Hello Guys,
Al from Murakami here. Many of you get it here, you need lower tension for S mesh to prevent it from breaking. For those on the high tension band wagon, stick with our t or HD thread that is thicker. Thinner threads require lower tension, but they also allow for low, low squeegee pressure. This helps dot control on plastisol baseplates.
20 Newtons is a good workable tension for this mesh. As mentioned in a previous post, check out the mesh guidelines for tension. Most of you do not have a high end stretcher needed to hit the upper marks. The sharp Newman corners at the end of the roller bar don't help either, file and polish them. Select a tension in the middle of the mesh tension guidelines. Each mesh count has a different tension level due to the threads per inch and the diameter of the thread.
I too would not have 310S as my first choice in those higher mesh counts. I like a 330S since it has 20 more threads. If this is overprint colors the 350S is the go to mesh for sim process halftones and stochasitic.
Some common mesh combos: Murakami 225S, 180S, 150S, Base Plate, 350S overprints.
The base meshes mentioned here can all hold 45 and 55 lpi halftones, angles are on my site as well as tension guide.
www.murakamiscreen.com 225S is needed for 65 and 85 line.
Workers generally need retraining on handling S mesh. No tools ever placed on the screen during setup. (A mesh thread of 30 microns is incredibly thin, pull one off of any mesh, they snap instantly, its the mesh knuckles that give this mesh strength (strength in numbers). So avoid tools placed on screens that can nick a thread which will pop later during drying after reclaim since mesh does tighten up a bit, or if you place in the sun realize that the frame can be expanding slightly. If you are at or above top recommended tensions these work issues will pop your mesh.
Avoid scratchy pads that can nick the threads the same way as tools. Metal spatulas with sharp corners, putty knives can all fray a thread or nick it.
One final area. Murakami Nittoku Mesh reaches tension much faster than competitor's mesh, and it also holds onto tension better than any mesh. Less labor on Newmans and many more jobs can be printed at optimum tension levels, which for me range from 17-35 newtons depending on the mesh count and thread.
So why use S threads?
1. Softest hand base plate you will ever print with Plastisol.
Watch me print the base plate. I swear all I do is touch the pallet with the squeegee and lean back. On an auto this would equate to very little squeegee pressure and faster stroke when the ink is warm.
2. If you are a volume contract printer you will save a ton of white base plate ink over the year. I consult with a 40 auto shop that just saved 30% of their white ink cost since they are printing less ink per print vs a 110 and also able to print halftones whereas a 110 cannot.
3. Waterbase Discharge - Less or dry in of ink. More open area allows it to clean itself and open up better than t mesh of a similar count.
4. Waterbase Discharge - Better color. More open area allows the fabric to be saturated with ink. Discharge prints stay consistent since the open area stays open allowing correct deposit of ink. Waterbase likewise is able to print more ink, more saturated color and less shirt fabric showing. Also a better wash color when the shirt is washed.
All of our show shirts, the guitars (yeah), drums etc are printed with 225S with 350S on stochaistic or halftone. Best prints I have seen I in 40 years, yeah before automatics is when I started!!!
Al
