"He who marches out of step hears another drum." ~ Ken Kesey
Quote from: ScreenFoo on May 02, 2014, 03:26:59 PMQuote from: starchild on May 02, 2014, 11:43:19 AMThe stencil holds the shape.. What side of the coater are you using to coat with? If the knuckles of the mesh is pertruding then it will cause the ink to get pass the stencil edges.. The print side of the stencil needs to create a gasket with the shirt and that means a layer only just thick enough to go pass the knuckles of the mesh and create a smooth even surface, not too thick otherwise you will be giving your ink unnecessary work to do. In your case a high solids photopolymer emulsion is recommended or even better ulano ez film 30 or 50 microns, that way your only concern is getting the exposure right. The film will cost you about 1.60 per screen or 3cents a shirt for a 1color, 50 shirt run..Sent using TapatalkIf the problem is just in the middle, how did he make just the center of the stencil too thin? Well in his case, he's buying pre stretched screens and do not have a meter to check it's tension, then he goes about coating the screen as usual using the maximum width coater that screen can accommodate (I'm betting on him only having one width coater).. And this is where his problem begins.. We know (he doesn't) that tension increases rapidly nearest the frame's edge so the emulsion will be applied thicker at the outside than in the middle of the mesh. At wash out what little solids remaining in those thin areas takes a beating.. If he still prefers to use the all of the above scenario in his operation then he can go with a smaller coater which will mean smaller images (not happening), higher solids emulsion or cap film which I think will give a higher percentage of success in his case..If it were image stretch alone then how are both sides of the letters stroke, being blurred and better ink coverage away from the blurred areas? Also he played with different on press config and nothing changed it, that's because the problem is in the stencil.Sent using Tapatalk
Quote from: starchild on May 02, 2014, 11:43:19 AMThe stencil holds the shape.. What side of the coater are you using to coat with? If the knuckles of the mesh is pertruding then it will cause the ink to get pass the stencil edges.. The print side of the stencil needs to create a gasket with the shirt and that means a layer only just thick enough to go pass the knuckles of the mesh and create a smooth even surface, not too thick otherwise you will be giving your ink unnecessary work to do. In your case a high solids photopolymer emulsion is recommended or even better ulano ez film 30 or 50 microns, that way your only concern is getting the exposure right. The film will cost you about 1.60 per screen or 3cents a shirt for a 1color, 50 shirt run..Sent using TapatalkIf the problem is just in the middle, how did he make just the center of the stencil too thin?
The stencil holds the shape.. What side of the coater are you using to coat with? If the knuckles of the mesh is pertruding then it will cause the ink to get pass the stencil edges.. The print side of the stencil needs to create a gasket with the shirt and that means a layer only just thick enough to go pass the knuckles of the mesh and create a smooth even surface, not too thick otherwise you will be giving your ink unnecessary work to do. In your case a high solids photopolymer emulsion is recommended or even better ulano ez film 30 or 50 microns, that way your only concern is getting the exposure right. The film will cost you about 1.60 per screen or 3cents a shirt for a 1color, 50 shirt run..Sent using Tapatalk
^^This is great, just the suppliers he mentioned could save you a lot of time and aggravation...Quote from: starchild on May 02, 2014, 05:46:13 PMQuote from: ScreenFoo on May 02, 2014, 03:26:59 PMQuote from: starchild on May 02, 2014, 11:43:19 AMThe stencil holds the shape.. What side of the coater are you using to coat with? If the knuckles of the mesh is pertruding then it will cause the ink to get pass the stencil edges.. The print side of the stencil needs to create a gasket with the shirt and that means a layer only just thick enough to go pass the knuckles of the mesh and create a smooth even surface, not too thick otherwise you will be giving your ink unnecessary work to do. In your case a high solids photopolymer emulsion is recommended or even better ulano ez film 30 or 50 microns, that way your only concern is getting the exposure right. The film will cost you about 1.60 per screen or 3cents a shirt for a 1color, 50 shirt run..Sent using TapatalkIf the problem is just in the middle, how did he make just the center of the stencil too thin? Well in his case, he's buying pre stretched screens and do not have a meter to check it's tension, then he goes about coating the screen as usual using the maximum width coater that screen can accommodate (I'm betting on him only having one width coater).. And this is where his problem begins.. We know (he doesn't) that tension increases rapidly nearest the frame's edge so the emulsion will be applied thicker at the outside than in the middle of the mesh. At wash out what little solids remaining in those thin areas takes a beating.. Oh yeah, and how do you put more emulsion on the edges of a low tension screen then the center? I can do the opposite, no prob, but after reading this I want to learn a new parlor trick. Set your uv exposure unit for a 8% eom burn, coat an under tensioned screen (the softer part of the screen would "pool" to maybe 24% eom the perimeter of the screen would "hold" say 13% eom) let dry, expose for the 8% eom and washout (the center of the screen will not be fully exposed) then check the eom of the screen. A high solids emulsion would help retain edge sharpness and cap film will ensure even exposure and edge regardless of the screen tension.Oh he did say he changed his off contact distances and it did not have any effect. Maybe the sceen was so loose that he needed a 2 inch off contact.. 6 yrs of parlor tricks and counting..Sent using Tapatalk
Quote from: ScreenFoo on May 02, 2014, 03:26:59 PMQuote from: starchild on May 02, 2014, 11:43:19 AMThe stencil holds the shape.. What side of the coater are you using to coat with? If the knuckles of the mesh is pertruding then it will cause the ink to get pass the stencil edges.. The print side of the stencil needs to create a gasket with the shirt and that means a layer only just thick enough to go pass the knuckles of the mesh and create a smooth even surface, not too thick otherwise you will be giving your ink unnecessary work to do. In your case a high solids photopolymer emulsion is recommended or even better ulano ez film 30 or 50 microns, that way your only concern is getting the exposure right. The film will cost you about 1.60 per screen or 3cents a shirt for a 1color, 50 shirt run..Sent using TapatalkIf the problem is just in the middle, how did he make just the center of the stencil too thin? Well in his case, he's buying pre stretched screens and do not have a meter to check it's tension, then he goes about coating the screen as usual using the maximum width coater that screen can accommodate (I'm betting on him only having one width coater).. And this is where his problem begins.. We know (he doesn't) that tension increases rapidly nearest the frame's edge so the emulsion will be applied thicker at the outside than in the middle of the mesh. At wash out what little solids remaining in those thin areas takes a beating.. Oh yeah, and how do you put more emulsion on the edges of a low tension screen then the center? I can do the opposite, no prob, but after reading this I want to learn a new parlor trick.