Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas Edison
Nick.. all of this is happening because you let it happen. In your quest to be the 'good' intern, you let this guy walk all over you thinking if you do this for him, he'll do that for you and my guess.. they haven't done a single thing for you but make your life more difficult as you work harder and harder to solve their problems. This is a dose of truth, it will never get better at that shop and the best thing you can do is walk away with the info you have gained and let them sort out their own problems. Being in Colorado.. you have Graphic Elephants in Elizabeth, Lon and Jason are a couple of world class consultants.
I wish one day these thread discussions about mesh will be all about the mesh's spec (dia, open area, ink volume etc etc) and the fluid pressure required to feed the stencil based on the type of ink and squeegee (profile, angle, speed, pressure) used to accomplish a maximum effective transfer to the substrate. Then tension will be a "goes without saying" after thought type a deal because the tension used was in direct relation to the mesh specs. But alas I won't be the one to start this type of discussion because I'm here to learn. I do however appreciate that if a mesh is required to be stretched to 18 newtons to be in spec, I don't go to 26 newtons because I will only be introducing new variables into the transfer process that I will then have to address.
I agree, unfortunetley I try and do the best at everything I do and tend to hope that others will appreciate the outcome I produce, but unfortunetly this is one of those situations that I just get used and abused.
For a quick fix, talk to your art dept and get them to start comping for the extreme dot gain on art like this, either by linearizing the film output (this can be done by eye) or just plain pulling back the % fills.
That's a perfect job for a "one hit white" at our shop. I just did one earlier today and I'll get the video up later. That type of artwork is absolutely perfect for a one hit. I did our last job on a 100/55 at 25 newtons with a 50 micron stencil. 23-24 psi on the printhead and 10"/second print stroke. A special fill blade and a special squeegee blade played a large role but I'll get more into that stuff later in another thread. So, like Zoo said, a little better screen, perhaps the right stencil thickness and off contact, better mesh count selection and you'll get rid of at least 2 of those 4 strokes and possibly 3 of them.
Well, for now, pull back the fill % to accommodate for the gain. Try, try, try, to get better screens in there. You can't build without that foundation, it's the heart of the process.
Quote from: ZooCity on January 02, 2013, 05:10:23 PMWell, for now, pull back the fill % to accommodate for the gain. Try, try, try, to get better screens in there. You can't build without that foundation, it's the heart of the process. Are you meaning turn everything into a halftone....presay....???Nick
Haha! I guess you could, you are printing totally solid at what, 50% fill there?Glad you have a sense of humor about it, that's the only way to go.