# how to print multiple print without washing screen?



## masoodthedude (Apr 4, 2011)

i wanna know how screen printers print so many shirts in one sitting, without washing the paint out of the screen? whenever i print, i have to wash my screen about every 2 shirts, or else the paint wont get out. please help, i am using water based and plastisol ink.


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## superD70 (Dec 22, 2010)

plastisol should never dry in your screen, i have screens with ink in them that I use every 2-3 months and never clean. waterbase on the other hand requires you flood the screen after every print stroke to prevent it from drying between prints.
I dont do waterbase so I cant offer any more than that.


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## masoodthedude (Apr 4, 2011)

so when using waterbased, all i have to do is flood it after i print? wouldnt that just cause more ink to dry in the screen?


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## superD70 (Dec 22, 2010)

In theory yes, a thicker film of ink dries slower than a thin one so you have more time between prints.
That's where plastisol shines, you can wait 30 min or 30 days between prints and no problems


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## Greatzky (Jan 28, 2009)

if you are getting ink drying in the screen and you are using water based inks then you are just waiting too long between prints.. also if you are using a good stroke when you print you shouldn't have much left over ink in the mesh anyway.

you need to flood between each print so that you can give yourself more time before the ink dries in the mesh.

I do not print with WB ink, but this is all that I can think of.

If you have ink drying in the screen and you are using plastisol then you are laying your screen down onto a platen or shirt that is way too hot. You need to give the platen or shirt more time to cool between prints.


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## drock (Mar 16, 2011)

sounds like you may be letting the ink sit for too long, also maybe a higher mesh and a softer squeege might help, 
good luck


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## TTOriginals (Feb 24, 2011)

I don't use water based myself so I can't comment on that end. I use plastisol and the hot platen and hot shirt can definitely cause the ink to dry in the screen. If you are printing on a very hot surface it is very important to let that ink and surface cool longer before you print again. Otherwise you will just make more and more problems for yourself.


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## masoodthedude (Apr 4, 2011)

okay, so it is possible to do say maybe 20 shirts with water based ink without drying, all i have to do is once im done with the print, just flood it?


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## Darkness Awakes (Mar 23, 2010)

masoodthedude said:


> okay, so it is possible to do say maybe 20 shirts with water based ink without drying, all i have to do is once im done with the print, just flood it?


 
It all depends on what you are doing in between each shirt... i use wb (i am only new) but i have to walk about 3 metres between my press & dryer & the ink doesn't dry on my screen & i dont flood between each print... so maybe it's more about time than the ink... 

hope this helps


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## masoodthedude (Apr 4, 2011)

so as long as you keep printing continously with water base, it wont dry?


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## Pvasquez (Feb 19, 2011)

masoodthedude said:


> so as long as you keep printing continously with water base, it wont dry?


What ink manufacture are you using? there are additives to waterbase you can add to maintain it from drying in the screen too fast. Are you using an RFU ink or are you mixing pigments into a base? Sorry for all the questions just trying to sell you my product.. Just kidding but really these are important to know so I will to answer without knowing what your using. 

In the past it was very common to use low mesh counts for waterbase ink due to it drying so fast but new technology and formulations has changed this a bit. Going with low mesh counts actually creates more problems, as your printing your depositing more ink and your removing more moisture from the ink, you want to bump your mesh count up to maintain the moisture and to deposit less ink. Waterbase ink is thinner than plastisol so there is no reason to go with a 110 or 140 as commonly used try to bump up your mesh to 160-200 this will yield more prints and maintain the moisture you need when printing by hand. When I said additives you can add water or in most cases there's a wetting agent or lubricant what ever your supplier calls it that will help keep the moisture in the ink thus giving you less drying in the screen. Yes technique plays a role you can't just print it like plastisol you do need to stay active and flood. When flooding your just running the ink over the open area not pushing the ink in the screen, there is a difference. If your mixing your own colors using pigments be sure to stay well below the 6% pigment load as the more pigment you use the more drying issues your going to have. If your doing a 2 color it should not be drying that fast you should be able to print 50 shirts without stopping but if your doing a 6 color by hand then that's when your asking for trouble.


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## red514 (Jul 21, 2009)

masoodthedude said:


> so as long as you keep printing continously with water base, it wont dry?


it's in the printing technique, waterbase is different then plastisol because it air dries. with waterbase ink you do have to keep printing continuously but using a flood technique to keep the mesh from clogging after each print stroke.
tried finding a youtube video on this but had no luck, anyone got one?


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