# under base cracking while on the press issue.



## hfscreenprinting (Aug 9, 2016)

hey,

have a little problem here. Need some advice, i have been printing thiese very thin v necks, i believe the weight is 3.8oz. So i am printing an under base with this. 2 passes of white and one hit of blue. As i am pulling the shirts off the board, the shirt is so thin that the blue on top starts to crack and leaves marks on the print, it looks terrible. Not sure why i am having this issue with these thin tees, do i need to do 2 layers of base on this?


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## Industryps (Aug 9, 2016)

What color are the tees you're printing on and what is the fabric content?

Are you using a lot of tack to hold them on the pallet?

You can try one hit of white, flash, hit the blue, then if you're still having the cracking issue, try a quick flash before pulling off the press. This will gel your ink so its a little more flexible during handling.


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## hfscreenprinting (Aug 9, 2016)

Industryps said:


> What color are the tees you're printing on and what is the fabric content?
> 
> Are you using a lot of tack to hold them on the pallet?
> 
> You can try one hit of white, flash, hit the blue, then if you're still having the cracking issue, try a quick flash before pulling off the press. This will gel your ink so its a little more flexible during handling.



The tees are red and last batch was black. Both very thin.

i think i may have used a lot, when i didnt spray the board on the next one, the tee didnt stick lol.

i need to do 2 on the white because the white will also be showing. if i do one hit the shirt is seeing through the ink.

So print, flash then pull off?


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## Industryps (Aug 9, 2016)

Yes, I think a flash before pulling off would be your next move, and using less tack on the pallet.

Do you have a multi-color press? In the future for a design like this, the parts of the white that are showing could be a separate "highlight" screen. This will allow you to have one hit of underbase, then flash, print blue, flash again, hit the highlight, and now you've got bright whites without a thick, heavy underbase.


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## Inkslammer14 (Jan 12, 2018)

I print a lot of those thin type tees. I apply minimal adhesive as possible. Print the white with 125 mesh one pass. Flash 2-3 seconds. Print white again than the other color without a 2nd flash. Remove the shirt from the bottom. Using Triangle white and it works great for these thin garments....good luck


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## prohab (Jan 10, 2018)

You could try adding some stretch additive to the ink as well to help with the cracking. I have printed the thin tri-blends and they stretch, don't stick, crack and burn from the flash. I use some stretch with poly ink and seems to work well.


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## dlanthripe (Jul 19, 2010)

I have found that sometimes the shirt sticks to the platen because the ink has gone through the shirt and gel cured on the platen. That makes me pull harder, stretch the shirt and crack the design.

I have started adding a little curable reducer to see what would help. It has for the most part. 
I am going to add a touch of stretch next try.


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