first time discharge underbase

[Rockers]

I`m about to embark on an adventure into "discharge underbase land". I have this 100 tees to print 2 colors white text with some parts of it in red. I was considering underbasing everything white and then slap a red on top but I really want to practice underbasing everything with a clear discharge and then print the red and white on top with plastisol+softee base.
Would I flash cure the discharge base first or rather print everything wet on wet? And what mesh count to use for the discharge underbase. A 200T or is that already too fine?

[patfinn]

i dont print plastisol, but i do all waterbase.. if i was you i would use a 160 or so, use a clear discharge base with a lil bit of white in it. if you have a qtz flash I would flash then let cool down. but4 you can run wow i think with plastisol.. but if it were me printing i would flash, usually for me with my qtz i can flash for like 3 sec. and be fine. just do some experimenting.

[Doug S]

I`m about to embark on an adventure into "discharge underbase land". I have this 100 tees to print 2 colors white text with some parts of it in red. I was considering underbasing everything white and then slap a red on top but I really want to practice underbasing everything with a clear discharge and then print the red and white on top with plastisol+softee base.
Would I flash cure the discharge base first or rather print everything wet on wet? And what mesh count to use for the discharge underbase. A 200T or is that already too fine?

That's something I'd like to know as well.  I've watched a video of it being done without a flash.  In the video, they say they used 50% discharge base and the other 50% of discharge white.  I'm just venturing into discharge myself since we just installed a gas dryer.  My first painful lesson was that apparently I didn't have my screens exposed long enough because after about 160 prints of a 5 color discharge print, my screens started breaking down.  I had to re-expose to do the other 240 prints.  The next time I exposed longer and then post exposed for the same time and added a hardener and had no problem.  I've never used discharge as an underbase though.

[3Deep]

I,v got some pics on here of a discharge base I did with plastisol printed wet on wet over top, came out very nice.  I did flash the base for about 2 sec thought to help control the bulid up.

Darryl

[JBLUE]

I had this in another thread but I figured I would just post the pic up again. This is with a 230 mesh discharge base. Plastisol on top. We flashed the base to help with build up on the following screens due to the size of the image area. It just so happens that these are back on press as we speak for a rearder.....lol

[Homer]

we ran these not too long ago with discharge base, plastisol on top, no flash. We are doing more discharge as we learn because we only have a 6 color auto, so we actually get to use all heads instead of dedicating one as a flash. so far it's working well. lots of learning to do.

I agree that the emulsion is key. Underexposed will cause havoc, that dreaded popping sound. Running white last is key. lousy pics but you get the idea. I think it's easier than plastisol base, really. I have so much learning to do it's not even funny.

I would get some sericol red and HO white and not even screw with basing, depending on the art of course. But if you want to practice, try out some 160's so you have time before the screen dries out and write down everything you try, all your formulas. It does help.

these are not fantastic by any means but these two where our first prints using discharge.

[alan802]

There ain't nothing to it.  I'm sure you've read all the major "have to's" and flashing is not a must, especially if it's just straight discharge base and no white pigment.  It's the same thing as plastisol underbase except different emulsion and you really don't have to be as precise on print pressure and the print setting on discharge bases.  Just use a fairly open mesh count, I prefer the 180/48 or the 150/48, one stroke with about 50% more pressure than we do for plastisol UB's, and get after it.

[ScreenPrinter123]

Hoping to try discharge soon - 2 questions:
1) what is setup like when you can't see the base print well and you have to line up 5-7 top colors?
2) given the harder-to-dye-color-shirts, is it simply not a good idea even to do a base discharge and plastisol on top or is this ok to do?  And should you use a plastisol white highlight on those shirts instead of a discharge with white pigment for the top/highlight white?

[starchild]

1) what is setup like when you can't see the base print well and you have to line up 5-7 top colors?

A couple of strike offs pre production. Although I do it for everything.

[JBLUE]

Hoping to try discharge soon - 2 questions:
1) what is setup like when you can't see the base print well and you have to line up 5-7 top colors?
2) given the harder-to-dye-color-shirts, is it simply not a good idea even to do a base discharge and plastisol on top or is this ok to do?  And should you use a plastisol white highlight on those shirts instead of a discharge with white pigment for the top/highlight white?

1 Flash it so you can see it. You can also print all your colors on a white shirt and dial them in then line up the base. It only takes us a couple of test prints to dial it in so we just flash it on the initial setup and roll.

2. You need to learn which shirts you can and cant do. You also need to know which colors discharge well and which do not. TonyP put a list a while back so you can check that out. We also experiment. If we have some stuff laying around we throw it into the print run to see what it does. You do get some cool effects on some of the blends.

[ScreenPrinter123]

I was planning on starting with discharge underbases and Plastisol top colors. I just didn know if, for instance, on a purple, which as I understand it is not a good color to do discharge with, would present a major problem if we did a discharge base (let's assume without any white pigment) and dropped, for example, a Brite blue, lemon yellow, red, and a white plastisol (or white pigmented discharge?) highlight - would those top plastisol prints pop or will the base discharge so negligible that the purple color would retain it's color so much that it would mute the top plastisol prints?

Thanks

[jsheridan]

I've been using strictly WB DIS bases when plastisol colors are called out for quite some time now, wish I started sooner.
It's like printing on a tan shirt and the ink film is beautiful on 200 mesh and up.