Best way to control dot gain

[Artelf2xs]

so the color on press doesn't match expectations,

It is not about expectations or compensations. It is a simple question about the physical mechanics.

[virgil427]

To me off contact should be the biggest culprit out of the list,other than no. 7 , if your off contact is to high for whatever reason the stencil on the shirt side will enlarge has you force it down. take a peice of sheetmetal drill a hole in it and then bend it around an arbor the outside will grow. The same will happen to your stencil.

[JBLUE]

To me off contact should be the biggest culprit out of the list,other than no. 7 , if your off contact is to high for whatever reason the stencil on the shirt side will enlarge has you force it down. take a peice of sheetmetal drill a hole in it and then bend it around an arbor the outside will grow. The same will happen to your stencil.

A lot of people probably forget about this one.

[Sbrem]

So, do we have a consensus yet?

Steve

[blue moon]

so with a screen on the press and needing less or more ink . . . I find most of the above will give you a range of adjustment.
But the widest range, in my experience, comes with the squeegee duro. Most others will give me about 30% plus minus (that's in usable range, if you back the pressure off so much that you are not really printing or is not clearing enough it really is not usable). Going from a solid 80 duro to a triple 55 I see an increase of approximately 50%. That would make it the widest range once the screen is on the press.

[yorkie]

But the widest range, in my experience, comes with the squeegee duro. Most others will give me about 30% plus minus (that's in usable range, if you back the pressure off so much that you are not really printing or is not clearing enough it really is not usable). Going from a solid 80 duro to a triple 55 I see an increase of approximately 50%. That would make it the widest range once the screen is on the press.

30% and 50% adjustments, sound like too large of a jump to be considered a "tuning point" for dot gain.

[blue moon]

But the widest range, in my experience, comes with the squeegee duro. Most others will give me about 30% plus minus (that's in usable range, if you back the pressure off so much that you are not really printing or is not clearing enough it really is not usable). Going from a solid 80 duro to a triple 55 I see an increase of approximately 50%. That would make it the widest range once the screen is on the press.

30% and 50% adjustments, sound like too large of a jump to be considered a "tuning point" for dot gain.

In our case I have 6 different duros, so there is quite a range.Yes, you are right, It is not a seamless adjustment, but this is complemented by the other factors. Does that make the other factor more important? hmmm . . . .

[yorkie]

If you were a DJ at a nightclub and were switching from one song to another, you'd expect the volume settings for the second song will be correct. Then when you cut in talk on  the mic, you expect the sound levels will be correct. Then if you switched an MP3 player, again you'd expect the sound levels to be correct. This is because before the show, you did a sound check. You know the volumes will be correct, because you have tested it. Now this is not to say, that from the first fan to enter to room, till hundreds of people enter the room, that you will not have to re-adjust the sound level. These are controlled require gentle adjustments, not the swapping out of amps halfway into the show.

Now imagine a show starting up, then realizing that amps are too small, shutting down the show, swapping out amps, doing a new sound check, then realizing these were still the wrong amps and swapping them again. Is this REALLY the way to put on a show?

The setting on the soundboard depend on the amp which is chosen, not the other way around. The choice of the squeegee should be made when planning the show. On the day of the show, you may need to panic and swap equipment, but it should be the exception, not the rule.

[blue moon]

If you were a DJ at a nightclub and were switching from one song to another, you'd expect the volume settings for the second song will be correct. Then when you cut in talk on  the mic, you expect the sound levels will be correct. Then if you switched an MP3 player, again you'd expect the sound levels to be correct. This is because before the show, you did a sound check. You know the volumes will be correct, because you have tested it. Now this is not to say, that from the first fan to enter to room, till hundreds of people enter the room, that you will not have to re-adjust the sound level. These are controlled require gentle adjustments, not the swapping out of amps halfway into the show.

Now imagine a show starting up, then realizing that amps are too small, shutting down the show, swapping out amps, doing a new sound check, then realizing these were still the wrong amps and swapping them again. Is this REALLY the way to put on a show?

The setting on the soundboard depend on the amp which is chosen, not the other way around. The choice of the squeegee should be made when planning the show. On the day of the show, you may need to panic and swap equipment, but it should be the exception, not the rule.

 I agree, and the reality is that the angle (primarily) and pressure (secondary) are used first. So in the spirit of the poll, they would be better.

[Artelf2xs]

BuwA HAHAHAHA

if you where riding a horse in the desert, Because you left you camel in an unlocked house in Canada, ( But at least the coffe pot was off) And you remembered that the art of screen printing, invented over 4000 years ago had advanced a lot. But yet  the same simple rules applied.
would you still sweat?

[yorkie]

I agree, and the reality is that the angle (primarily) and pressure (secondary) are used first. So in the spirit of the poll, they would be better.

It would be best to get it down to angle OR pressure.

"control" is all about control. When a process is under control, the screens made on monday can be remade on friday or remade next year and the results will look consistent. The printing of a screen made today, should print the same with one made next year.

The payoff of control is rapid quicker make ready.  Fiddling with angle and pressure before deciding to swap squeegees and start adjusting again take time. The higher end the product, the tighter the color requirements. I've seen makeready disasters, when multiple remakes eats hour after hour.

[Artelf2xs]

Sorry yorkie and others,

I guess  I could have been clearer  about this being rudimentary knowledge.

Not about computers ( Which are not needed to screen print) or rip software ( which is not needed even with a computer) or sound boards 

it is about screen printing... Pulling a squeegee over a stencil supported by a mesh fabric.

[blue moon]

Sorry yorkie and others,

I guess  I could have been clearer  about this being rudimentary knowledge.

Not about computers ( Which are not needed to screen print) or rip software ( which is not needed even with a computer) or sound boards 

it is about screen printing... Pulling a squeegee over a stencil supported by a mesh fabric.

well, we seem to have an abundance of opinions here, are you sure your answer is going to satisfy everybody?

[yorkie]

Before computers, dot gain was controlled with exposure calculators and duplication of film or in the creation of the art.

[Sbrem]

BuwA HAHAHAHA

if you where riding a horse in the desert, Because you left you camel in an unlocked house in Canada, ( But at least the coffe pot was off) And you remembered that the art of screen printing, invented over 4000 years ago had advanced a lot. But yet  the same simple rules applied.
would you still sweat?

Is it daytime or night time? (And yes, the falling tree does make a sound even if no one is there to hear it))