# Newbie needs help on SilkScreen Printing



## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

Hi, hope somebody can help me to address my current issue.

I'm very new to Tshirt printing production. Started off last month doing heat press printing and still learning. Wasted dozens of shirt just doing test prints to get the best results but still have'nt been able to get the hang of it.

Now, i have an order for package of TShirts and the group wanted to have it silkscreened. 

It's a white ink print on a red tshirt, sounds very demanding for a newbie.

Tried doing some prints and found out that the print is very light and the red garment is visible through the white ink. Planning to do a second coat but found out that the tshirt shrink and i could not align the shirt marks to the stencil/silkscreen after drying.

Will appreciate your advise on how to resolve the alignment issue on the prints. 

Also, how come, ink bleeds on the sides of the small letters after the 3rd print. What am i doing wrong here. I'm doing manual alignment as i dont have a proper press.

Thank you in advance.

Gary


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## tshirt304 (Sep 13, 2012)

Are the shirts 100 % cotton or 50/50? 
Each of these require a different ink flash time and cure time in dryer. But just in general white print on red shirts i would do a print/flash/print to make the print opaque. Make sure your prints are just flashed and dont start to cure ink should not transfer to your hand after flashing and make sure the print cools before you do your second print if not the ink might still be tacky and the ink well stick and not clear screen and pull shirt up off platten. You want to sheer the ink with the least amount of pressure to achieve coverage. You want the ink to sit on the shirt dont drive it throught the shirt if you see ink on platen your using way to much pressure.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using T-Shirt Forums


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## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

tshirt304 said:


> Are the shirts 100 % cotton or 50/50?
> Each of these require a different ink flash time and cure time in dryer. But just in general white print on red shirts i would do a print/flash/print to make the print opaque. Make sure your prints are just flashed and dont start to cure ink should not transfer to your hand after flashing and make sure the print cools before you do your second print if not the ink might still be tacky and the ink well stick and not clear screen and pull shirt up off platten. You want to sheer the ink with the least amount of pressure to achieve coverage. You want the ink to sit on the shirt dont drive it throught the shirt if you see ink on platen your using way to much pressure.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using T-Shirt Forums



My shirt is a 60/40 combination. yes i do see some prints on the platen after screening.

another issue now is, i already removed the shirt off the platen. So i find the alignment very difficult.

Cheers!


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## lemoid (Dec 22, 2010)

second coat must be done before removing the shirt from the platen. Be sure to use table adhesive and if possible, use a hinge clamp to make alignment easier.


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## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

lemoid said:


> second coat must be done before removing the shirt from the platen. Be sure to use table adhesive and if possible, use a hinge clamp to make alignment easier.


Then i'm in deep trouble right now...


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## Greatzky (Jan 28, 2009)

Leave the shirt on the platen until you are doing printing that side. 
Did you watch any videos on screen printing or take any classes or do any reading or did you just hop right in?


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## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

Greatzky said:


> Leave the shirt on the platen until you are doing printing that side.
> Did you watch any videos on screen printing or take any classes or do any reading or did you just hop right in?



i've watched a lot of youtube vids, read articles but never took any classes.

In a sense, i just hop in...


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## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

I still have not resolved my issue to date, and still wasting a lot of shirts doing test runs.

Situation:

Silkscreen Printing Red Shirt with white ink.

Materials:
Diazo Rubberized paint.
T-Shirt (60/40)
Spray Adhesive

Equipment:
DIY single color silk screen press (just built from scratch)

Process:

Spray on Adhesive on plate
Align Shirt
Aligh screen on platen
Fill the design with paint
Squeege the paint over the design (1 or 2 Passes).

Voila!

First one looks perfect, i don't want to double coat as i'm still not sure about doing second coats.

I set up the second shirt, same process.

Now the text shows a little shadow or paint bleed.

Then the third one really shouts out a 3mm paint bleed.

Then i'm force to clean again the screen.

How to avoid such issue on paint bleed?

Will appreciate your pointers and advice.

Thanks a lot.


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## lemoid (Dec 22, 2010)

RealTrading said:


> I still have not resolved my issue to date, and still wasting a lot of shirts doing test runs.
> 
> Situation:
> 
> ...


Check your off contact, wrong adjustment of these are the most reason of ink bleeding.


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## jamesgrapix (Feb 5, 2012)

or your ink is too thin.. also try your squeegee at 45 degree and not too leaning on the platen


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## ScreenPrinty (Apr 15, 2015)

Gary - I would recommend buying a low cost heat gun to flash cure your shirts without having to remove them from the platen. They sell them on Amazon (Amazon.com: Wagner 0503008 HT1000 1,200-watt Heat Gun: Home Improvement). This way you can do two coats with a cure in-between and get a much better opacity on your white inks. I use one of these every time as I am also an at home DIY screen printer 

Also, are you doing a flood stroke before you do the first stroke? I find that this helps white ink a lot. What mesh count is your screen?


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## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

110, yes I do flooding before my first stroke.

After first stroke, print really looks thin and can see the texture of the shirt. Print looks fine but When I apply second coat then all things break out.


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## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

My ink is thick, I squegee @45° after flooding.


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## ScreenPrinty (Apr 15, 2015)

I would definitely recommend getting a heat gun then! It might also solve your bleeding problem because if you cure the ink on the shirt, it's less likely to then deposit on the underside of your screen. 
The one I posted is the one I use and it's only $20. Your white ink prints will come out way better with a print/flash/print! 
You just do your print as usual, point the heat gun at it (making sure to cover all areas of ink, move the heat gun slowly around) for about a minute, and print again. 

Hope this helps.


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## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

Thank you, will try that option. Possible to use a hair dryer?


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## ScreenPrinty (Apr 15, 2015)

Ah - I should have asked, are you using plastisol ink? If so, a hair dryer will not get hot enough to cure it.


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## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

Not plastisol. Texilac, that's what the shop guy told me.


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## ScreenPrinty (Apr 15, 2015)

Hmm. I'm not familiar with that type of ink. Google tells me it's a type of water based ink, is that right? (Does it cure by air-drying? Then it's water based)

If so, I've got less experience with water-based inks, and would suggest you try a plastisol ink because it is much more forgiving and gives better results for beginners (and overall). You can get multipurpose plastisol ink from screen printing shops (Ryonet White Plastisol Quart). 

Hope this helps. Sorry I don't know much about the ink you're using, but I'm fairly sure it would be much easier to use plastisol ink


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## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

Thank you for your inputs. Yes it's water based.


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## jamesgrapix (Feb 5, 2012)

hair dryer will do for water based inks.. the only difference is that heat gun dries faster..


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## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

Noted, thanks a lot.


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## lemoid (Dec 22, 2010)

RealTrading said:


> Thank you, will try that option. Possible to use a hair dryer?


of course, you can use hair dryer, only heat gun is more powerful and take less time to flash the ink, also, it is more capable of higher temp and has adjustment for heat output. Be sure to fan the shirt before printing to cool it down after using heat dryer, or your screen will stick to the shirt and clog you stencil.


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## RealTrading (Apr 9, 2015)

Thank you for the inputs.


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