Piquet... Crap, I don't want to print this job. Any advice?

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

So.

Wife sells this 65/36 Poly Cotton Blend (Port Authority) Polo THREE spot color job, and looking at the fabric's texture--I don't have a good feeling about it.

Port Authority calls it Pique, and it's anything but smooth. And of course, some of the shirts get white ink on dark shirts.

Has anybody printed these on a manual? Or any general advice to get a smooth image, without sawtoothing?

Thanks.
Stan

(EDIT:  Pique not Piquet.  Idiot.  Some words are just harder four me to speel, eye guess)

[Admiral]

When I did a job like that I made sure to fill the holes with the underbase and make it smooth to not show holes on those top colors.  Might have to do multiple passes or flashes to get it right.  I used a slightly lower mesh count than usual for that white base too.  More open mesh would help but at the time we didn't use it.

[mimosatexas]

I'm not sure what setup you have, but I would probably do these with plastisol transfers.  PM me if you need any info on how to do multicolor transfers and I can point you to some resources and answer questions.  One of these days I promise I'm going to write a detailed article on it...

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

I don't do transfers in house, except one color jobs...and then only if I have to.  Budget won't allow for subbing out transfers this time, although that isn't a bad idea. A few of these shirts will pose a sublimation problem also.

Admiral, I could print the Base with 110/80. That might help fill the craters. But what do you mean by "open mesh?" Thinner threads? (Must be.  The design is set, signed off. I think of "open mesh" as larger blocks of color.  Is my terminology in need of  tweaking? I would use the terms "lower mesh count"  and "more open mesh" interchangably in this context.)

Stan

[Frog]

I don't like these either, and usually try to steer custys away from them towards a jersey or interlock knit, but they always seem to come out better than I was expecting.

Pique and waffle knits are common on the "better" shirts, and I think that they tend to mostly get embroidered.

[mooseman]

ew do them now and then don't like them but what the hell everyone prints on them time to time.
We will hit the shirt with a heat press high temp about 300 for 5 -6 seconds to "modify the fabric" then print as usual.
You might try adding a 4th color one that matches the shirt color as a full underbase then throw your 3 color design on the matching color base.

At the end of the day Frog is right they tend to turn out better than you might expect, buy one or two extra to print the crap out of to see what works. You will spend that $$ on replacers  for the job anyway when you goof up so get some practice fabric.
mooseman

[Inkworks]

It's easier than printing on athletic jersey mesh. Don't sweat it and just make sure your base is full coverage and don't expect soft-hand on the finished product.