Screen Printing Forum

Hello,
I am new to screen printing, I have printed about 6 different designs, all one color.
I am trying to do a few differnt things, and having trouble with them.

1.... Trying to print my own clothing labels on a 7/8" wide ribbon with fine print, and it seems to come out blurry everytime. I am thinking...either I am coating the ink too thick or maybe my screen mesh isn't fine enough? (I used a 130 mesh on my trial run, its the finest mesh I have right now)
Also, it is very difficult to cure the ink on the ribbon, because the ribbon wants to melt after 15 seconds under the flash dryer.
Any Suggestions????

2....I printed an image that is basically a fine outline of various shapes, the first 4-5 shirts came out great, then the image became blurry and more blurry with every print, after about the 9th print I could print it anymore it was so blurry. I know that I didn't spray my paddles between every shirt, could that have anything to do with it?


3.... Sticky Paddles! I have a 6 color 4 station press, and a flash dryer to cure, which sits about 1-2" higher than the paddles. The paddles are becoming really sticky and tacky after drying under the flash dryer. Is this normal? How do I clean it up? Am I using too much spray?

Any suggestions are very helpful!
Thanks

Well it could be a plethora of things. 1) are you tacking down the labels on the platen? 2) Are your screens clamped hard enough and the press? 3) Are you changing your squeegee angle/direction after every stroke? Try using water-based inks so you won't have to cure them.

As far as sticky platens; it is normal for them to stick/tack after heating. If it's getting to the point where your garments don't want to come off; you over sprayed it. I use Franmar's "Ickee Stickee Unstuck" to clean my platens.

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much for the info. and tips!
I did tack the ribbon down , i have a method to hold them securely in place. Even when I print on my test fabric, before printing on the ribbon, the letters are blurry, so I know its not just the ribbon.
I am not sure what you mean by changing the angle of the squeegee, i generally do one coat towards me at an angle, then i swipe all the ink back to where it was, i think using just about the same angle. Is there something Im doing wrong here?
I am curious about the water based inks, are they much different than working with the plastisol inks?
Thanks!

Hi again,

You probably need to reclaim and re-expose your screen. Your screen can also be moving around.
If you're doing more than one pass, you have to make sure you have exact alignment and registration ;
otherwise you get a "double image"

As far as water-based; i recommended it because you had problems flashing/curing. So you wouldn't have to cure or flash.
I normally always recommend plastisol.

So initially:
1) clean off all the ink on your screen and squeegee,
2) check for off-contact,
3) or reclaim your screen and re-stencil