CMYK print - special inks needed?

[OhNoPrinting]

hey.

pretty new to screenprinting..

My question: if i try a cmyk print on a shirt, do i need special inks or can i use regular plastisol color (got tiflex, rutland and a couple of random)

Do i need to make the inks more transparent so they blend better? (with a thinner?)
 

[rusty]

yes. You need process colors.

[Dottonedan]

Rusty is 100% right.  It’s how it should be.

1st, When starting out, don’t try using an underbase yet yet.  That comes with far more experience printing process on apparel first. Print on white only.

2ndly, if you have the art and screens, then you can “play” by replacing each color with a regular ink.  Night lemon yellow for process yellow, bright pinkish red for magenta, medium sky blue for cyan. The print won’t be as dynamic in color but doing this is like preparing you for the real thing. You may see physical issues with the seps and screens. moire issues, incorrect screen angles, too high of a LPI on the mesh etc. comparing the results to when you do get process inks, it will give you a better peak into what these process inks are really doing for you.

Use 230 minimum mesh on a manual press. 300 on auto.
Typically 50lpi is a minimum LPI that will work on both of those mesh sizes.
Most try to make it more difficult by using a different angle for each color.  That comes later.  Make it easier on you by using the same angle on all.  I use 22.5 as my angles.

[cbjamel]

yes you need 4cp inks.
Shane

[OhNoPrinting]

thanks. I guess "real" cmyk has to wait a while then. And in the mean time I will go with the great idea of just using colors which come close to cyan, magenta, yellow, black. I will report back how it is going :-)

[blue moon]

thanks. I guess "real" cmyk has to wait a while then. And in the mean time I will go with the great idea of just using colors which come close to cyan, magenta, yellow, black. I will report back how it is going :-)

the important lesson will be seeing how the inks blend. Your colors will be off and your gamut will be reduced with regular inks, but you can get close enough so it's not cringeworthy.
You can get 4CP inks in quarts. It would not be a lot of money. My suggestion would be to use what you have, do couple of prints with it to get a sense of blending and then move on to simulated process. It is easier to control and is fare more forgiving. Hardly anybody does 4CP any more, it is pretty rare. All the cool images are done with simulated process (with few exceptions).
The hot dog image would look horrible on the shirt if done with 4CP. That type of art does not lend itself to halftones. Your image would be very grainy. I can't explain how bad it would be. Print one as your 4CP learning and you'll understand.
pierre

[blue moon]

where are you located?

[OhNoPrinting]

Stuck in Hamburg Germany. A bit of nowhere considering screen-printing. (at least it feels like it).

[Dottonedan]

So how did the testing go?   Post a picture.

[OhNoPrinting]

so.. i did it.

Got myself a tiny amount of process cmyk ink:



Separated for three days, only to go with the very first try (...)

and... BAMM:



came out pretty sweet: (yes, registration is not even close, everything a bit blurry, still: delighted)

details:

[tonypep]

Not bad at all. Fleshtones are tricky though and since you are printing manually, expect some hue shifting. We may be the exception to Pierres comments. All of our fine art reproductions are printed CMYK and allow for one spot (out of gamut or memory color) screen. I find it to be the best method to capture original art that is not computer generated.

[inkman996]

I think he did a fantastic job for a very first CMYK print ever.

[3Deep]

I think it looks really good myself, nice print job!!

[blue moon]

great start!
If you really want to learn about screenprinting, now keep working on that until it's perfect. You'll have to figure out emulsion thickness, the halftone dot types, angles and sizes, exposure times... and the list goes on. Good way to make that happen is to pick one thing and improve it. What would you say is the low hanging fruit (easiest to fix yet still making a significant impact)?

pierre

p.s. was just in Austria few weeks ago. Might be making to Germany during the summer. Or you could come to Croatia and we could talk shop!

[blue moon]

p.s. was just in Austria few weeks ago. Might be making to Germany during the summer. Or you could come to Croatia and we could talk shop!

Austria, so close and yet so far away! Southern Germany is closer to where I' will be than to Hamburg! Maybe if I import/export a car, I could run it through Hamburg