# how do you know which mesh count to use?



## aplusp (Oct 22, 2015)

I'm very new to screen printing, and I'm confused on which mesh count to use. Does anybody know what the numbers stand for? Or which is best to use with plastisol inks vs water based inks? Is there a different mesh count for glitter and specialty inks? I'm totally lost....


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## ole Jobe (Jun 16, 2009)

The higher the mesh count, the higher detail you can hold in the design (fine lines, dots, etc.). Glitter inks require a larger hole,therefore a lower mesh count. Hope this helps. God Bless.


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## Rankin Textile (Feb 17, 2016)

Depends on the artwork. Go with a lower mesh if you are doing numbers...higher mesh for more detail.


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## Kenneth59 (Sep 28, 2013)

comes from experience BUT in all the years we have been in the textile printing business we have only used 86 a couple times for numbers and 230 for very highly detailed work. 99% of our work for tees and caps are either done on 110 or 156.


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## ink slinger4 (Jan 21, 2016)

Lower mesh count = more ink deposited down, thicker print, higher opacity
Higher mesh count = less ink, higher detail, lower opacity, will not work with high solid glitters and metallics


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## TH Apparel (Jul 12, 2013)

it's all in the experience. Depends on the art and the garment it's going on(and sometimes depends on what you have left in the screen room)Our shop uses mostly 125 and 156 mesh. 230 and 305s for our more detailed stuff.


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## sindhu g n (Feb 9, 2016)

hi
Use the mesh with higher count its good.


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## David09 (Oct 2, 2015)

Mesh with higher count is use for detailing and lower count for average kind of project .


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## prathap (Aug 20, 2015)

The screen mesh is the important factor in determining the amount of ink to be deposited as well as the amount of detail a screen can hold , the mesh size can be measured by how many threads there are per square inch For Example, an 86 mesh screen has 86 threads per square inch. , he higher the mesh count, the finer the holes are in the screen allowing finer detail but also reduces the amount of ink you can deposit. The size of the mesh has a lot to do with how thick the ink you are using is. How detailed your image is also a consideration in the mesh count selection.


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## prathap (Aug 20, 2015)

Here are some tips for choosing mesh 

1)   Mesh Count: 25, 40
 Usage: Glitter Inks  

2) Mesh Count: 60, 86 

Usage: Specialty inks, such as puff or high-density, fine shimmers, glitters or metallics

3)  Mesh Count: 110, 155

  Usage: Use where a large deposit of ink is needed, such as athletic numbers, printing white on black fabric, low-detail art or heavy white ink 

4)Mesh Count: 160, 180, 200

 Usage: Good for printing underbase white to create a softer overall feel, good medium-sized mesh count for medium-detailed artwork. The 200-count mesh can be a happy medium screen selection for when a 230 mesh is too fine and a 155 mesh is too coarse.  


5) Mesh Count: 230, 280, 305 
Usage: Low ink deposit, works well for halftone printing, simulated process or CMYK process printing   

6) Mesh Count: 355
  Usage: Very low ink deposit, generally used by very experienced printers only. Often used for printing 65 line or higher halftones for very detailed images


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## Identity Ink (May 28, 2015)

Only thing that will help is to make certain to really mix the glitter ink very well before each use and every refill.


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## prathap (Aug 20, 2015)

Different mesh sizes hold different amounts of emulsion, due to how big the holes in the mesh are. For instance a 110 mesh screen will hold much more emulsion then a 305 mesh screen. While the difference isn’t extreme, you will have to vary your exposure times slightly for different mesh sizes. A finer mesh screen that holds less emulsion will expose faster then a lower mesh screen that holds more emulsion. However, the difference is small so you may have to only vary as slightly as 5-10% in either direction and depending on mesh size in order to get maximum exposure performance.


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