Printing with Textile InksSpoon out the ink across the end of the screen nearest to you. With the screen lifted slightly from the base, apply an even blanket of ink onto the print area. Be sure to use an easy, smooth stroke with the squeegee at a slight angle away from you. This is the flood stroke. Drop the screen onto your paper Lift the squeegee over the ridge of ink and make the print stroke by pulling towards yourself. Keep the squeegee at a 45 degree angle with enough pressure to scrape the ink from the screen. Lift the screen from the print, make the flood stroke, set the kick leg, remove the print and put it to dry on your rack or line. Insert new paper, release the kick leg and repeat the process.
Sharp clear prints can be produced provided you (1) maintain a generous quantity of ink on the screen, (2) use the flood stroke and (3) maintain adequate and even pressure on the squeegee during the print stroke. For the most part, screen printing on fabric is the same as printing on paper. Use only fabrics that can be subjected to temperatures of at least 275'-375'F. Do not use on nonporous fabrics such as nylon. Pretest all fabrics. Fabrics with sizing must be washed prior to printing. This will assure proper adhesion of the textile ink to the fabric. Five important differences are: (1) The screen frame is usually detached from the base and used by itself. Usually two people should work on the printing process-one holding the screen frame tightly against the fabric, and the other doing the printing. (2) On articles like T-shirts, a piece of cardboard or paper must be put inside each garment to act as a barrier. This guarantees only one thickness of material will be printed by the ink. (3) To improve the lubricity (slipperiness) of the ink, you may add the transparency base. To slow drying or to prevent screen clogging, add the Retarder Base. (4) Wash-up of screens and tools must be done immediately after use. If they are allowed to dry on your screen or tools, they are difficult or impossible to remove. (5) After the textile ink dries on the fabric, set a household iron at the highest heat that will not scorch the fabric and with a cloth or paper between the iron and printed material, iron on each side for 3 to 5 minutes. This will make the ink withstand repeated washing's. IMPORTANT.PRE-TEST SAMPLES PRIOR TO ALL PRODUCTION RUNS. |
Multicolor PrintingMulticolored images can be achieved easily by making one screen with the entire message on it. Prepare the screen by any method you prefer. Once the screen is ready, simply block the words you do not want to print with your first color by putting masking tape or paper on the bottom side of the screen fabric.After you have made your first run of prints, wash the ink from the screen and let it dry. Follow this by blocking out the words you just printed and unblocking words you want to print with your second run of color.
After you have made this second run, again wash the screen and let it dry. Repeat the blocking and unblocking process and screen wa for as many colors as you wish to run.Making multicolor prints of detailed art work requires the making of a screen for each color to be printed. (Some books on the subject are listed later.) One way is to have these screens prepared before you start to print. Another way is to remake or revise the original screen for each color to be printed. One interesting effect can be made by having two color print on overlapping areas. These "overlaps" can add a third (darker) value to the print. Extender Bases are formulated to enable Screen Printers to achieve this. CLEAN-UP: An organized work area will make clean-up easy. Here are the recommended procedures:
Water Soluble Inks: Use warm water and a soft brush. These inks will remain water soluble even after thorough drying. Textile and Acrylic Inks: WASH IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LAST PRINT IS PULLED. Use warm water and a soft brush.Should ink dry in the screen, spray with Windex or a similar window cleaner. Rub with a lint-free cloth. When ink is removed, wash with a mix of warm water and dishwasher detergent (Cascade, etc.) using a soft brush. Rinse with warm water. |