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screen printing => Tips and Tricks to Share (Please don't ask questions here) => Topic started by: tonypep on August 05, 2011, 10:14:07 AM
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It happens. Sometimes you take on jobs that you don't have enough heads to print the job correctly. And it often happens at the stage where you can't turn back. Sacrificing a cool down station is one way to squeeze the job on the press. But wait, these aren't friendly little halftone dots this is a slab of white underbase. Even with proper tension and off contact that base can have a bad case of the snaps causing ugly problems.
So here's a few things you can try. Place a high speed fan in front of the screen printing directly after the flash. Now slow the flood speed on that head significantly. This will allow the fan to do it's job before the table lifts. It's going to slow you down but just find the sweet spot . Next be sure that the subsequent screens print as fast as allowable and max out the stroke length. This will allow the screens to "peel" off the print before the table lowers. Now you can (properly) dispense with that silicone spray.
tp
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Good tips, I also maximize my print lengths to get a better peel nothing worse than hearing the screen snap when the table goes down.
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I'm still running my manual, but even as I type this, I am running a job with a cool down station powered by a floor-standing fan.
The reminder I want to give is to make sure that the fan is not aimed in such a way to screw up your flash drying or your full cure conveyor.
It's amazing what a little air movement can do to disrupt the normal conditions.
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Also, one more thing.
Is it possible if you use a high power fan to lift/move shirt of the pallet?
If you hit the shirt at certain angle or right where the neck opening is, that might happen if your pallet is not sticky enough.
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I am thinking of using some PC cooling fans on the end of my flash to cool as it shuttles out on jobs like this. I have used the fan trick before and it is pretty good. Just be careful about blowing sleeves up and into the print.
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Height, angle, and velocity will assure that all will go right. If you're blowing a shirt off the platen you either are using a jet engine or have serious tack issues! Seriously though a simple standing fan from Grainger is all you need of course.
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i have one of those portable air conditioners and it works killer instead of a fan. the 62 degree air makes a big difference and with the 10 k you get some air..
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Good tips, I also maximize my print lengths to get a better peel nothing worse than hearing the screen snap when the table goes down.
haha.. whenever i hear that sound or a pallet being printed in the shop everyone yells out "Amateur" at whoever is operating the press.
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We had a "popper" on Friday. I told our printer it wasn't going to work the way he had it set up, but he didn't listen so we had to stop production after 20 shirts to burn another screen on a higher mesh count, then our problems were solved.
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Alan: So higher mesh counts solve the problem??? which screen did you go higher with, the color that was laying to much ink i assume. I had the same popping this weekend and I increased the speed of my flashback.
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Alan: So higher mesh counts solve the problem??? which screen did you go higher with, the color that was laying to much ink i assume. I had the same popping this weekend and I increased the speed of my flashback.
That's all we needed to do in this particular situation, we went from a 156 to a 195 and the popping went away immediately. We were printing maxopaque union golden yellow on a 156 mesh on printhead 5, then it was building up so badly on the next screen. There are 2 real problems with what we were trying to do, the maxopaque doesn't do well wet on wet, then the mesh count was too low, especially for a top color going on top of an underbase. When doing WOW on top of an underbase, you have little room for error. Your screens need to by tight, the right mesh count needs to be used, the right inks, etc.
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Alan: So higher mesh counts solve the problem??? which screen did you go higher with, the color that was laying to much ink i assume. I had the same popping this weekend and I increased the speed of my flashback.
That's all we needed to do in this particular situation, we went from a 156 to a 195 and the popping went away immediately. We were printing maxopaque union golden yellow on a 156 mesh on printhead 5, then it was building up so badly on the next screen. There are 2 real problems with what we were trying to do, the maxopaque doesn't do well wet on wet, then the mesh count was too low, especially for a top color going on top of an underbase. When doing WOW on top of an underbase, you have little room for error. Your screens need to by tight, the right mesh count needs to be used, the right inks, etc.
Totally agree with you on that, and I find myself always trying to cut corners just to do what I know works in the frist place, can't help myself ::)
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Alan: So higher mesh counts solve the problem??? which screen did you go higher with, the color that was laying to much ink i assume. I had the same popping this weekend and I increased the speed of my flashback.
That's all we needed to do in this particular situation, we went from a 156 to a 195 and the popping went away immediately. We were printing maxopaque union golden yellow on a 156 mesh on printhead 5, then it was building up so badly on the next screen. There are 2 real problems with what we were trying to do, the maxopaque doesn't do well wet on wet, then the mesh count was too low, especially for a top color going on top of an underbase. When doing WOW on top of an underbase, you have little room for error. Your screens need to by tight, the right mesh count needs to be used, the right inks, etc.
try some flow additive from union. It is designed for MAXO series. It only takes a few drops (1% or so) to get the ink moving better and make it less sticky.
pierre
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Alan: So higher mesh counts solve the problem??? which screen did you go higher with, the color that was laying to much ink i assume. I had the same popping this weekend and I increased the speed of my flashback.
That's all we needed to do in this particular situation, we went from a 156 to a 195 and the popping went away immediately. We were printing maxopaque union golden yellow on a 156 mesh on printhead 5, then it was building up so badly on the next screen. There are 2 real problems with what we were trying to do, the maxopaque doesn't do well wet on wet, then the mesh count was too low, especially for a top color going on top of an underbase. When doing WOW on top of an underbase, you have little room for error. Your screens need to by tight, the right mesh count needs to be used, the right inks, etc.
try some flow additive from union. It is designed for MAXO series. It only takes a few drops (1% or so) to get the ink moving better and make it less sticky.
pierre
Any idea if that is similar to QCM's softee base? Seems like it might be quite a bit more effective if only 1% will work.
I try and take a quart of every gallon of high opacity inks and base it down into a more suitable wow ink, but sometimes I don't get around to doing that on every gallon, which is what happened Friday. I ran out of softee base early last week and I'd certainly be open to trying any other base that could be recommended to soften up those extra opacity inks. I don't like regular reducer of soft hand clear, the softee base from qcm was decent, but I'm open to suggestions.
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I don't like regular reducer of soft hand clear, the softee base from qcm was decent, but I'm open to suggestions.
We ditched the softee base.. We tried a million different additives. The best kept secret in screen printing is wilflex fashion soft. It's amazing! It has a bit of silicone in it.. man it's so good.
By the way, has anyone here used an M&R Kool mist?