Still having problems clearing the screen

[Screened Gear]

Note the little columns of ink sticking up in the shape of the mesh, this could go with just a little o.c. or a little more tension.

I was waiting for you to say something about those. I didn't have many shirts around here to take a picture of a white on black print. That was a shirt that I used to test a small 24 shirt run over a week ago. It was the first shirt printed and the ink was not worked up yet. I do use off contact on inks that need it, don’t think I run everything with out off contact. Keep in mind that picture is at 800 percent zoom. You can't see the mesh pattern nearly at all on the shirt itself. The top picture is the same shirt. I know I am missing out on some quality by not printing with higher mesh tension. It is in the works to test some EZ frames and start bringing them in this year. I think if I can stay around 30n on them I will be happy.

[Denis Kolar]

Well, to clear up this particular job and the whys.

I have attached pics of the artwork.

There was half-tones and the customer was very concerned about them coming out.

At 25lpi I really wasn't happy with them... I guess I need to increase that to get better looking halftones on jobs like this.

Oh, and the image was about 6" wide.

Why would you print anything less that 40 or 45 lpi on the art like that? I think that 25 is too course for that artwork.

[Gilligan]

Well, to clear up this particular job and the whys.

I have attached pics of the artwork.

There was half-tones and the customer was very concerned about them coming out.

At 25lpi I really wasn't happy with them... I guess I need to increase that to get better looking halftones on jobs like this.

Oh, and the image was about 6" wide.

Why would you print anything less that 40 or 45 lpi on the art like that? I think that 25 is too course for that artwork.

I completely agree... I'm not very happy with the outcome of that.  I sent a pic of the test shirt and grimaced but the response I got was "good to go". 

I don't think I understood how LPI interacted with halftones until this job.  I know that's kind of stupid of me, but it was just one of those small things that seem so obvious but alluded me at the time.  As I tried to understand why someone could get photo type quality with halftones and I barely got this magnified news print it dawned on me... LPI!

I had run a 25 and 35 LPI test a while back and though the 35 did work I felt the 25 was more consistent and opted for the safer choice not understanding what that choice truly represented.

I've since then started the hunt for a single point, vacuum lid exposure unit so I can improve my screens.  I'm using single point now but my "vacuum unit" leaves something to be desired.  AND it takes me at least 10 times longer to setup to expose a screen than it should with a proper system.

[Denis Kolar]

I believe that this was 45 lpi print.
Nuarc 40-1K Mercury exposure and ChromaBlue emulsion printed with Ruthland black and 70 duro squeegee on my Antec Legend. I believe, it was on aluminum screen with 155 mesh. I will have to check the mesh count when I get home if you are interested.

[Gilligan]

I'm gonna dig up that LPI halftone test I saw somewhere and do another test soon.  I think it had 8 columns with different settings all on one sheet.

[Denis Kolar]

I have been using this one. Someone shared this with me about a year ago.

[Gilligan]

I have been using this one. Someone shared this with me about a year ago.

That's awesome!  Not what I was talking about but it is what I will be using from now on to calculate time.

The one I'm talking about is halftone percentage blocks at different LPI's.  I'll dig it up and share it here when I find it.

[Inkworks]

Just to throw my $.02 in, I think it's counter-intuitive for most new hand printers to think that light print pressure can put down more ink as long as your getting a good shear on your print stroke. I find the key is (on a push-print) to have the squeegee laid down at a good enough angle. If you're standing it up at 45degrees or straighter you need more pressure, and often more print strokes to clear the screen.

 I tell our trainee's "butter the toast (flood) scrape the butter off the toast. (print)" Sometimes it helps to think about scraping the screen as clean as you can rather than thinking about printing the shirt.

[screenxpress]

Hey Gear, can I get a close up picture of whatever you used to hold up the squeegee?  The thing that the squeegee went "clunk" against?

[Screened Gear]

Hey Gear, can I get a close up picture of whatever you used to hold up the squeegee?  The thing that the squeegee went "clunk" against?

That is the off contact adjustment knob, so the off contact is level with the pallet when you increase it. Its standard on the Workhorse press.

[Frog]

Just to nit-pick,  that's actually the tilt adjustment knob, while the large black plastic knob is what raises the screen evenly for off-contact adjustment.

[Screened Gear]

Just to nit-pick,  that's actually the tilt adjustment knob, while the large black plastic knob is what raises the screen evenly for off-contact adjustment.

Well it is used when doing off-contact adjustments. Frog is right it is the tilt adjustment knob. (you one nit-pickin Mofo frog)

[Ripcord]

Screen tension is important, and they say a picture is worth a thousand words. As you can see in the photo, this screen is under twenty newtons and should be remeshed...
-

[Screened Gear]

Screen tension is important, and they say a picture is worth a thousand words. As you can see in the photo, this screen is under twenty newtons and should be remeshed...
-

Very nice. If you get hungry the screen will lose some Newton’s.

[ZooCity]

hahaha.  now I'm hungry...