do with it. Would a more viscous or professional grade ink be easier? Or is it simply my ultimate lack of experience that makes me unable to sense when not enough or too much ink is going through, on which part of the screen.

I got through the emulsion part, I really want to learn how to get through the printing !!

Thanks.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

I'm not great at diagnosing print problems, but one thing it could be is squeegee angle and pressure. Too acute an angle and/or too much pressure can cause a blurred print, so that is one possibility.

Some prints will require two passes of ink, so that might be the cause of the light prints?

It might be something else entirely, but those are things that have caused those problems for me in the past.


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## LCrispa (Nov 24, 2006)

Thank you. Blurring doesn't happen that often, and I usually know what I did (heavy squeegee pressure/angle, exactly). 
Bleeding and too much ink getting through the mesh is the most perplexing, because I've been told to keep the ink flooded on the screen between shirts. 
Do I then remove it before I press it through?

Thanks again.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Keeping the screen flooded helps slow the screen from drying out, and helps get even ink coverage with your print stroke. As far as I know it shouldn't be causing any issues - although you could always try a couple of test prints without the flood stroke and see what happens. Try experimenting on bits of scrap fabric, or even some paper (it won't print very well, but it only needs to print well enough to test, which hopefully it will).

I have occasionally had bleeding from using a weird fabric (the print looked fine when I printed it, then bled as it dried).

Off contact too high can lead to too much ink. A soft squeegee and/or a low mesh count screen can lead to too much ink. Doesn't sound like any of those are the problem though, although maybe the off-contact is still too high.

No other ideas at the moment, sorry. There are a couple of regular members here who are good with this sort of thing though, so hopefully they'll see this post.


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## LCrispa (Nov 24, 2006)

Thank you. I'm using a 110 monofilament screen. It is only the third design I've ever printed.

The first one was on a 12xx (Speedball kit, 10x14). That went fine. I started having these problems when I moved to the larger, finer screens. (18x24 professional grade) 

Are larger, finer screens more difficult to manage?
Thanks again!


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

LCrispa said:


> Are larger, finer screens more difficult to manage?


Not in my experience.

(I mean if they're _much_ larger and _much_ finer, sure, but not those kind of sizes)


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## Gun1 (Aug 11, 2008)

Sounds like what I'm dealing with; uneven prints which go blotchy when I pass a second time. My guess was the off contact but also the sound of the squeegee passing was different after the back-flooding. Could the water-based ink be drying up that fast?

Any advice that will lead to consistent results is totally welcome*
Cheers***


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Make sure your flood stroke is just one stroke, that is, you successfully flood and cover the entire stencil area with a layer of ink in one pull of the squeegee. If your initial flood stroke is inadequate and doesn't cover the stencil, going back and doing additional pulls to cover the rest of the stencil can force ink through the open mesh so that you have bleeding on your next pull.

There are way better waterbased inks out there than Speedball and they aren't any more toxic. The toxicity of waterbased inks is arguable anyway (and I don't mean to start that argument here)


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## Gun1 (Aug 11, 2008)

I'm using Permaset, but you're right the sthread to debate ink toxicity*
The back-flood tip sounds like something that ought to make a difference*
My thanks - test printing awaits*


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## Gun1 (Aug 11, 2008)

Whoops, excuse the typo, I just woke up* I meant to say 'this ain't the thread to debate ink toxicity'.
I'd better have some coffee before I do those prints*
Thanks again*


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Coffee always helps!


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## Gun1 (Aug 11, 2008)

Hello again,
The first run just went off without a hitch, which is pretty cool, I was expecting all kinds of dilema but it all came out looking reasonably good. My thanks again for your previous help.

One thing I did notice which slowed me down was the Ink generally drying out* It's a bit like melted chocolate, all smooth and nice in the beginning, but as time goes on it gets thick and lumpy. I read somewhere that a bit of water spray on the mesh from time to time can help prevent that from happening - is that true for Permaset Inks?

The other thing is I couldn't back-flood the entire design with sufficient ink in one smooth stroke so a lot of time was lost covering over the burned design with the ink knife. Sloooow. But that may well be connected to the ink thickening up.

If anyone has some knowledge how I might dodge this stuff in the future it would be great to hear from you.

Cheers*


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## ukscreenprinter (Nov 18, 2007)

I print exclusively with waterbased. As with all printing your setup must be correct for optimum results.As for the actual printing you must flood /print/flood.It is no good to cover the part of the design you miss with an ink knife,you must ensure a full clear flood in between actual prints.If drying is a problem have a spray bottle with water and mist the screen.I sometimes print twice for good coverage on certain colours but usually the flood/print/flood method is sufficient. I use grafco waterbased ink and find them superb.


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## Gun1 (Aug 11, 2008)

Yea, the ink knife is not my preferred method, but the ink just doesn't cover all the way when I back-flood. I checked the recommended squeegee angle and took note of what sort of pressure to give it, but the ink just isn't loose enough.

Laying on more ink seems a bit heavy handed so I'm reluctant to do that. Maybe when the water spray is in play it will keep the ink thinner - perhaps?


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## garrison81 (Oct 23, 2008)

I also use Permaset inks. When I'm printing with the supercover inks, I find it handy to get another container to hold some ink that I've added water to. I can use this thinner ink to counteract the quick drying of supercover inks. I've had little success with the water bottle. I always have to run a test print after spraying b/c the print blurs.

Just add about a teaspoon of water to about 100 mL of ink and mix thoroughly. When I notice that the ink is getting too thick, I'll add a little of the thinned ink to my resevoir on the screen and it smooths the ink back out.

Good luck.


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## studog79 (Jul 13, 2006)

With waterbase you should have no off contact. Also what mesh count are you using?


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

studog79 said:


> With waterbase you should have no off contact.


Why do you say that?


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## studog79 (Jul 13, 2006)

splathead said:


> Why do you say that?


Because you are pressing the ink between the fibers of the shirt and not like plastisol which is laying the ink on top of the fibers.


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## Tj Ryonet Tech (Jul 28, 2008)

I disagree, you still need to be able to clear the ink from the screen. A little off contact will help facilitate that.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

No off-contact, regardless of which type of ink used, is a recipe for headaches.


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## studog79 (Jul 13, 2006)

We have printed 1000's of waterbase and discharge shirts and no off contact. When we first stated this type of printing 2 years ago we had the experts from Wilflex in for 2 days and we worked with them on the best techniques for printing theses.


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## Rusty44 (Apr 28, 2008)

I print with waterbased inks with no off contact. For my designs, I like the 160 - 190 mesh count. Speedball makes a Retarder that may help - I think it is new to their line. I haven't used it yet but would like to try it. 
Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Ink - 8oz. Jars

Sometimes it's necessary to clean the back of the screen with water and a paper towel. If you don't have enough ink to flood, you may need to add more on the screen. Angle, pressure and a smooth pass are the things that make a good print. Oh yes and a spray bottle and paper towels are my best friends too.


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## nickijayneh (May 28, 2009)

Hi, I just wanted to join in on this discussion as i am also printing with water-based ink (permaset aqua). I am getting good prints on one set of tshirts i have sourced (they seem to have quite a fine weave and 100% cotton). I am also using some organic cotton shirts from Ramo and i am getting really inconsistent results. Some are coming out great and others look as though there isnt enough ink around the edges. I am using a hairdryer to dry a little so i can flood and pull again (and have experimented with this until it looks fully covered). Only to find that when i take it off the platen, and hold it up, it has small pin holes where the ink hasn't penetrated the cotton. 

I am using a 43 mesh, the design is fairly detailed with a mix of solid colour and outlines (vector graphics, so not too fine), as i said, getting quite good results on another batch of tees - and it's happening a little on another tee that i'm experimenting with also.

So far, i have been cleaning the screen if the paint clogs and doing a second print to allow more paint through, this has been working but i just cant understand why it looks as though the ink has covered/dyed the garment then when i look at it off the platen it has little lines/pin holes etc. I've used different sizes too to see if it were the fact that the smaller infantwear was any better as it was being stretched more on the platen, but same results!!

Sorry for the long post - i'm just so fed up of wasting my tees (and i need to practice on those ones to see the final effects)

Any advice, much appreciated,
nicki


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## InkedApparel (Mar 18, 2009)

> I'm using a 110 monofilament screen


I think this is the problem..... water based inks are alot thinner than plastisol and tend to run thru the screen easier...so maybe go to a 230 or 255 mesh screen...

just my 2 cents

Inked


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## nickijayneh (May 28, 2009)

Hi, 
wouldn't a higher mesh count mean even less ink getting through the screen....my prob is that i am getting areas that look as tho the ink hasnt gotten through/hasnt dyed the cotton.....??


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## Rusty44 (Apr 28, 2008)

From what I understand you are saying you get some good prints and then some prints the edge or sections aren't printing very good. I print with waterbased inks and use 160 - 200 yellow mesh for best prints. 

After one pass, I do not flood the screen but lift it and check my print. If I need to pull again (depending what it looks like) I will either just do another quick swipe to push any remaining ink through, or flood the screen and give it another pass (very seldom). The right angle, amount pressure and a smooth pull make a good one time pass.
I think the hair dryer might be drying the ink in your screen. I have never use a one. I also turn off the fans when printing as that can dry the ink in the screen faster.
I know every printer uses different methods that they find work for them, but this is what works for me. 

Good luck to you.

Sandra Dornick


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## nickijayneh (May 28, 2009)

Hi, 

That sounds similar to what i do with my other shirts, i rarely even have to use the dryer on those, i just do one flood, and two pulls and it's usually ok. The infant tees i have been using are a new batch and the ink has reacted differently to previously. Maybe it's me...i'll keep trying - thanks for the advice

n


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## Tat2uClothing (Aug 14, 2009)

Wow! All very helpful information. Thanks everyone, i'm totally new at this, and my main focus is the ink, because i don't have a flash dryer (yet) and only have water-based inks to start off with. Glad i found this forum. Everyone's been pretty cool.
The only ink i've ordered has been Speedballs water-based ink. What's better than that?..like brand names..i usually buy my stuff from silkscreeningsupplies.com, but have purchased also from Ebay.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Tat2uClothing said:


> The only ink i've ordered has been Speedballs water-based ink. What's better than that?..like brand names..i usually buy my stuff from silkscreeningsupplies.com, but have purchased also from Ebay.


Silkscreeningsupplies carries Matsui waterbased ink, arguably the best commercial waterbased ink available. They private label it, I believe their name for it is Enviroline. 

Another good one is Permaset.

With both of these, using an iron to cure is not recommended. At the very least you'll need a heat gun ($10-20 on ebay, home depot, etc.). A conveyor dryer works best.


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## Tat2uClothing (Aug 14, 2009)

Very cool Splathead!, Thank You! I'll grab some of the Enviroline like you said. I mistakenly purchased a big tub of white oil-based-ink from silkscreeningsupplies about a month ago. I'd hate to throw it out, don't know if i'll ever use it. lol What's the shelf life? -it's NOT open. Maybe i can use that when i get a flash dryer.


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