Looking into S-Mesh, Good or Bad Idea?

[Redeemed]

I'm looking into S-Mesh for my Shur-loc frames, I have questions?

1. Is S-Mesh good for plastisol? I was told it's better for water base.

2. Is S-Mesh Good for manual screen printing?

3. Is S-Mesh good for a beginner?

Any and all help will be appreciated, thanks.

[Raw Paw]

Yes yes and yes.

S-mesh was more helpful to me when learning our first auto we got a year ago.  Really helps clear plastisol white underbase when you don't have all your other variables dialed in or under control.  Deposits less ink, holds more detail, and distributes ink more evenly, creating a brighter print / more coverage.  Definitely recommend it for manual though.  For the auto we print on S-mesh (aka thin thread) for every color that is printed directly to the garment.  125-T, 158-T, and 180-T is what we use for the most part.

For the manual, I could see it helping a ton in clearing the mesh, and requiring less muscle to do so

[3Deep]

My answer to your questions is #1 yes, yes #2 yes #3 depends on your skill and by skill I mean the way you handle it,  S-mesh will rip very quick if your to rough with it at least it was my case until I learn a little more how to handle it.  I can say it clears the screen with just about any type of ink with ease manual or auto, and in my case I use s-mesh 122 thur 150 for all my white inks, now the higher the mesh the more changes of busting a screen if your not careful.
@ RawPaw I was thinking more ink than less  (Deposits less ink) since the threads are thin, at least that's what it looks like to me when we print with s-mesh 122 and up.

[Redeemed]

My answer to your questions is #1 yes, yes #2 yes #3 depends on your skill and by skill I mean the way you handle it,  S-mesh will rip very quick if your to rough with it at least it was my case until I learn a little more how to handle it.  I can say it clears the screen with just about any type of ink with ease manual or auto, and in my case I use s-mesh 122 thur 150 for all my white inks, now the higher the mesh the more changes of busting a screen if your not careful.
@ RawPaw I was thinking more ink than less  (Deposits less ink) since the threads are thin, at least that's what it looks like to me when we print with s-mesh 122 and up.

Thanks for responding. That's what I've been hearing, the breaking popping and so on, I know that everything comes with learning but just how careful does one have to be? I hear people say they just touch them and they break.

I'm also curious in knowing which S-Mesh makes up for the other regulars, 110, 156, Etc? 

[Atownsend]

Spend some time studying mesh charts / specs from different manufacturers before deciding which mesh you want to run. Threads per inch, thread thickness, open area % are key imo. Each manufacturer gives specs for theoretical ink volume, but they use different metrics to calculate that.

For underbases, I would seriously consider 135/55 from nbc meshtec, we have been using it for a long time and it’s very durable for thin thread. It has a similar open area to murikamis 150/48, but has a thicker thread, and fewer of them obv. We run 135/55, 180/48, 230/40, 305/38 all nbc for 99% of jobs here. All bolt mesh on newmans. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Handle carefully, but screens are going to pop, so be able to replace the mesh when they do.

https://nbcmeshtec.com/assets/files/product/nbc_beta/nbc_beta_product_sheet.pdf

[Raw Paw]

We use a lot of thin thread now and they don't break often.  We did have a lot of Murakami 230-S mesh screens pop for no reason.  We use GSF now and they last as long as they should.  Just don't knick them with a sharp spatula and if you have an auto don't jam your flood bar into it.  When stacking them against a wall make sure you aren't stacking aluminum on mesh, only aluminum on aluminum, and they will last you

[Rockers]

My answer to your questions is #1 yes, yes #2 yes #3 depends on your skill and by skill I mean the way you handle it,  S-mesh will rip very quick if your to rough with it at least it was my case until I learn a little more how to handle it.  I can say it clears the screen with just about any type of ink with ease manual or auto, and in my case I use s-mesh 122 thur 150 for all my white inks, now the higher the mesh the more changes of busting a screen if your not careful.
@ RawPaw I was thinking more ink than less  (Deposits less ink) since the threads are thin, at least that's what it looks like to me when we print with s-mesh 122 and up.

Thanks for responding. That's what I've been hearing, the breaking popping and so on, I know that everything comes with learning but just how careful does one have to be? I hear people say they just touch them and they break.

I'm also curious in knowing which S-Mesh makes up for the other regulars, 110, 156, Etc?

No they don`t break that easily. Our screens are stretched to the recommended maximum tension level for each mesh count and we don`t have many problems with screens popping.

[Redeemed]

I appreciate the help, thanks. I may give the S-Mesh a shot but I need to do a little studying on which mesh counts to go with to replace the originals.

[Rockers]

I appreciate the help, thanks. I may give the S-Mesh a shot but I need to do a little studying on which mesh counts to go with to replace the originals.

We use 150-48, 225-40, and some 330-30. Either Nittoku or NBC mesh.

[Redeemed]

I appreciate the help, thanks. I may give the S-Mesh a shot but I need to do a little studying on which mesh counts to go with to replace the originals.

We use 150-48, 225-40, and some 330-30. Either Nittoku or NBC mesh.

So only 2-3 S-Mesh's? 150 for base 225 for top colors?

[Rockers]

I appreciate the help, thanks. I may give the S-Mesh a shot but I need to do a little studying on which mesh counts to go with to replace the originals.

We use 150-48, 225-40, and some 330-30. Either Nittoku or NBC mesh.

So only 2-3 S-Mesh's? 150 for base 225 for top colors?

Well yes, at least at my shop. 150-S ,225-S and 330-S. I guess you can go as well with a 310 instead of the 330. I think NBC mesh will be cheaper than the Nittoku (Murakami) mesh. There is almost no difference between those two.

[Nation03]

I feel like thin thread mesh really simplifies things for us. You can likely do most of your jobs with 150s and 225s. I personally have been liking the Hi-Dro mesh and I've been remeshing with 157 and 198 for the majority of what we print. I keep around 15 shurloc frames around so if we happen to need a bunch of 305s I can just pop those panels in when we need them. But having static 305s has been pointless for us since we really don't use that mesh often.

[Redeemed]

I appreciate the help, thanks. I may give the S-Mesh a shot but I need to do a little studying on which mesh counts to go with to replace the originals.

We use 150-48, 225-40, and some 330-30. Either Nittoku or NBC mesh.

So only 2-3 S-Mesh's? 150 for base 225 for top colors?

Well yes, at least at my shop. 150-S ,225-S and 330-S. I guess you can go as well with a 310 instead of the 330. I think NBC mesh will be cheaper than the Nittoku (Murakami) mesh. There is almost no difference between those two.

Good info, thanks. I was seeing others saying they use mostly 180/48, 225/40, is that because there would be a big gap between 150-225?

[Redeemed]

I feel like thin thread mesh really simplifies things for us. You can likely do most of your jobs with 150s and 225s. I personally have been liking the Hi-Dro mesh and I've been remeshing with 157 and 198 for the majority of what we print. I keep around 15 shurloc frames around so if we happen to need a bunch of 305s I can just pop those panels in when we need them. But having static 305s has been pointless for us since we really don't use that mesh often.

I see Hi-Dro Mesh mentioned, is this better or stronger than regular S-Mesh?

[Nation03]

I feel like thin thread mesh really simplifies things for us. You can likely do most of your jobs with 150s and 225s. I personally have been liking the Hi-Dro mesh and I've been remeshing with 157 and 198 for the majority of what we print. I keep around 15 shurloc frames around so if we happen to need a bunch of 305s I can just pop those panels in when we need them. But having static 305s has been pointless for us since we really don't use that mesh often.

I see Hi-Dro Mesh mentioned, is this better or stronger than regular S-Mesh?

Based on my experience, the Hi-Dro 157 mesh holds higher tension and holds up better through reclaim and you don't get tiny holes in the mesh nearly as easily as S-Mesh. The 198 Hi-Dro doesn't seem to have the best tension, but I really like the print results and the ink clears very easily. 230 Hi-Dro's are great as well. If I had to pick my top 3 meshes it would be 157 hi-dro, 180-S and 198 Hi-dro, potentially swapping 180-S for 230 hi-dro. That will obiously vary based on what you print, but since we don't really do much process work, these meshes work for pretty much everything we print.