Need some help! Ink Sticking and can't figure why

[mhprinting]

Hello all,

This is a little bit urgent as this job is due at 1 PM today.  It's have a 5 color job and here are the details below:
  Wilflex Quick White mixed with 6% fashion soft base on a 156 mesh- Underbase
  In house mix for tan with union ultrasoft orange and wilflex white- 230 mesh
  Startex bright blue- 230 mesh
  Startex neon yellow- 195 mesh
  Wilflex print black- 195 mesh

The ink is sticking to almost every screen.  I was using wilflex amazing bright white at first and thought it was that so I switched to the quick white.  The white is still tacky and every ink used is still tacky.  Put a fan on head 3 and still no luck.  The ink is tacky on every print.  Could this be why?  Also, I thought it may have been my emulsion because it felt a bit tacky and I sprayed a little WD40 on a old t-shirt and wiped it under the screen and it worked on some screens, but the ink still would stick on the others.  I thought it may be because the pallet was too hot, but I just tried it again this morning and still no luck.  Sprayed more adhesive as it was pulling the shirt off and the ink is still sticking on the screen.  It's not physically sticking on the screen, it's making a loud pop noise as it goes down to index to the next color.  Should I just tape where the ink makes contact with the other screens to prevent this? I setup the job last night and it's been hell trying to figure out what is causing it to stick.  Also, I tried flashing every color instead of printing wet on wet and still sticks.  It sounds like my screens are going to pop every time it goes down and indexes to the next color. Sorry for such a newbie question, but I just can't seem to figure it out.  I need you guys' expertise and help.

Thanks in advance for you guys' help.

[jvanick]

probably not a ton of help, but you're likely overflashing your underbase...

when we have the 'pop' problem it's almost always overflashed, or we're running too fast for the shirt to cool off...

how fast are you trying to run?

[Rob Coleman]

Agree with jvanick on the Underbase White screen.  Most people way over-flash.  With Quick, it definitely will get tacky if too hot.  Lower your temp/time to just gel the ink.  Should be dry but NOT tacky.  A good tool is a non-contact thermometer you can pick up at Home Depot or Lowes for like $40.  Keep the ink temp for the quick white flash below 230 for optimal results.

As far as the other colors - your color in the second screen that is the special mix - this will probably cause you problems if not flashed.  Not sure the "Wilflex white" you refer to as part of the recipe, but regular printing whites (like quick) are not designed to print wet-on-wet and can certainly build-up if not flashed.  All the ingredients uses to get the flash properties and opacity are not good for wet-on-wet printing.  Try flashing or moving that color to the end.

If your other colors are picking up, perhaps GSG can chime in, as I think Startex is their label. 

Hope this helps some.

[3Deep]

Not a solution to your problem but will get your job out since your in a time crunch, just flash every color if it's not a very big order.   I agree your base print sounds over flashed or your top color screens are not high enough mesh ct, to much print pressure, squeegee angle etc.

darryl

[CurtR]

I agree with the previous posts about over flashing.  That is the most common cause of the issue you describe.  Adhesive on the platens, excessive squeegee pressure, and off contact can also be factors, but based on your description I would work on the flash time and/or temperature. Since you state that all of the colors are creating the popping noise, not actually transferring or building up on the screen, this tends to lead back to the underbase.  You are welcome to reach me at GSG.  My number is 214-712-6269.

[Homer]

...looking at the colors listed, I would move that NEON color to the end of the print order, those are typically super tacky ...are these inks made for WOW printing?

base white - flash - cool station (roller screen for us) - black (305 mesh) - bright blue (305 mesh) - flash - cool station - NEON color (156 mesh give or take)


this is without seeing the artwork of course so this may not work. black sometimes does not flash well, depending on the series you use.

worst case, flash after every color.

[mimosatexas]

I agree with what others have posted.  check flash times, order screens by coverage ideally (small to large) but neons are sticky so that should go at the end as mentioned.  The white mix could definitely be a problem.  Some blues are also sticky.  Basically you have a lot of potential for problems on this one.  I didn't see it mentioned, but those mesh counts are pretty low for printing on top of a base too.  Even manually I would be printing the blue, tan, and black on a 280 most likely.  The neon would depend, sometimes I use 280s, sometimes 180S.  Depends on brand/color/coverage.

[pwalsh]

I agree with the previous posts about over flashing.  That is the most common cause of the issue you describe.  Adhesive on the platens, excessive squeegee pressure, and off contact can also be factors, but based on your description I would work on the flash time and/or temperature. Since you state that all of the colors are creating the popping noise, not actually transferring or building up on the screen, this tends to lead back to the underbase.  You are welcome to reach me at GSG.  My number is 214-712-6269.

Curt:  Thanks to GSG for the "Quick" response and welcome to the TSB community. 

[pwalsh]

...looking at the colors listed, I would move that NEON color to the end of the print order, those are typically super tacky ...are these inks made for WOW printing?

base white - flash - cool station (roller screen for us) - black (305 mesh) - bright blue (305 mesh) - flash - cool station - NEON color (156 mesh give or take)


this is without seeing the artwork of course so this may not work. black sometimes does not flash well, depending on the series you use.

Homer:  Good call asking to see the artwork. 

Sometimes a picture truly is worth a thousand words.

Peter

worst case, flash after every color.

[jsheridan]

When printing on top of a flashed base, make sure your squeegee pressure is just enough to deposit the ink with a fast stroke. Print as fast as the ink will allow with good coverage at a 10 to 15 degree angle as this will give you the best sheer with minimal pickup from subsequent screens.

Put the sticky neon at the end after a 2nd flash.

[bimmridder]

And let us know what your eventual soution was. I know you're busy printing, but want to hear how you (hopefully) solved the problems

[ZooCity]

Get that fashion soft out of your white first. 

Flash times are definitely the next spot to look.

Homer's setup looks pretty close to what we would do but all of those colors don't sound good for wow, save for the black of course.  Neons are always sticky and so are oranges, especially when brewed up with an rfu white ink.

If your emulsion feels "sticky" it could be a lot of things at play- exposure, the emulsion v. your humidity in the screen room and shop -do they feel sticky before you put the on press?

Instead of wd-40 try some of the cheap, food grade silicone spray.   It plays very well with plastisol.  I should say that spraying lube on the backs of wow screens is a band aid an you shouldn't need to do it but I honestly like using the stuff, it makes it very easy to wipe down the back of the screen should that become necessary.

[mhprinting]

Thanks for all the help guys!  UPS just picked it up and barely got it done on time.  A lot of shirts were messed up in the process, but it happens and it's a learning experience.  It took me another hour or so to figure out what was going on and all of you guys were correct with the underbase.  I was printing way too fast for it to cool so I slowed it down and reduced the temperature.  I also switched the color order and decided that printing wet on wet with these inks and mesh counts wasn't going to work.  I flashed every color in revolver mode and it gave it enough time for the inks to cool. The problems were the mixed ink, underbase too hot, and the startex bright blue. 

The mixed ink that this specific customer wanted was a pain to match so we decided to have her over and watch us mix it (she gave us a piece of paper as a guide to match her ink).  The ink mixed was amazing bright white and union ultrasoft orange. This color was printed last because it would stick even with flashing and letting it cool.

The bright blue printing wet on wet caused problems so I flashed it and it solved that problem.  The neon yellow was flashed as well and it solved the problem as well.

We had a run of about 260 on the auto and about 62 on the manual.  The blue would stick when we printed on the manual, but everything else was okay.

Here was the print order:  White, flash, black, neon yellow, flash, bright blue, flash, and tan (mixed ink).  All of these were on revolver mode to ensure that I had enough time for it to cool off.

Thanks for all the help guys!  I really appreciate it!  Also, thanks to Brian, Dave, and Sonny for letting me call/text you guys.

[Frog]

The mixed ink that this specific customer wanted was a pain to match so we decided to have her over and watch us mix it (she gave us a piece of paper as a guide to match her ink).

Two things: Pantone number and a mixing system.
You find the closest match in your book to the sample provided. If there is a question, you have the client sign off. Easy peasy!