TSB
screen printing => General Screen Printing => Topic started by: blue moon on June 10, 2011, 09:18:48 AM
-
'not sure who screwed up and forgot to tape off the screen, but we went 850 pieces into a 1k order without anybody noticing the missing blockout tape.
It was a 305 with ultrasoft bright blue which is pretty dense for an Ultrasoft so it just ended up sitting on top of the mesh.
-
I've done that before, several times, it makes you wonder why we spend so much on tape a year because ink has never seeped through and gotten on a shirt on any of those occasions.
-
we are "tapeless" - 19" scoop coater -no tape -ever. it's the bees knees.
-
we are "tapeless" - 19" scoop coater -no tape -ever. it's the bees knees.
Hey Homer. Are you using 19" to coat crap side of 20x24 screens? What are you using for inside coat (if you apply one)?
I like this idea, tape is a pain!!!
-
we are "tapeless" - 19" scoop coater -no tape -ever. it's the bees knees.
and when exactly were you going to share that with us? how much gap do yo have and is it ever a problem? What about the front and the back?
-
19" on 23x31 screens. . .we have about an1/8" of open area on each side. . .bees. . .friggen . . .knees. . .
we have a larger coater for manual frames too. . . .tape is one area that bottle necked reclaim and set up speed. we tried quick dry blockout, permanent blockout, 3" masking tape. . . .this is the best for us.
-
I posted about this a while back but not many people read my posts or take me serious haha. . .I get the feeling people get the glazed over look reading my nonsense. . .I know, I get it here too haha. .
-
Got any pics Homer?
We could probably get away with not using tape since there is a very small gap between the edge of the emulsion and our permanent tape on the screens so maybe we'll give it a shot to see what happens.
-
Manual screen is 20x24, with inside frame dimension of 17" for the opening. Could I coat with 18" on the shirt side of the mesh and then I will have 1/2' of overlap with the actual aluminum frame. That gives me no gaps or a need for a tape. On the ink side, I could still use my 16" coater. The only bad thing would be a need for two coaters.
Did someone try this?
-
since I'm still using a Go Phone -don't have a camera, I'll bring in mine from home and take a pic. What we do is coat the screen with the coater a little off center, about 1/4" or so, then when we flip the screen over, off set it again the other way about 1/4". It still leaves you with a perfect usable area, but closes the gap on the sides. we go through a tad bit more emulsion, but that's nothing compared to the time it takes to tape and untape, plus the tape itself. same deal with the manuals.
D-nuts - No need to have 2 scoop coaters, that would be a pita. . standard size is 16" I believe, buy a 17" and try it out, it really works.
-
I like using tape only for keeping the ink and chems out of the corners. I think if some day we go with a dip tank I will try no tape.
Hey Homer you don't see any issues running the scoop coater so close to the edge? I would think the tension would be so high near the edge that the center area would have a higher build up?
-
nope. I'm using panelframes, not newmans so I don't know how that would work, I've never coated a newman.
-
There was something in the air yesterday. I was running 500 and the screen blew apart at 496....lol
-
There was something in the air yesterday. I was running 500 and the screen blew apart at 496....lol
OUCH!!!
-
Luckily we run these a lot so I had some left over from the last run and just filled the order that way.
-
I have my Newmans perma-taped on the inside/outside. I cut down my scoop coater to run just inside the tape. Once the emulsion is dry I might card over the gap with more emulsion, or I just apply some 1" masking tape on press.
I block out all the reg marks with emulsion and post-expose.
Thing I learned awhile back with water base and especially discharge, if you try to tape off reg marks the ink moisture will build up and seep out from under the tape, and with discharge that means phantom lines burned into the shirt. It can even leach through the emulsion where there is no reg mark. (you can tell it's leaching through if the emulsion is tacky underneath)
Blocking out the reg marks altogether and leaving the screen un-taped solves everything.