when to retire a screen?

[sweetts]

I have been printing a little over a year now and have re-used some screens several times. I am finding that my screens are starting to pop holes in mid stroke. I am a small printer out of my house so I try to stretch everything. My question is, when is a good time to retire a screen? If the tension seems good I use it but as of late I have had 4 screens just POP a hole while on the press and I would really like to avoid that. So any suggestions or tips? Maybe get some roller frames?

[Frog]

Pop a hole?
That usually requires a foreign or misplaced object.

[sweetts]

last week I was printing a two color job, I printed about 40 shirts no issues, I pulled the squeegee and there it was a hole, it looked almost like a small burn hole. Maybe I will post picture. The very next order on the last shirt a hole along the edge of the image no sharp edges no anything. The only thing new is my dip tank but I could not see that causing an issue I am not leaving them in too long 3-4 min.

[blue moon]

screens should last tens of thousands of prints. You should not have any breaking. There is obviously an issue. What are you using to wash them?

pierre

[tpitman]

Odd that screens are getting holes after so little use, unless you're banging them up against something with a sharp edge. One thing I recall reading was a warning against using shop rags from a rag service, as they may have been used previously in a machine shop or garage and could still harbor metal shavings that didn't wash out, with a potential for tearing mesh.

[Frog]

His are reported to be self-destructing in use, "mid stroke" to use sweetts' words.

It almost has to be crap in the ink, or a jagged squeegee.

[Prosperi-Tees]

Or possibly your scoop coater has a burr or nick in it.

[screenxpress]

last week I was printing a two color job, I printed about 40 shirts no issues, I pulled the squeegee and there it was a hole, it looked almost like a small burn hole. Maybe I will post picture. The very next order on the last shirt a hole along the edge of the image no sharp edges no anything. The only thing new is my dip tank but I could not see that causing an issue I am not leaving them in too long 3-4 min.

If you're getting burn holes in the mesh, you must be creating too much friction by moving the squeegee too fast effectively creating little temporary flash fires hidden by the ink.

I got nothing.

[virgil427]

where's your flash unit when your printing multi color is this heat damage from a screen sitting over a flsh or is your off contact excessive. lets see some pics

[inkman996]

It seems more like he is weakening the mesh in spots with a chemical during cleaning and the friction while printing is busting through. What chemicals are you using?

[Frog]

My experience in that situation has been tears, not small holes.

As has been mentioned, a pic or two would be nice here.

[Shawn (EIP)]

What are you using to scrub the screen? I use those green scrubby pads but when they are new I'll scrub lightly, once its broken in and soften I'll scrub like normal. Took me a few busted screens to figure this out...

Also if you leave tape on the screen while blasting it with a powerwasher your tape can flap around fast enough to create a saw effect and rip your screen, this mainly only happens if I forget to remove tape that covers the regi marks or pin holes.

[Homer]

dumb question - you aren't smoking while printing are you? ashes make burn holes.

maybe something in the ink, was it while printing the same color in both cases? I have had a bolt fall out of the chopper right into my ink -only to find it while putting ink back in the bucket. . .or junk on the pallet punching up through.

I also like Wayne's solution. . .

[Shawn (EIP)]

dumb question - you aren't smoking while printing are you? ashes make burn holes.

maybe something in the ink, was it while printing the same color in both cases? I have had a bolt fall out of the chopper right into my ink -only to find it while putting ink back in the bucket. . .or junk on the pallet punching up through.

I also like Wayne's solution. . .

Awhile back the jerk-offs that own the building sandblasted the outside walls, I had few windows open I had sand particals everywhere all over my shiiit and in some of my inks. I'm still finding ink with sand and I'll know when the screen starts to rip. Bitched at my landlord and he thought it was funny...  Moral of the story... keep your inks covered lol. If your roadside , road dust and particals can kick up into the air as well.

[sweetts]

picture