Screen Printing Tips and Tricks

Tips for Cleaning Your Print Shop

12/26/2013

Maintaining a clean print shop might not be on the top of your list of things to do, but it should be. This is not something that needs to be done daily, but at least weekly. You should be vacuuming, wiping down your printing equipment, and cleaning your air cleaner's filter and fans.

If you do not already use an air cleaner, buy one--it's a good investment. An air cleaner collects dust and fibers that you can't see. Once you start using an air cleaner in your shop, you will be amazed at the amount of lint that it collects. And yes--you have been breathing that stuff! Position the air cleaner near your textile dryer or in your shirt folding area for maximum benefit.

A print shop is a dust magnet. The fibers from apparel build up and have a tendency to attach themselves to everything. If you use spray adhesive on your platens, you will notice fiber build-up quickly on your press making a real mess.

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Screen Mesh Count Chart

12/15/2013

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Here is a practical chart that any screen printer can use when choosing mesh counts. It will give you an idea of what mesh count to use for each printing job.

MESH COUNT CHART (Common Mesh Counts and Typical Applications) (Your supplier may offer mesh counts that are slightly different that those indicated below.

Small deviations from these numbers is not critical. Purchase the next closest size that is available.)

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Top Ten Tips for Screen Printers

12/15/2013

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A FEW TIPS THAT WORK FOR ME...

1. Keep your water tepid when washing out screens.
2. Use a cool down station or chiller plate when flashing.
3. Wipe up any splattered ink immediately.
4. Do a wash test on big orders.
5. Collect at least 50% down on an order.
6. Use plenty of platen adhesive for sweats.
7. Keep tension tight on your screens.
8. Meet your deadlines.
9. Advertise in good and bad times.
10. Keep a record of ink and shirt colors for customers.

Jeff P.
Screen printer from New Jersey

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Glow in the Dark Ink

12/14/2013

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Glow in the Dark ink Special effects inks are great for many uses. They can enhance a design to make it stand out or can be used as a stand alone special effect on a shirt. A very popular ink is glow in the dark ink.

This ink glows just like the hands on a watch would that has been placed in a bright light. This ink is great for Halloween shirts, rock designs, or any design that you want to glow in the dark!

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Blotting Screens with Newspaper

12/14/2013

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I used to purchase newsprint from a supplier to blot the water out of my screen after reclaiming them.

Now I save my old newspapers (and ask my family to do the same) and use it instead. It saves me money and really like that!

It works the same as the newsprint and I can still recycle the paper when I am finished with it.

I hope you find this tip useful!

Kenny C.
Freeport Screen Printing Co.

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Types of Shims for Screen Printing

12/14/2013

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When I need a shim for off-contact screen printing on my manual screen printing presses, I keep on hand the following items:

Popsicle sticks
Index cards
Vertical blind slats
A cut up old mousepad material

Each have their use for one type of print job or another.

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The "Secret" to Screen Printing Black T-Shirts in Half the Time!

12/14/2013

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Smaller sized prints such as a left chest or sleeve prints are very good candidates for the coating stroke technique and trying out the technique on these smaller sized prints are usually the easiest and most successful.

Often after printing and flashing the back of a shirt, you may be able to use the coating stroke for the front left chest.

Compare the front print to the back and see if it appears to have an acceptably opaque print. If so, no need to flash. This can be a huge time saver especially if the order is for several hundred shirts.

The coating stroke does not work all of the time. But with some single color print jobs (especially left chest size prints) and with certain inks it is possible to get an acceptable print with good opacity and eliminate the flash. The coating stroke's purpose is to just "cover over" a 1st or 2nd stroke to achieve an acceptably opaque print on a dark shirt without having to flash cure. A coating stroke uses about a 20-30 degree squeegee angle, similar to that of a flood stroke, however the stroke is usually applied with very light pressure causing the ink to gently "coat" over the existing print. The coating stroke works well with metallic and shimmer inks, super opaque transfer inks and certain brands of white inks.

It is important to note that not all ink brands work equally well for the coating stroke technique. It will require a certain amount of trial and error and experimentation to see what works best. Moreover, lower mesh counts in the range of 140 mesh and lower will usually produce the best results as it is necessary to be able to drive a decent amount of ink through the screen.

The content of this article is an excerpt from the ASPA training course:
The Secrets of Printing T-Shirts and How to Make Big Money !

This article is written with the manual t-shirt printer in mind and the technique is for single color printing only.

As a screen printer, are you familiar with the coating stroke? It is sometimes possible to eliminate flash curing on certain dark shirt orders. Think of how much time you can save if this technique will work for the job you may be printing.

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The Perfect Solution for Storing Screen Printing Screens

12/14/2013

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The content of this article is an excerpt from the ASPA training course:
The Secrets of Printing T-Shirts and How to Make Big Money!

To keep both coated and clean and ready to be coated screens clean and free from light and dust, use large, plastic 45 gallon trash cans.

These large, heavy duty cans have wheels on them for easy movement and are completely opaque so no light will accidentally expose your screens, thanks to the tight fitting, locking lids.

Depending on the size of your screens, each bucket can hold as many as ten screens. In addition, these cans will not only seal out light but moisture as well.

They cost around $50 each and are available in most home building supply stores.

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How to Print a 3 Color Screen Print with Just 2 Screens

12/14/2013

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This tutorial shows a series of photos that shows how you can print a (3) color job using just (2) screens.

By taping down a simple cardboard “divider” on the “red/orange” screen to keep the ink colors separated and using 2 separate squeegees, it is an easy task.

Any time you can save burning and printing a screen is a bonus for the printer.

The photos tell the story…

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How to Get Free Screen Printing Supplies from Vendors

12/14/2013

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Have you ever wondered why advertisers prefer a younger audience over older people?

The reason is very simple. As people age, they often become set in their ways and will typically buy the same products over and over. They believe that they have found the best of what they need and are no longer interested in “exploring” for new products.

This same concept can be applied to the screen printing industry.

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<<Previous

Tips for Cleaning Your Print Shop

Screen Mesh Count Chart

Top Ten Tips for Screen Printers

Glow in the Dark Ink

Blotting Screens with Newspaper

Types of Shims for Screen Printing

The "Secret" to Screen Printing Black T-Shirts in Half the Time!

The Perfect Solution for Storing Screen Printing Screens

How to Print a 3 Color Screen Print with Just 2 Screens

How to Get Free Screen Printing Supplies from Vendors

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