Screenprinting T-Shirts: Increasing Print Resolution And Clarity On Press

[@pacificbushcraftandfirecra6358]

No doubt about it...the shirt / fabric has the last say in the clarity of the print. It can be like day/night, on the exact same run printing on regular basic cotton tee's like Gildan and Hanes, and then switching to a ring spun garment. Fleece and sweatshirts can be very challenging as well. Great advice and good to let peeps know it can be the fabric and not a pulling/flooding issue. Good stuff Jon...thanks for sharing!

[@CatspitProductions]

Oh yeah totally :) Thank you! I'm very happy to know you enjoyed the video. You're very welcome and thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@viiboom8793]

Thanks for this! I was having issues with my print being blurry yesterday (just started screen printing) and will now make use of your very good recommendations - thanks again!

[@CatspitProductions]

You're welcome. Glad I could help out :) Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@FaroUmer]

another great educational video. thank you Jonathan! I learn a lot from your vids. How's about explaining when to use wet on wet for plastisol inks and when print, flash, print is the only way. Today I printed a lot of tees with 2 colors, and a lack of enough baby pallets forced me to print wet on wet (simple design, 2 colors with overlaping edges) to speed up the process. I noticed two problems: building up the 1st ink on the bottom of the 2nd screen and therefore some amount of ink from the 1st color was lifted by the 2nd screen making the layer not smooth anymore, and 2ndly at the border of both inks the lines were not sharp anymore (ink mixing). Luckly the print lot was small app 50 pcs and the cartoon desingn let the imperfections to be not noticeable, but my concern is, in general, when wet on wet is recomended (or possible) and how to avoid lifting (building up) the 1st wet ink by 2nd screen. The 1st ink at the 2nd color print goes back to the tshirt and when there is too much of it, it blures the design too.

[@CatspitProductions]

Thank you!! I'm glad to know you enjoy my video work. Okay that's a good topic to discuss. I can easily discuss my thoughts on that. Please stay tuned. Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@mad2max]

Thank you John. For expensive garments, I would use flat and clean pallets, a lint remover roller, heat press the garment before printing, use sharp squeegee and even off contact

[@CatspitProductions]

You're welcome :) Yes, keeping your pallets clean and smooth is a given. Especially on thinner garments. I don't like to use a lint roller because it may lift fabric fibers but you should certainly be sure their is no lint or debris on the shirt before printing. I usually snap the garment as I pull it off the stack and load it onto the pallet. Most of the time I can smooth out the garment on pallet with he adhesive flattening it out with my hand a bit. Remember, the more pre-print work you do, the more labor is in the print. And I agree, proper off contact and a decent squeegee is a must. Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@samduce]

Do you clean your screen after each print or often do you clean your screen?

[@CatspitProductions]

You should clean the screen and such after you're done printing. That's it. Thank you for sharing! Thanks for watching! Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - CatspitScreenPrintSupply.com/

[@decaysaypluhtheyst]

I'm a big fan of band tees, like the bright colors and unique art style you see with the likes of more brutal bands... for example I owned a very nice suicide silence t shirt, that colors were vibrant and the paint had a very nice lasting coating, almost a foamy texture to the feel. what is the layer prices for products like this? and what type of paint give that texture? im not a fan of the shiny glossy brittle paint That flakes off. I like the thick foamy feeling stuff that lasts longer, colors stay more true.

[@CatspitProductions]

I sell equipment and supplies today so printing pricing can vary by region. But it's likely that if this was done with a specialty ink like suede, it was plastisol ink. Plastisol ink will last the longest with the most vibrant colors. But it could have also been flock. Thanks for watching! Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - CatspitScreenPrintSupply.com/

[@georgeesparza4630]

Will too much off contact cause fibrillation I believe my off contact to high.. if so what's a good height for the proper off contact ??

[@CatspitProductions]

Too much off contact can cause a lot of problems with the print. Worse problems than fibrillation. Ideally you want to be about 1/16th of an inch off the shirt. Thanks for watching! Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - CatspitScreenPrintSupply.com/

[@desimcgill]

Is ring spun cotton considered wider knitted? I'm having a huge problem with fibrillation with those tees such as Next Level tees or American Apparel tees, tees that I would consider above average in quality. The prints on my Ultra Cotton Gildan tee come out great. I'm confused.

[@CatspitProductions]

I'm not sure specifically. We would have to consult a fabric expert ;) But with fashion tees like Next Level or American and even Bell can have soft finishes to the garment. Sometimes they may even be "brushed" fabrics so as to feel softer on the body. So call these manufacturers up and ask them which product in the style you like has the finest and smoothest knit surface with NO brushed fabrics. Thanks for watching! Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - CatspitScreenPrintSupply.com/

[@banjoboymcgee]

I started working at a new shop after being a screen guy for three and a half years. this new shop has problems with static electricity on the screens making them dirty. do you know how to deal with this?

[@CatspitProductions]

It sounds like they need some humidity in the air. Otherwise you might use an anti static cloth to wipe them down before storage. Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@dsigner]

what type of mesh to get the crisp and sharp printing?

[@ratbreath]

when flooding the screen, are you using light pressure just to cover the print area or enough pressure to push the ink into the screen? thinking of getting a 2 or 4 color carousel. Do you have an idea on one for a budget minded beginner? I want to get a tabletop one thats as easy to store as possible.

[@CatspitProductions]

It's light pressure but enough for the thickness of the ink to slightly fill the stencil with ink. You should be able to see it on the substrate side of the screen but if you push too hard on the flooding then it will blur the print out as well. There are a few options available for bench top presses like that: catspitscreenprintsupply.com/ranar-2-color-bench-top-press-p-205/ catspitscreenprintsupply.com/ranar-4-color-bench-top-press-p-405/ catspitscreenprintsupply.com/ranar-4-color-2-station-bench-top-press-p-4200bt/ catspitscreenprintsupply.com/ranar-4-color-4-station-bench-top-press-p4400bt/ Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@jasonwhisman7274]

Something I think deserves mention is proper flashing. When you go for that second print without properly flashing the the first, you'll just push that under flashed underbase into the knit of the fabric and still likely have fibrillation even though you did a print flash print. This brings up another valid point. Maxing out the coverage area of your flash unit can result with fibrillation along the outer edge of your print only. So if your getting a nice opaque print in the center of your design but fribrilation along the outer edge you'll have to run around and manual sweep your flash head across your design bringing production to a screeching halt or purchase a larger flash unit from Jonathan!

[@CatspitProductions]

Yes, I agree :) So be sure to properly gel the first print when you flash? Yeah if the 1st print is not dry to the touch then that's no good. And using a the right size flash for the art you are printing is a great tip. Thanks for sharing your input! And thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@Dayton88]

Great Video Jon!

[@CatspitProductions]

Hey Dayton. Thank you! Thanks for watching! Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - CatspitScreenPrintSupply.com/

[@tonyfourpaws4511]

Thanks for replying to my other comment. could you cover creating a vintage look?

[@CatspitProductions]

I have done that already. Look up distressed print on my uploads page.

[@donhenry16]

nice idol... thanks for this basic tip but it's very helpful. Just ask for a question. is there much difference in clarity or resolution if i use mesh 80 over 100 and 120 mesh. tnx... :)

[@CatspitProductions]

Thank you very much my good friend ;) Yes, of course. This video is about "on press" printing tips to improve print resolution. But yes, the higher mesh counts print less ink with much more artwork detail ability and lower mesh counts print more ink with less artwork detail ability. Generally speaking. Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@donhenry16]

Thanks you so much idol... i have not yet tried lower mesh than 100. ill try next time the 80. for a simple artwork. :)

[@CatspitProductions]

You're very welcome ;) Usually for plastisol inks we use 110, 125, 160 for basic spot colors and big dot halftones while 200, 230, would be for highly detailed art with some halftone work and usually 305 and 355 are for fine dot CMYK printing. With water based ink we might start with a 160 and go up from there depending on art since the inks tend to be thinner.

[@donhenry16]

:) thanks idol... i have not yet tried plastisol ink. i want to try half tone printing, but the only available mesh here is 180. is that fine?

[@CatspitProductions]

My pleasure ;) You could do some halftone work on a 180 mesh if you're talking US measurements. It's almost a 195 or 200 so you might get 30 to 40 LPI off on that perhaps. The bigger the dot, the easier it will be to expose.

[@gunturprasetya6592]

do we have to flood the screen if we dont have the off contc on the screen?

[@CatspitProductions]

If the ink is thin, you may not need to flood. But usually with textile plastisol inks we do flood regardless of off contact. Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@gunturprasetya6592]

Thanks for answer my question, sir. By the way, do you have vidoe series that explain about water based inks' understanding...?

[@CatspitProductions]

My pleasure. Glad I can help out. I have a video about the differences between water based and plastisol inks. But no textile water based printing videos yet. I want to find a product I can sell to use in my video work. Please stay tuned.

[@banjoboymcgee]

I coat the screens a little thicker for white ink

[@CatspitProductions]

A lot of people do that but a rigid frame with tight mesh and proper off contact with a specific flood and stroke will do more for you in opacity. You can "undo" the thicker stencil easily on press without proper set up and method. Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@daniellacatton]

Great Video Jon.. From Daniella in the UK.. XX

[@CatspitProductions]

Thank you love :) Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@wilsonng9077]

I found that the printing ink stuck all over my screen after my printing, n even after I washed it for several times. Is it I need to use some kind of chemical to get rid of it? Really frustrated to see all the screen to be use once only, it's such a waste.

[@CatspitProductions]

If you're using plastisol or a water based ink with petroleum carriers, then you will need to use a solvent to clean ink off of the screen. Water and soap will not work. I sell ink solvents here: catspitscreenprintsupply.com/press-wash/ Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@tonyfourpaws4511]

On your last shirt in this video: Would you consider that shirt done? I am assuming that i should always see zero shirt on only crisp clean white ink. Am i asking too much? LOL..Thank you for all your helpful vids

[@CatspitProductions]

You're very welcome. Yes, that shirt would be fine. But sometimes you can still see the texture of the garment some or if you use a one hit wonder print it may look a bit duller than a print/flash/print. But yeah, it's just a tee shirt so don't expect the print to look like it's not on fabric. Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@arbiasshehu9025]

Thanks for this videos you are very helpfull and you have a gift how to explain this things its amazing :)

[@CatspitProductions]

Thank you very much!! I appreciate the sentiment and it means a lot to me :) You’re very welcome. I’m glad I can help out from afar. Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@MsYtey]

Thank you as always, Master.

[@CatspitProductions]

You're very welcome my friend ;) Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@iamarwen999]

Please, more water base or discharge ink videos... Thank You, Hope, see u Long Beach again...

[@CatspitProductions]

Eventually I will get there. I need a line of inks I can sell ;) I will be at Long Beach ISS 2017. See me at the Ranar booth. Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@mugashowinable1042]

Thanks for the video, keep it up

[@CatspitProductions]

You're very welcome! Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@vlogfamous8049]

My preference is to not flood more than twice it gives less Changsha of blurring

[@CatspitProductions]

Yes, absolutely. I agree. Too much or excessive flooding will result in a poor print result. Also using an ink that is too thin for the mesh count can cause that same problem very easily. Thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

[@vlogfamous8049]

oh wow I didn't know thin inks could do that thanks

[@CatspitProductions]

You're very welcome ;)

[@kameronsimpson9526]

Good video, but the kerning in your logo is driving me crazy

[@CatspitProductions]

Thank you! LOL!! That is totally funny because I actually have fixed that. That was the way the logo letters were originally created since it's not a font. I never really noticed until about a year or so ago. I'll have to make a new screen. I don't think I have even replaced it all across my internet stuff either.... :( Thanks for reminding me. And thanks for watching. Screen Printing Equipment & Supplies - catspitscreenprintsupply.com/