I think part of the print result that falls outside the numbers is screen printing is very much a hands on process. Press operators know their own little tricks to get a print to work that involves a quick pressure adjustment, a slight drop in speed due to too viscous an ink, a drop of clear base to bring out transparency in a sim process job. The numbers get even more important on reprints. We loved discharge printing, but to reset up a Disney job and get it to match to the sample required documentation. So to me there are two sets of measurements or numbers. First is the science to prove the product made it through lab tests and help on ussage, then the documentation of the print recipe. Discharge and transparent waterbase can need specific squeegee info, speed, angle, pressure, duro, sequece, ink mix etc. But in the end it really does come down to the guy holding the squeegee or in charge of his press. The process of creating 'art' can fall outside the numbers. Electronics? A whole nother world of physics that blows me away. I attended an IDEX conference on printed electronics, wow, this is pure science in math and physics that requires PHD's. Yet I will bet you that a lot of great printers on this forum have tricks that would baffle these guys. The separations we do are another form of art on top of the original graphic, our ink mixes sometimes voodoo concoctions of bases and flow agents and a little blowing agent to matte it out. Great question here, lots of need for more detailed data to make better prints. Good enough is a never ending progression to better than good enough, it's why we like screen printing, so many things to tweak and make better prints.
