Screen Printing Forum

customer wants a glossy "magazine" look. I have order the clear ink from Nazdar, any suggestions on mesh count, squeegee type and use of this?

I found printing a clear gloss that a 110-125 works rather well. As far as the squeegee goes: everything I have is slightly rounded. (new sharpener coming soon!!!!)

shh... dont tell anyone.. but the secret to getting a realy glossy look on a tshirt is to heatpress your shirt after you print it

print shirt the way u normally would .. then after you cure/ dry the shirt.. try putting it under your heat press for about 10 seconds.. you may need to experiment with diffrent papers that you put on topof your shirt.
the heat press flattens and adds shine to your ink.. u might want to also try a product called ultra clear gel from rutland inks..

That's an interesting tip, might have to try that someday just to see the effect..

I have made ink glossy by clear foiling it after printing. It seemed really easy especially if you want the entire image clear and not just sections.

well if you're not printing shirts, the best way to get that glossy magazine look is by using a high gloss UV ink. Nazdar is the absolute best source when it comes to finding the right ink. They are incredibly service oriented, and dedicated to finding print solutions and can get you any kind of ink you'll ever need. I have a contact at Nazdar i can hook you up with. If you're printing top surface on say vinyl or polystyrene or paper i recommend using a high tensioned screen with standard polyester 230 or 305. try a polyurethane triple durometer (say 70/90/70) rectangled squeegee or a hard durometer (80 would be perfect) i wouldn't use a beveled edge or a round edge. I recommend contacting two sources for more help. One is Fimor, they can teach you more about squeegees then you ever thought you needed to know. I would contact Ulano for your mesh questions.

Hope this helped.
Jennifer Mastro
Mastro graphic Arts
Rochester, NY 14624

Excellent post Jennifer.

If you are doing it on garment and inks are plastisols, there is a simple and cheap way, buy some ulta clear PET films and fuse with heatpress and cold peel, beauty is you can use PET film again and again