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screen printing => Ink and Chemicals => Topic started by: 3Deep on June 04, 2013, 10:39:11 AM
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Hey gotta question before I get to work here, Inks how do you prepare your inks before you scoop it in the screen, I just use it straight out the bucket after I stir it up. Something is telling me I should be doing something different to get the ink ready, I would like to know what some of you do to prepare your inks. The bright red I was printing with yesterday just would not print as smooth as I wanted it to, kinda stiff...Brad sent me some of his ink and it was very creamy and printed very good, I ask what he did to it, and he said it was straight from the bucket.
Darryl
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The first thing is to find a smooth ink to use. I just stir and go.
RT Screen Designs
www.rtscreendesigns.com
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I don't know about you guys, but for our ink we start out with some chicken and waffles, then we shoot the breeze about how we want the day to go...then we get down to mixing, start slowly -treat it like a lady D, don't be in a hurry...then we start with the sweet nothings into the bucket and gently spin it with the drill. before you know it that ink is all warmed up and ready to be slapped around.
Or we just open it. drill it. print it.... ;D
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I don't know about you guys, but for our ink we start out with some chicken and waffles, then we shoot the breeze about how we want the day to go...then we get down to mixing, start slowly -treat it like a lady D, don't be in a hurry...then we start with the sweet nothings into the bucket and gently spin it with the drill. before you know it that ink is all warmed up and ready to be slapped around.
Or we just open it. drill it. print it.... ;D
You know how to treat your ink ;)
RT Screen Designs
www.rtscreendesigns.com
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Ya gotta beat your ink until you about go blind and in some cases warm up your ink up too.
We use several different brands some are stiffer than others some are creamy right from the bucket, some are just down right nasty.
Curable reducer, V8 351 CI powered drill with a Donzi boat prop and a Huey helicopter transmission is a good start.
Most of the time mixing & warming work but you will have to play it by ear bucket to bucket, having some reducer or viscosity breaker on hand is a good idea.
Some might tell you that mechanical mixing your ink will dramatically raise the temp of your ink and you should be careful not to get the ink too hot. This is BULL.....given even a 1/3 HP electric drill which is huge, the inefficiency of most drills the remaining energy available to impart to the ink as thermal energy is insignificant unless you mix for a couple of decades.
As a point of reference some of our Wilflex inks are sweet with just a little turning with a spatula.
Some of our OneStroke inks require the V8 turbo treatment
some of our Excaliber inks sweet up with just a little drill mixing.........they are all different.
mooseman
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I was using Streetfigter straight out of bucket, then I started using a drill to stir it up a bit.
That did the trick and it was pretty easy to print.
Few months ago, I had a really fine design that was to be printed white on a black shirt so I added some curable reducer. Rest of it is history :)
Now, I open a bucket, add some curable reducer (3-4%), use drill to mix it up.
I mix it up with drill every time before use....... smoooooooth
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We have always printed right out of the bucket. We add curable reducer quite a bit, but should probably do it more often. Not saying how we do it is right, we have done plenty of things backasswards over the years. The forum here has sure helped, now if I could only find that pin to clear the gunk out of the screen.....;D
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I was just wandering, so you all pretty much answered the question except Homer, now we know what he does with his spare time ::)...I do stir my inks and drill the heck out of others, adding a little reducer might work too.
Darryl
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hey come on D, I drill it. I even made my own drill paddles for it. no reducer though, I am against adding anything to my inks, I feel it should work out of the bucket or something else is wrong. but that's just my take, I know it may not be the best way.
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I had a brief conversation with Joe C about this very subject the other day. I usually don't stir the ink but maybe once a day and I think my printer doesn't stir it very often at all, only right when we open it. I always do a little jackhammer with the goop scoop for maybe 30 seconds pumping the scooper up and down to loosen up the ink but Joe recommended keeping a stir paddle in the bucket at all times and mix the ink vigorously every few hours. He says the ink works best when it's been mixed that often and I tend to believe what Joe says and have instructed my guys to stir the hell out of the ink 3-4 times per day.
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I had a brief conversation with Joe C .........
Impossible, no such think as a brief conversation with Joe C, ;)
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I usually stir ink a little before it goes in, but a couple of test prints and the ink moves like it should
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I had a brief conversation with Joe C .........
Impossible, no such think as a brief conversation with Joe C, ;)
That's true, I guess I should have clarified that it was "relatively" short. I'm usually trying to write down as much of the conversation as I can when I've got him on the phone so I can go back and recall it later. The guy is simply the best.
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I normally stir my five gallons of white ink and black ink twice a week
first thing in the morning Mondays and Wednesdays
I can`t imagine how to stir a whole 30gl or 50gl drum
any ideas?
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You know, I know this is stupid, but do you think one of those really nice cake mixer's on a stand could stir up a good gal of ink?
Darryl
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We use an Oster stand mixer with dough hooks for mixing PMS colors, have 10 mixing bowls to go with it. Most of the time we just hold quart containers and gallon buckets under it like making a milk shake. Nice thing about using the bowls is you can turn it on and walk away while its mixing. I suppose an inexpensive drill press would do the same. Use the dough hooks in the drill to stir up ink in the buckets also. The mixer has stood up to poly on a cold winter morning.
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Most of my inks only get a stirring before each use.
Curable reducer gets added for heavy pigment colors sometimes, depends on the job.
I want a paint shaker for 'raw' pigments..not sure if it would work or not?
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I want a paint shaker for 'raw' pigments..not sure if it would work or not?
we use the Wilflex PC system - i have shaken half gallons of pigment, but not full. i was told by a distributor that the plasticizers that rise to the top can find their way through the lid even if sealed.
i pour off half into another bucket, stir the new bucket, and then put in shaker. once the pigment solids are dispersed a bit, i add back the PC that i poured off and shake again.
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If you have a floor and decor near you they sell concrete mixers....they are similar to the dough mixers, just made for mixing grout and mortar.
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Sneaking this one in: Indco
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TONY, GET BACK TO WORK!!!
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or I'l tattle again!!!
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Thanks folks.
Don't like it much when the pigment starts to solidify, or worse.. turn to sticky sludge.
I don't mix custom colors often enough, but then again, I still need it around for when I do.
Must keep it viable for some time.
Anyone care to share what the actual medium is for pigment?
I use Wilflex PC stuff, but I'd imagine it's all similar. (?)
Cheers.