# Help!!!! My ink sticks to the screen



## knowledge (May 12, 2009)

HELLO THERE.

i'm new! (obviously)

i'm semi-new at screen-printing. I practically did silk-screen in high school but never really do "prints"..mostly prep-work..which was easy but now i'm in my production part and erm..not looking so well.

At first, i was gonna do water-base.. i have water base inks. but since plastisol supposedly lasts longer..and feels cooler, i decided to go with that since i realized i didn't need some $2,000 machine to cure it.

Now, i see videos of people running their ink through the silk screen and lifting up and the t-shirt doesn't stick to the screen. Whenever i'm done squee-jee-ing my screen, lift up my screen its like glue..and i just hold it til the shirt drops/releases since i tried pulling it slowly and ink came off.

Now..ive tried everything. 4 strokes, 6 strokes, 8 strokes..8 strokes seems to do "better" but still.

i'm trying to finger out why it sticks to my shirt. am i suppose to mix my plastisol with something? It's very very thick.

Anyways, here are the pics. It would've looked so nice if it didn't do the things it did  and oh, forgot to say..the "8" strokes left a faaat goo of ink where 4-6 stroke missed on the top right.









trial 1










and the best one. although just testing out, lots of smudges. And the part where was "once" missing is now a fat glob of ink. 










thanks alot everyone in advance. im so dumbfounded atm and so frustrated. my house is a mess and i'm laying in ink trying to figure this out. lmfao.

thank god those test shirts were only 50 cents. i wasted like 20 of them. 

and oh, i know someone might say that the screen is badly exposed. it's nearly translucent. when i lift up the screen, the ink touched the shirt..but as i'm lifting it pulls of some chunks of it. 

and oh, i did stir the ink 

and i also bought screen cleaner when the paint gets dry/stuck.

jus covering the bases so people dont waste their time, hehe. thanks!


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## pukingdeserthobo (Jun 3, 2008)

are you using any tack to hold theshirt down?


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

You need spray tack. If you used spray tack then you need off-contact. The screen should not be laying on the shirt. (you can tape a coin or two to the the bottom of the screen to accomplish this if you need to)

That many passes is too much. On that black shirt you should be able to pull once, then pull another clear stroke to push the ink left over in the image on to the shirt (dont sweat it if appears to not be enough ink). Flash it, let cool for a sec and then one more stroke of ink. Repeat the last step if you dont have a good coverage but each time you repeat you are thickening the print and you may not like that.

PS. If your platen is hot then you really dont want to go too slow on your stroke or make too many passes because that will cause you ink to stick to the screen also

PSS. You may consider practicing on white shirts first to get the hang of it. On white 1 or 2 pulls will be sufficient and no flash needed


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## mrvixx (Jan 13, 2009)

Your problem is off contact and you need spray adhesive


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## knowledge (May 12, 2009)

hi.

im new with the terms. what is off-contact? and what kind of adhesive? and where?

i did practice on white shirts. it kinda did the same.

what can i buy that would be good to tie shirts down? ATM i'm just laying it on a table and laying weights on it.


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## moe_szys1ak (Jun 16, 2008)

A combination of off-contact printing and using some sort of adhesive (spray, tape, etc. - be careful to use screen printing adhesives, though - otherwise you'll get sticky residue on your shirts) should fix this problem.

I had a very similar issue when I first started printing - I didn't know about off-contact and all my prints had to be peeled off the screen. It was crazy - luckily they were just flat-stock prints I was doing for fun and nothing I was actually making money on.


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## knowledge (May 12, 2009)

can someone describe off contact?

i'm "assuming" im just adding spacers on my screen so my screen doesn't literally lay on the shirt. so when i press the screen stretches down and inks the shirt and "releases" contact from screen and shirt when i lift my squeegeE?

and what does the adhesive do? i'm still kinda ???????


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## moe_szys1ak (Jun 16, 2008)

knowledge said:


> hi.
> 
> im new with the terms. what is off-contact? and what kind of adhesive? and where?
> 
> ...


Off-contact printing is where you leave a small gap between the screen and the printing surface (usually about 1/8 inch). The pressure of your squeegee stroke on the screen will press the screen down onto the print surface and the gap will allow the screen to "snap" back so it doesn't stick or leave excess ink.

You can get spray adhesive at any screen printing supply store. Standard Screen Supply Corp. | Manufacturer of Holden's Screen Printing Supplies - Adhesives
The problem with using a table and just putting weights on the corners is that the center is what is getting printed and that isn't really held down by anything - hence the sticking. Ideally you'd use a shirt platen to print on, rather than a table. A cheap alternative is a bare ironing board (remove the cloth covering).


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## knowledge (May 12, 2009)

wow!..

thanks. i'm going to try that today.

i still don't get the point of the adhesive though???

where can i get a platen? I see some folks have those tables that people use to draw on that has a small angle on them. is that a platen?


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

Get a can of spray adhesive and a borad to slip the shirt over, you can buy some at walmart or if not then an art store. Tape rulers across the screen above and below your image.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

knowledge said:


> i still don't get the point of the adhesive though???


Ink is tacky. Even with off-contact, the shirt can stick to the screen if there's nothing holding it down. The adhesive is used to hold the shirt down to prevent it sticking to the screen.


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

The spray adhesive makes the shirt stick in place so that the ink in the screen doesnt pull the shirt up. Just spray it on the board and pull the shirt over it. 

You are not really equipped to be able to print a decent opaque print on a dark shirt. Stick to light shirts until you can get a press and a heat gun.


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

If you are really serious about learning, which appearently you are, then you should spend alot of time on youtube watching every video you can find about screen printing and ALL the processes involved.


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## knowledge (May 12, 2009)

so the adhesive sticks the shirt to my table?

so does the adhesive remain on the shirt after i take it off?

and im buying a heat gun today. pretty cheap @ wal mart. for awhile i was using the oven 

so things to buy today (tell me if im correct)
-heat gun
-ironing board (use it to slip shirt OVER and print on that)
-use dimes or nickles and tape it on the 4 corners of my screen.

correct?


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## knowledge (May 12, 2009)

Fuzz said:


> If you are really serious about learning, which appearently you are, then you should spend alot of time on youtube watching every video you can find about screen printing and ALL the processes involved.


heh heh...i watched quite a few. i've read your board and screenprinting board (which apparently no one goes there no more..hasnt had a post there in uhmmm a week now)

somehow though on youtube..i cant always find good videos..maybe just my luck.


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

Just buy a couple of wooden rulers to tape to the screen since you dont have a press.

Sometimes the adhesive stays on and sometimes not, depends on the brand. I wouldnt concern yourself with that too much right now though cause it comes off in the wash anyway.


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## knowledge (May 12, 2009)

oooh.

what are the rulers for, if i may ask? lol


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

For the off-contact instead of coins. That way you have an even off contact for your entire image.


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## knowledge (May 12, 2009)

thanks fren 

im gonna go head to the art supply store again now. lol. for the 3rd time today.

another question

what is a cheap decent press? i'm looking to do high-density foil designs on my next one..and an iron wont do the job lol.


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

Ebay is you best bet. All the cheap presses seem to be pretty much the same if your just looking for a one color press.


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## knowledge (May 12, 2009)

wait.. is this heat press you're talking about?

i didn't know you needed "x" type of press for multi-color.

im talkin bout heat press to press the foil on lolz..

ah. im so excited. i can't wait til the day my blanks come in, perfect my printing and get rid of all of these pre-orders. threw my stuff on myspace and people's blowing me up for them and i haven't had good sleep for days lol.


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

No i was talkiing about screen printing presses


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## knowledge (May 12, 2009)

what are the purposes of those?

hahahaha. you're the man, man! i didn't know there was such thing. unless you're taking about the automatic ones?

ok. last question----> where do u guys buy your squeegee?

i went cheap. guy @ art shop said his squeegee is 3$/inch. i got the 7 inch. because my screen is ~14inches and yeah. i didn't see the purpose of buying a squeegee for 40$. and it's the thick type. is thin or thick better? I always thought you could use those vinyl squeegees but guess not. where u guys buy yours? and is soft better? Or more stiff?


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

You have yourself sonme youtubing to do lol

Way too much stuff in screen printing for me to be able to explain to you all the stuff.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Poli6tRmirk[/media]

There is a starting point for you. From there, after you watch that vid, just click the links you see and goto another one. Dont stop til you think youve got it all and then watch some more...lol

Goodluck


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## knowledge (May 12, 2009)

I can't find the kit the guy is using on the video

i found the hinge. gonna go look for that @ the art store. but is the "white" thing he wraps his shirt on called a platen? or is it a palette? i really want that. im doing it on our coffee table and i dont think my boys (im a college student) will like the idea of a hinge on the coffee table lmfao.


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## studog79 (Jul 13, 2006)

On waterbase you need no off contact.


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## mrvixx (Jan 13, 2009)

studog79 said:


> On waterbase you need no off contact.


Yes you do


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## ambitious (Oct 29, 2007)

knowledge said:


> I can't find the kit the guy is using on the video
> 
> i found the hinge. gonna go look for that @ the art store. but is the "white" thing he wraps his shirt on called a platen? or is it a palette? i really want that. im doing it on our coffee table and i dont think my boys (im a college student) will like the idea of a hinge on the coffee table lmfao.


Here's a bunch of 1 color 2 color and 4 color presses. Buy one, watch a couple tutorials on youtube and your set. 

1 COLOR SCREEN PRESS, Business Industrial items on eBay.com


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