Time to buy squeegees but where and why?

[TheGhost]

Hey guys where do you buy squeegees from? I want to get rolls, unless there is a reason not to. I need 60 and 80, per our new printer's request. Let me know where to look.

We're in Illinois. I was looking at screenworkssupply but not too sure what's what there. Any reason to choose one vs the other? Does pleiger sell direct? Goldupusa good? Advanced Screen printing supplies? Any help would be much appreciated.

[244]

Hey guys where do you buy squeegees from? I want to get rolls, unless there is a reason not to. I need 60 and 80, per our new printer's request. Let me know where to look.

We're in Illinois. I was looking at screenworkssupply but not too sure what's what there. Any reason to choose one vs the other? Does pleiger sell direct? Goldupusa good? Advanced Screen printing supplies? Any help would be much appreciated.

We sell it here at M&R here in Illinois. Just a FYI

[alan802]

Any reason why your printer wants those particular duros?  Is it just what he's used to?  I think choosing the squeegee blades for your shop is a very "shop specific" decision and should be thought over carefully and as long as you printer knows his stuff and how each blade can work for him then who am I to question it.  I just know those two blades are worlds apart and we could find some use for the 60's but the 80's would collect dust 9 days out of 10 so we'd buy a lot fewer of those.

[TheGhost]

I guess they're what he's use to. He just wants something softer than the 90s our previous printer was using. I am open to suggestions and discussion. Sounds like I will be ordering less of the 80s! What do you use Alan? For now they're just for manual use.

[Frog]

I'm not Alan, but can tell you that I use mostly triples. 60-90-60 gets a lot of use here.

There was a recent thread about triple durometer squeegees.

[screenprintguy]

I'm not Alan, but can tell you that I use mostly triples. 60-90-60 gets a lot of use here.

There was a recent thread about triple durometer squeegees.

Same here, and also 70/90/70s. Soft outsides with the ridged center to allow for a little more pressure and not worry about the fold over and hydroplaning.

[ericheartsu]

We really like the smiling jack squeegees

[Printficient]

I have all but the smiling jack squeegees.  Pleiger solvent blades that last longer.  Triples are $1.35 per inch or $213.30 per roll.  Singles are $.75 per inch or $118.50 per roll and double bevels are $1.77 per inch or $279.66 per roll.  We will cut them down to any size and roll the corners where applicable at no charge.  404-895-1796

[alan802]

For the manual shop I would keep it simple and get a few 60/90/60 for putting down thicker ink deposits then if you can find the 75/90/75 or even the 70/90/70 for all your top colors and dark inks on light garments.  We use nothing but the smiling jacks here but it's not an option for most shops so I recommend the next best thing.  In a year or two you can start experimenting with different profile types and duros to better dial in your deposits but for right now you need to focus on getting your customers great quality and getting it to them ON TIME so don't get too caught up in fiddling around with squeegee blades.

[mimosatexas]

Huge fan of the triple duros.  I still have mostly the standard 70 duro blades, but that's just due to having lots of old squeegees.  I use the triples literally whenever possible.

This may be preaching to the choir so to speak when it comes to your printer, but I would encourage using a push stroke over a pull stroke, and getting the metal ergo handles for even more control over flex etc.  I honestly like the feel of the classic wooden squeegees more, but there is just no denying that the metal handles print better.

[ZooCity]

If push stroking plastisol on the manual, 70/90/70 is the ticket.

For pull strokin wb/dc on the manual, plain 'ol 60 duro is often best, 60/90/60 or the like work OK too or the Manny blade. 
You need the blade to bend in this situation so the triple duros aren't as nice and can be fatiguing. <that word looks really weird....

Smaller width blades on the manual, push or pull, are best with the 70/90/70, the single duros and lower triples tend to buckle too much on a 4" wide squeegee for instance.

The metal ergo handles are great, you can transform them into larger blade handles as needed, which is cool.   I also used to like "jumbo" style wooden handles.

On the auto we run 55/90/55 and 70/90/70.   

[Frog]

A note about pushing or pulling on a manual. Even after close to twenty years of pulling, once I tried pushing I never went back, but...
only on two handed full width squeegees and prints.
The little one handers I still pull.

[steve1coelho]

What do you guys think of the purple squeegee blade from ergo force handles on ebay

[TCT]

What do you guys think of the purple squeegee blade from ergo force handles on ebay

Pretty sure those are a 60 or 60something.

[ZooCity]

What do you guys think of the purple squeegee blade from ergo force handles on ebay

I think it's just a 64 duro blade.  Not a bad idea but how great would the difference really be between a 70 and 64 ?  I believe the durometer may be off up to 2-3duro as a natural variance from manufacturing.  But who knows, could be a great blade.