One Hit White -- the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

[Screened Gear]

We've rarely been able to print at 30, but considering most shops print white ink very slowly, 3-6"/sec, we print white at 10-14"/sec and some other inks will shear at 20-25.  Triple duros are great, but you can print faster with the smiling jacks.  It's not a ton faster but it's noticeable.  With regular spot colors on lights, you should be at 10-20"/sec and if you're not already printing at 8-12 with your white, go ahead and try to increase your squeegee speed.  You might have to increase print pressure slightly as you increase print speed so you have to balance those two parameters to get the most opacity.

I print at higher speeds than most. I don't know the inches to seconds but Its about half the top speed of the machine. Out of 1-10 on the press I am at 4 to 6 for flood and print (white and top colors). I print even faster on the manual. I get a nice flat smooth white this way. I have done nice work slow also but I think faster is easier to control and looks to give more consistent results. I have printed faster but it depends on the ink.

[ZooCity]

ScreenPrinter123 - try a 90/71 for this type of art next time.  It takes skill to use it but it will get you much closer than the 150/48 for this application. 

Good thread on the pressure topic though, that was a nice tangent. 

[alan802]

Zoo, I can't wait until you get an auto, I think you need to buy one this year.

[ZooCity]

Zoo, I can't wait until you get an auto, I think you need to buy one this year.

Haha, I keep getting close and then the capital goes to something else, mostly retail inventory.  I had a very rough ride with the biz last year and this one's going to be bumpy still but maybe next winter I'll start getting serious about hunting down an auto again.  Half or more of our income comes from retail sales of our clothing line which can easily be done on the manual for now. 

I do listen to all yinz talking about the chopper pressure, blade angle, etc. though and I think about it and apply it to manual printing and store some of it away for when it's auto-time.

[ScreenFoo]

I was lucky to discover how print speed can affect ink deposit/opacity when I first met Mr. Clarke at the ISS in Ft. Worth a few years back and I took home a few of his smiling jack blades.  I wish I would have known something other than slow=more ink, fast=less ink much sooner in my printing career but just like every other parameter and variable, I learned a little at a time.  I also started reading anything I could find from Joe and it was a lot like when I discovered Bill's articles and it opened up a lot more info that I could use to my advantage.  It was one of the last print parameters that I found had a profound influence in maximizing an inks opacity.  I had always been told that slower squeegee speed equals more ink, but just because we deposit a large amount of ink, doesn't mean the print will look good or be opaque.  I know I'm not saying anything that a lot of us don't already know, but it might help some of the pups that haven't learned this yet, but printing faster helps in shearing the ink on top of the garment, possibly depositing less ink but maximizing opacity.

Never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Clarke, but "Control Without Confusion" rocked my world when I found a copy.  I read any and every article I see by him--and try to understand it.
It makes you wonder though... how many things will we be wishing we knew now five years from now?   

Zoo--you're right on track learning the necessary technique on the manual the parameters really don't change--if one can't print well manually, an auto will just enable faster misprints. 
Definitely agree with Alan on the sentiment... Sporty with AC heads?   

[mk162]

Zoo, go to a credit union and get a loan, you should be able to get a great rate and the amount of time you save every month should pay for itself.

I couldn't function without an auto...it makes my life so much easier.

[tancehughes]

I'm coming in on the tail end of this discussion, but I will share with the class what I achieved today.

I printed a 1 hit white with Wilflex Epic Quick White through a 110 mesh on my Diamondback today, and it was one of the best prints I've ever had. I have been working with thicker stencils and decreasing pressure and while I haven't mastered everything yet, I will be the first to say that one stroke of white on a black t-shirt can be done. You simply must get the variables under control and understand the process instead of guessing.

A lot of people give Bill grief over his claims, but I can tell you the man knows his stuff and isn't shooting any bull when it comes to one hit white.

I will try to get more details on my print today and can hopefully share more stories like this in the future. I enjoy discussions like these and hope to see others chime in.

[ZooCity]

Piiiiictuuuures.

What thread diameter?

I agree with you partly on bill, sharp as tack for sure but all the videos I saw of his featured light cream/tan ink and not white.  I know from experience that just a titch of brown will drastically change an inks rheology and it's hiding characteristics.  A one hit tan isn't really something to bark about.  But it illustrates a very handy method for those willing to commit to it.

[tancehughes]

I do not know the thread diameter (awful right?), but I can tell you this is straight out of the bucket Wilflex Epic Quick White. I can not guarantee anything about Bill's coloring, but I would highly doubt that he changed the color any. He's a straight shooter.

Anyways, here is a picture, not the best but I tried to get closer to it so that you can see it "up close" as so many demand.

[alan802]

Tance, was that with a fast print stroke or a slow one?  It looks like a slow to medium print speed.  I have achieved "one hit" prints dozens of times over the past year, saving us tons of production time.  My goal is to achieve it on a higher percentage each year till it becomes common.  3 years ago I would have never thought we could do it, now that we do it regularly, I expect it to happen more often as we continue to be better printers.  I need to go through our portfolio prints and pic the "one hits" out and take pics, maybe I'll get to that tomorrow.

[Gilligan]

And here I am struggling with Flood, Print, Flood, Print, FLASH, Flood, Print, Flood, Print, Clearing pass to get a half decent white on black.

156 static, keya black (ring spun shirts... very soft feeling), 70 duro (fairly new squeegee), Union Cotton White.

I've tried various strokes, pressures but anything less and the fibrillation gets a bit nasty.

[ScreenPrinter123]

Gilligan,

I drove to Alexandria and back to new Orleans yesterday. I should've stopped in to say hi and check out your issues with the bright cotton-- sat in traffic for 1.5 hours on I-10 in baton rouge heading back due to an overturned 18 wheeler, so I could've had fun printing in your shop instead and still made Better time had I taken Hwy 90 back home. I'll try to make it to your place next time Michael or I are passing through if you're interested.

[Gilligan]

That would have been cool.

We have actually been printing almost everyday... granted that is because we are incredibly slow and the new guy is even slower.   But still printing almost every day.  I hope it doesn't stop, but I'm sure it's one of those feast or famine types of things.

After about 15 prints my back started complaining, something isn't right up there... so I took a break at 30 prints (25 mins)... not too bad given all the strokes and how slow I am at loading a shirt.

I had to run do a computer job anyway and then figured I'd grab a bite and a handful of ibuprofen and get back on it in a few and see if I feel any better.  If not then this job might not get done this week.

[mk162]

gilligan, how is the new expo unit working out for you?

[Gilligan]

So... since my back was hurting I asked the wife if she wanted to try printing some... one color distressed image (three letters actually), so she really couldn't do anything that I couldn't "fix".  If anyone remembers she has never been able to push a squeegee very well (at all).  So she decides to give it a try... I put her a little "apple box" to stand on and get another 4-6 inches up and she still can't really clear the screen well.

BUT she starts trying different things and she decides to go real slow and deliberate... tada!  She's actually printing it better than I am.  Flood, Slow (but not real slow actually) print, FLASH, Flood, Slow Print and if it clears it's done... if not she does another slow clearing pass and it's done... and it looks better than mine.  In fact even using her technique her's still looks better than what I can do.

So I'm inside watching the baby sleep, talking to you a-holes and she is outside printing away. 

gilligan, how is the new expo unit working out for you?

Sadly haven't even used it yet.

I just put it at the new shop vs moving it back and forth (hopefully will be completely in new shop soon).  Actually as soon as I get my "new" washout booth in there I will just start making my screens there and bringing them home till I get the shop completely set up.  Not the best idea but I'll risk messing up the screens for better quality screens.