600 Piece order - Looking to do WoW

[Steve12Lowry]

One quick thing, and I may be completely wrong, but arent you supposed to rub the roller squeegee immediately after the flash vs after a cooldown?  Someone definitely correct me if I'm wrong (I don't use one).

Correct. Ink is much more "pliable" when hot.

[Biverson]

Looks good.  Forgiving print too with none of the top white or orange touching!

One quick thing, and I may be completely wrong, but arent you supposed to rub the roller squeegee immediately after the flash vs after a cooldown?  Someone definitely correct me if I'm wrong (I don't use one).

Thanks. I like to try and make designs "breathe" a bit with spacing and using the shirt color. There was some white and orange touching at the bottom, but had a 2pt gutter to account for that and never had any problems.

Roller squeegee - That's how I used to set it up but just recently moved it over a head to try that out. I've only had it for 6 months and the Teflon is starting to come up in places. I figured it was the heat right after the flash. My thought was that I've increased my speed enough so that it's not fully cool when it gets to the roller, but still hot enough to get smoothed.


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[Nation03]

Looks good! I don't have revolver on my press and most my jobs are either 1 color or 2 colors on darks. My mission this year is to get better with WOW spot color designs and run more jobs on the auto. Did you use any particular reducer in the orange or any brand will do? When I did the job for NHL network back in June I used a local ink company for the pantone grey and it was the tackiest ink I've ever used. I ended up cutting half of it with Magic base and it helped but not by much. Wondering if reducer or Softee base would help with the build up. I also ran that grey on a 230 mesh - if I get the order again this year I'm bumping that screen to a 305.

[Biverson]

Looks good! I don't have revolver on my press and most my jobs are either 1 color or 2 colors on darks. My mission this year is to get better with WOW spot color designs and run more jobs on the auto. Did you use any particular reducer in the orange or any brand will do?

I've got a gallon of reducer from Union in that I use. I just got it as most of my ink is Union, but would imagine most any brand would do the trick? That would definitely help with your tack problem.

[blue moon]

Looks good! I don't have revolver on my press and most my jobs are either 1 color or 2 colors on darks. My mission this year is to get better with WOW spot color designs and run more jobs on the auto. Did you use any particular reducer in the orange or any brand will do? When I did the job for NHL network back in June I used a local ink company for the pantone grey and it was the tackiest ink I've ever used. I ended up cutting half of it with Magic base and it helped but not by much. Wondering if reducer or Softee base would help with the build up. I also ran that grey on a 230 mesh - if I get the order again this year I'm bumping that screen to a 305.

Magic should not make the ink thinner, just printing better (higher viscosity drop, lower tack, and some other MAGIC and voodoo that Joe puts in it). You should use a reducer to make it thinner. Proper extender should not change the feel. If the Softee base is thinner than what you are mixing it into, it will make it runnier.

This is what I understand. Colin would probably be able to explain thei better and with confidence!

pierre

[Colin]

The magic and Voodoo that are reducers/softhand extenders/and ultrasoft bases!!!!

Ok...... So:

When you need to sharply reduce the viscocity of an ink, in this case a super thick and stringy grey, you want to use a reducer that is a close to the viscocity of water as you can.

Why?

Because it will create a drop in viscocity faster than anything else.  You will typically need to add less than 5% (on really bad inks up to 10%) by weight to get your ink back into "spec".  This allows your ink to maintain almost the exact same opacity it had in the beginning (not taking into account the drop in viscosity that CAN lead to a thinner deposit).

If I was to add a softhand extender like SHAPE or Finesse then I would need to add closer to 20% to get the same physical rheology/viscocity that I got from softee base/primer clear/fashion soft/curable reducer.  But don't use curable reducer, its not as well balanced as the other products.

DO NOT USE VISCOCITY BUSTER/DETACK/PLASTICIZER to reduce your ink..... The adding of plasticizer in amounts exceeding 1% by weight (even that is pushing it on some ink types) can make your ink uncurable.  Unless you have extensive knowledge and the ability to cure test and wash test... just steer clear

And honestly... if the grey was that bad after adding Joe's Magic.  Toss the grey and get a new mix next year

Pierre has it right about adding a clear extender.  It should not change the properties of the ink you are printing.  It should just lower the pigment load, thereby making it more translucent.

I use a concentrate mixing system here.  If I was to want to make an ink more translucent or extend my color out, I would just go grab more of the mixing base and add it to my mix.  Nothing about the ink properties will change.

[screenxpress]

Can I get a basic explanation of when to use curable reducer vs. Soft Hand?

I have both, but generally use the curable reducer to make ink more 'flowable'.

[Colin]

What are you/would you use for a softhand additive?

Curable reducer has been the go to for decades.  I prefer the new Super Soft bases/additives because they are an actual fleshed out ink, not just resin and plasticiser.  The inks contain both softer resins (think soft lure baits like worms) and waxes which give them a softer more pliable hand/finish.  Curable reducer is a standard ink hardness.

Softhand extenders also have softer resins and maybe some waxes for feel, but the ink has more body (obviously) and if your goal is to make an ink print "LIKE NEW" again, it will take more of that ink to achieve that effect.

As we all know, the more clear you add to an ink, the more you can see through it and have opacity problems.

In the end, it realllly depends on what the ink in front of you needs for YOUR print parameters.

[Nation03]

Awesome info, thanks Colin.

[screenxpress]

Thanks Colin.  The only inks I have issues with are Union Maxopakes. 

If I understand you correctly, I could use either, but your preference is the soft hand additives, right?

[Colin]

With inks like the Union Maxopakes,  if you want to get them flowing better, definitely use the water like softhand additives/bases.  I would not want to use an extender with those inks.

The point of the maxopake series is to get an OPAQUE print   But the inks can be a bit thick....

[screenxpress]

Thanks

[Colin]