# Help! Shirts not looking good: screen printing red ink on black shirts



## smartmedia (May 8, 2007)

Ok, I am new to the business. I have done 5-6 different shirt designs and 1 4 color shirt with the 4 color screen press kit that I got from silkscreeningsupplies.com. Lots of the shirts have turned out nicely. Here is my problem and here is what I'm doing:

red ink on black shirts. all things are lined up as best as i can tell.. i have good off contact between my shirts and my screen. i'm not curing on the platen.. so its not heating up.. my design is 11" wide and i'm using a 14" squeegee.. so i'm covering the whole design. but the left half of the design aways gets a thicker coat of ink than the right side. the left side looks great after one pass.. but the right is thin.. and you can see the shirt through it. the more passes i do.. the thicker the ink gets on the left side.. and the right side seems unaffected. any ideas? i haven't had this problem with any other designs.. mostly i've been doing lighter colored shirts though.. i don't know if that has anything to do with it. no ink is being left in the screen on the right side... i just dont get it.

any help would be amazingly appreciated.

thank you!


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

I am sure others have better advice but... is it a reclaimed screen? Could it be a ghost from an old image that didnt get cleaned out enough and isnt letting the ink through very well? Maybe try squeegeeing it from another direction and see what happens???


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

Actually it sounds like the screen is not level with the palette. If the screen us not level you will dump more ink where it is farther form the shirt.

It might be possible your stencil is thicker on one side as well. One other issue is you may be printing with more pressure on the right side than the left which can cause ink transfer issue as well.


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

Are you putting a white underbase and flashing in between? For dark garments, you need to print the image in white, flash, than print with your choice of ink color, and then cure. But like Fluid said, the reason for your ink deposit not being even can have many variables...


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## smartmedia (May 8, 2007)

thank you all.. i really appreciate the advice.. i think maybe my emulsion is thicker on one side.. it was one of the first screens i coated and definately could have been better. as for laying a white base coat.. i was afraid to do that.. cause i am having trouble lining up my screens for more than one color, even with registration marks.. i have it lined up perfectly, but once i start to tighten the screen, it moves. grrr. anyway, thanks! i think i'll try remaking the screens.


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

smartmedia said:


> thank you all.. i really appreciate the advice.. i think maybe my emulsion is thicker on one side.. it was one of the first screens i coated and definately could have been better. as for laying a white base coat.. i was afraid to do that.. cause i am having trouble lining up my screens for more than one color, even with registration marks.. i have it lined up perfectly, but once i start to tighten the screen, it moves. grrr. anyway, thanks! i think i'll try remaking the screens.


White UNDERBASE is A MUST on a dark shirt.


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

You need to choke and trap your separations to help compensate for your press not being in perfect registration.

Adding a 1-2 pt outline on the top color will help quite a bit. This will allow the top color to roll over the edge of the underbase so no white will show. butt registration with a underbase is tough even with an automatic press.


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

Adam, Richard gave you some very good suggestions. One other possibility is if your platen is even the slightest bit warped, the squeegee will not press evenly across the width of it, no matter how much pressure you use. I have one of the SSS setups too, and those pallets are very prone to warping. I just recently noticed mine was warped and I've never used this one for curing, only flashing. Take your T-square (or a straight edge) and lay it across your pallet to check for any warping.


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## smartmedia (May 8, 2007)

Thanks Rusty and Richard.. you guys are really teaching me alot!


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## SpotMatrix (Nov 10, 2007)

Fluid said:


> One other issue is you may be printing with more pressure on the right side than the left which can cause ink transfer issue as well.


Fluids right. Are you right handed? Maybe you're applying more pressure with your stronger hand. The only thing is if this were the case all colours would be uneven. Most likely the screen is higher off the platen on one side. I've been having a similar issue but in the middle screen. Fuzz mentioned a possible reclaiming issue and after looking at my screen I think that's my problem. So many variables.


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## SpotMatrix (Nov 10, 2007)

I have to remember to look at the dates on these posts.


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

TeddyRocky said:


> White UNDERBASE is A MUST on a dark shirt.


i white underbase is not a must. most of the times we just use opaque inks with two passes(print-flash-print-cure), this is plenty bright and registration is not needed. plus you only need one screen not two. in some cases a white underbase is needed


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

amp267 said:


> i white underbase is not a must. most of the times we just use opaque inks with two passes(print-flash-print-cure), this is plenty bright and registration is not needed. plus you only need one screen not two. in some cases a white underbase is needed


This is true. It really depends on the opacity of the ink, whether or not you reduce it, the properties of the ink itself, and the mesh you are using. There is not rule you can use to determine whether you need an underbase or not.

One a recently job, I was printing yellow on a red shirt, and I had to print 3 times with flashes between before it was opaque enough. A white underbase in that case would probably have allowed just an underbase and a single yellow print, but then you still would have to make an extra screen. For some reason, the yellow inks I used were very thin, thin enough to pour. I thought there was something wrong with the first Wilflex ink I tried, so I tried some Triangle yellow, and it was the same way. Very thin.


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## MCX_ART_GIRL (Mar 14, 2008)

Make sure that your platen and your screen are perfectly parallel to each other. If it is higher on one side you will get a thicker deposit of ink.


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## Squirts (Feb 17, 2006)

They've pretty much covered everything so I'll address the screens moving



smartmedia said:


> i am having trouble lining up my screens for more than one color, even with registration marks.. i have it lined up perfectly, but once i start to tighten the screen, it moves. grrr.


The most probable cause on the press you have is the screen clamps. If you look at them where the metal is bent forward, it is not a perfect 90 degree angle it has a slight curve.. if you have the screens all the way to the rear they will move when you tighten them... slide them forward a bit 1/4 to 1/2 inch and they wont move when tightening them.. This is pretty comman on economy presses... Good Luck


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## BEARBUBBLES (Aug 15, 2007)

Also smartmedia if you are using wood screens, make sure they are not warped, i had problems like this before and may screens were warped, that's why i use aluminum screens now.


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## lookatmeshirts (Oct 26, 2007)

but don't forget that aluminum screens also have their own separate problems


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

lookatmeshirts said:


> but don't forget that aluminum screens also have their own separate problems


What would those problems be?


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## rwimprint (Apr 25, 2007)

i had a problem like that. don't know if it would help you, but take a look at your screen, is it off contact more on one side than the other? my screen had some plastic tape on the underside when i tightened my screen down, it made slite shift up on one side. so the my right side was more off contact than the other
and ink was building up underneith. just make sure your flat on the pallet and hold down your screen as you tighten the screen and make sure no trash is cought in the screen holder. hope this helps good luck. 

rw.imprint


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## KoalaTees (Jul 25, 2007)

Are there platen that do not warp out there - where? I have wooden one and I flash and full cure with a flash dryer. I guess I can move the shirt off to a side table to cure. For now I pull it off and fold it back on the platen and cure it with the flash for about 30 sec at 330F


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