How to Screen Print FN-INK™ White Plastisol Ink With A Smoothing Screen

[@tonym5296]

I enjoy listening to the way Colin explains the process. Love his honesty about an ok print 😆

[@colinhuggins6164]

You think I was a little harsh when judging my printing skills?

[@tonym5296]

@@colinhuggins6164 nope, I can relate

[@colinhuggins6164]

@@tonym5296 keep striving every day to be better!

[@Ryonet]

Us too!

[@altonstewart3058]

Glad I stumbled upon your other video which led me here. This smoothing screen is such a great idea. Looking forward to checking out your other videos!

[@Ryonet]

Awesome, thank you!

[@alexguillen1526]

Just getting started on the printing life. Very helpful great info.. keep it up.. 👍

[@kevinwallis2194]

at an auction, i bought a hospitals baby incubator. no idea why but it was only 5 bucks. I ended up using it to store my most used inks in the winter and it keeps the ink at around 90 degrees all the time.

[@Ryonet]

This is a genius idea! Another way to dial in consistency. Thanks for the insight!

[@Madmexican007]

love your videos you rock?! thanks for the advice

[@lazarprint]

Informative video, Looking forward to trying this technique. Are there any stockists selling FN-INK™ in the UK.... oh yes what would the perfered tension be in your screens

[@colinhuggins6164]

The only way to optimize tension in your screens is through retensionable frames. Otherwise, keep it above 20n. If you can get retensionable frames, you want to keep tension above 25n.

[@coloradicalshirts9318]

What temperature are you flashing to before the smoothing screen?

[@colinhuggins6164]

I am not looking for a specific temp - I am looking for a feel to the ink. I want it to be dry to the touch, but slightly pliable. To do this, its not so much about it temp - but the time at that temp. Gel for low cure inks starts as low as 160 - but it takes longer to gel than - 200 degrees does. if I leave ink under either temp for 5 seconds, the 160 may be just a little to wet//sticky still and the 200 degree may be over flashed (ink deposit thickness is also a factor).

[@trainroomgary]

🎨 Cool demo and helpful. 👍 • Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂

[@Ryonet]

Cheers!

[@hustlerstudiomfg]

Do you need to flatten directly from the flash or can you print flash, print some more and when the shirt comes back around flat it?

[@Ryonet]

Hi! When you are watching the video you can see I am testing the dryness/pliability of the ink as its flashed. Plastisol is a plastic and when it heats up you can still move it around, kinda like play-doh. So when the print comes right out from under the flash its still hot and pliable, meaning if you hit it with the smoothing screen in that moment - you will smooth out any fibers sticking up, pressing them into the ink layer as well as smoothing out any roughness in your print. If your ink layer is too dry (flashed too long) or has cooled down, the ink is no longer pliable and will remain rough. So it is always better do smooth the first layer of white as its the foundation for everything that is printed on top. Hope that helps!

[@Ryonet]

I read your question again and yes - you can flash and smooth at the end of your print - but this will not take care of fibers that are sticking up in your print. Typically these fibers are what's discoloring your print (and making it rough). While tapping/smoothing them down AFTER your print is done is a thing, you will still see them in your print, which is why smoothing early and sealing those fibers is usually the better option. If you do not need to worry about fibers, then yes, creating a smoother print can be done with a smoothing screen after the print is complete. This can be difficult to achieve if you over flashed at any point.

[@Dreday_2k7]

Do you recommend this ink for 100% polyester?

[@colinhuggins6164]

It can be used on 100% polyester. My concern will be bleed resistance. As not all polyester is created equal, do a couple of print/wash tests and if you see dye migration, then use a Barrier grey or black to stop the dye migration.

[@ramonesfreak2010]

Can we apply this method with puff ink additive? Doing white on black hoodie with puff additive

[@Ryonet]

Sounds like a cool project! We don't recommended a smoothing screen on a Puff print, save that for your other non-speciality inks!

[@ufukemredanac4398]

What is the mesh count for this printing with plastisol ink?

[@Ryonet]

156 mesh.

[@johnrowellbatario605]

If you use a pull on clearing the screen do you also have to pull for flatenning the screen or you can push or pull? Just curious.

[@Ryonet]

Hi! Colin here: For the smoothing screen, the direction of the squeegee stroke actually does not matter. You can literally push and pull if you wanted to. As the ink is gelled, it cannot move around and smear. In its gell state (flashed) it is pliable, meaning you can leave a thumb print if you really try, but its nearly impossible to smear it with a smoothing screen... the screen itself would need to drag over the top of the ink with a lot of force.

[@johnrowellbatario605]

Thank you for answering! This has been very helpful!

[@davidgallop9206]

Very helpful info! Curious what material are you using for the smoothing screen to keep ink from sticking? I use Blaster Silicone lubricant spray from the local hardware store. Not sure if that’s a good idea or not? Also love to see the honesty of the real struggle and trials when working with new techniques. Nice!

[@colinhuggins6164]

The brown "sheet" is a teflon sheet from Nortech. If printers are interested, we can look at carrying them. Other than that, you typically will never need any silicone lubricant. The ink will be flashed enough that it wont stick to the smoothing screen - it can be a little grippy, as you saw. but it wont stick - if it does ever stick, then it was not flashed long enough.

[@iHustle33]

why not heat press it to cure and flatten all at once?

[@The78209]

Where can I buy a smoothing screen ?

[@strangefella1]

I've just seen another video entitled: 'How To Prepare Artwork For Screen Printing: Creating A 5 Color Print Using 3 Color Blending' kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4XMZmWYh66iabM he shows how he makes a smoothing screen. The smoothing screen bit starts around 6 mins 44 secs

[@CAVEMAN-cw6fp]

will a smoothing screen be useful on green galaxy comet white? im looking into printing water based on 100% cotton but i would like to get somewhat of a plastisol look and feel, instead of a very soft touch and fibers lifting up after washing.

[@Ryonet]

Hi! You can use smoothing screens with High Solids WB inks like Green Galaxy. Always make sure to flash long enough so the ink is not tacky, but also not super dry either. If the ink is too dry it will not smooth out properly. With that said, it is easier to get a smooth print with High Solids WB ink like Comet White compared to plastisol.

[@wagyu_killer]

color of the tshirt shiw thru cheap tshirt

[@Ryonet]

Apparel quality definitely makes a difference!

[@backhandthings4942]

why does fn ink crack so easily though? its probably the worst ink I've ever used

[@Ryonet]

Hi! At the 11:00 mark I start to talk about ink film split Vs undercure. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIDLm3qsgr6ifq8 The rest of the video goes into depth about cure and ink behavior. let me know if the video helps at all!

[@backhandthings4942]

@@Ryonet so you're saying i undercured a lowtemp plastisol?

[@Ryonet]

@@backhandthings4942 I have to go off of what you are posting. Cracking of the ink film does not 100% mean its undercured. As you can see in the video, there are nuances to when an ink film breaks. Depending on what the cracking looks like it could be either undercured (heavy shattered ink look) or ink film split like you saw in the video. Hopefully the video gave you a better visual indication of whats going on with your ink layer.

[@backhandthings4942]

@@Ryonet i tried print flash print white fn ink on dark garments with a few different flash times and they all came out the same way. the whole back design flaked almost on contact with any surface. a slight stretch would definitely crack the design with far less effort than the video you linked. the front chest badge printed perfect though.

[@Ryonet]

@@backhandthings4942 Sounds like your back design was undercured.

[@RobGraham048]

your table top presses, can you add stations to them to expand or no?

[@colinhuggins6164]

Hi Rob. Sorry, but you are not able to add stations and expand your press :(