Beginner questions, short answers

ScreenPrinting.com’s startup checklist lists the essentials: a manual press, a flash (for between colors), curing equipment, an exposure unit, a washout area, film positives (your own printer or a service), screens in a few mesh counts, squeegees, a scoop coater, tape, platen adhesive, ink, emulsion, degreaser, emulsion remover, ink remover, gloves and test shirts. It also says to make sure you have proper ventilation and adequate electrical service first.

Our addition: budget for a way to prove cure, which means wash tests.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Equipment tiers

ScreenPrinting.com’s help center lists five factors: space; budget (remember the flash, squeegees, ink and screens too); versatility (platens, oversize screens, multiple heads, and micro-registration for multi-color); consistency and durability; and portability if you print at live events.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Equipment tiers

For shirts you sell, not reliably. ICC says heat-gun curing risks under-curing and scorching and is not recommended. ScreenPrinting.com says it’s only workable for small chest prints in small runs, and impossible for discharge. Use it to dry test prints, and wash-test anything you cure with it.

Sources: International Coatings · ScreenPrinting.com
More in Curing

Possible, but slow and easy to get wrong, and sources disagree. ScreenPrinting.com’s help center gives tips: keep the shop 70–80°F, minimize airflow, hold the flash about 2–3 inches above the platen, lift the shirt off the platen, and use a probe rather than a laser thermometer. Lawson says flash curing is not recommended, because it can overheat the surface and leave the rest undercured. Either way, wash-test.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help · Lawson Screen & Digital
More in Curing

A forum poster asked for one that runs on 110V and fits in 8 feet; replies pointed to used-equipment dealers and online listings. Today, several tabletop and 5-ft conveyor dryers list standard 120V plugs, and some need a 20A outlet. See the power table in Equipment tiers.

Sources: Signs101 forum
More in Equipment tiers

Forum replies pointed to used-equipment dealers and trade forums. For checking a press, start with your room and power, ask for maintenance records and current photos, test registration with the same screen in every head, and check for liens. See the used-equipment checklist.

Sources: Signs101 forum · Ink Kitchen
More in Equipment tiers

Not necessarily. ScreenPrinting.com says the goal is a dark, opaque film that blocks light, and you can outsource films to a film service or local print shop when starting. If you buy a printer, inkjets are common because they can lay down dense ink, but not every inkjet is opaque enough. A 2015 forum reply argued laser printers were cheaper and faster. Test any film by holding it to the light: it should look solid black.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help · ScreenPrinting.com Help · Signs101 forum · ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Art & separations

A forum reply suggested keeping several versions of a logo, from one solid spot color up to four-color process, so the printer can pick what works for their process. Another noted that gradients can be converted to halftones. General practice: vector art scales cleanly for spot-color work (see Art & separations).

Sources: Signs101 forum
More in Art & separations

ScreenPrinting.com’s help center says it depends on your budget and printer, and notes some RIPs are one-time purchases rather than subscriptions. A RIP helps control film density and halftones. If you outsource films, you don’t need one to start.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Art & separations

A printer asked this after a customer said 14-inch text looked small on 3XL backs. One reply: size the design to look good on the smallest shirt in the order, explain that it will look smaller on big sizes, and offer a second print size for larger shirts if the customer will pay for the extra screens. Another: get the customer to approve the final size before printing.

Sources: Signs101 forum
More in What affects a print price

More detail needs higher mesh. ScreenPrinting.com says thin inks (water-based, discharge) work best on higher mesh, and thick inks (plastisol whites, metallics, specialty) need lower mesh or opacity suffers. For glitter, Avient’s Crystalina TDS says 25–40; other sources differ, so follow your glitter ink’s TDS.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help · Avient
More in Mesh & screens

Match the emulsion to your ink and your exposure unit. For units without a vacuum, or with fluorescent tubes or blacklight bulbs, ScreenPrinting.com recommends dual-cure (diazo plus photopolymer) emulsions as more forgiving. With an LED unit plus vacuum, nearly any emulsion that matches your ink will work. Water-based ink needs a water-resistant emulsion.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Emulsion & exposure

Use an exposure calculator or 21-step test, and pick the step where the stencil holds detail and is fully hardened; ScreenPrinting.com’s help center targets step 7. Signs of under-exposure: a slimy squeegee side, or details washing away. Signs of over-exposure: fine details won’t open.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help · Chromaline
More in Emulsion & exposure

It depends on humidity. ScreenPrinting.com says about 30 minutes or less at around 80°F and 30% humidity with airflow, but 24–48 hours (or never dry enough) at 60%+ humidity with little airflow. A dehumidifier and a hygrometer help.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Emulsion & exposure

ScreenPrinting.com says a closet, bathroom or garage can work if you cover humidity control, air circulation, screen storage and light-safe lighting: for example a dehumidifier, a screen rack, fans and a hygrometer, plus access to a washout sink or booth.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Emulsion & exposure

Eventually, according to ScreenPrinting.com. You can wash out without one, but higher pressure clears unexposed emulsion before the hardened stencil swells, which helps fine detail. Its startup checklist lists a power washer as a nice-to-have upgrade, not a day-one need.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help · ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Emulsion & exposure

ScreenPrinting.com: remove the ink, apply emulsion remover (don’t let it dry), then wash, spraying from the shirt side. On a forum, several printers said they reclaim screens that are years old with the same process; one added haze remover for ghost images. Haze removers and caustic cleaners are harsh, so follow the label and wear protection.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help · Signs101 forum
More in Emulsion & exposure

ScreenPrinting.com’s help center says at least 20 N/cm, and 25 is better. Static (non-retensionable) frames lose tension over time. Keep the screens in one job at similar tension, because mismatched tension causes misregistration.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help · Impressions
More in Mesh & screens

Sources differ. ScreenPrinting.com says start at 1/16–1/8 inch for T-shirts, more for hoodies, and increase until the screen snaps away cleanly; needing a lot suggests low tension. Lawson’s plastisol FAQ suggests about 1/4 inch, which is the high end. Start at 1/16–1/8 inch and adjust.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help · Lawson Screen & Digital
More in Presses & setup

Both work, according to ScreenPrinting.com. Pushing uses body weight and is easier on wrists, but gives less angle control. Pulling gives better angle control but strains wrists and shoulders.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Presses & setup

ScreenPrinting.com says 70 is the most popular all-purpose blade. A softer 60 lays down more ink, for specialty inks; a harder 80 lays down less, for fine detail.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Presses & setup

ScreenPrinting.com favors water-based adhesive: long-lasting, can be diluted, and no aerosol to breathe. Impressions notes water-based adhesives hold up better under the flash than aerosols.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help · Impressions
More in Presses & setup

A returning printer asked this on a forum. One reply said a thin film of emulsion can stay in the mesh after washout and block ink. Others said water-based ink must stay flooded between passes, or it dries in the screen. See ink drying in the screen.

Sources: Signs101 forum
More in Fix a problem

ScreenPrinting.com blames the screen sticking to the shirt: off-contact too low, the garment lifting, low tension, or a thin stencil. If loose fibers are the problem, see fibrillation.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Fix a problem

Maybe. ScreenPrinting.com says undercure cracks in a uniform “shattered” pattern, while a film stretched past its limit just splits. Lawson says cracking ink is almost always under-cured, unless the fabric is very stretchy (then try a stretch additive). The stretch test isn’t proof either way; wash-test.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help · Lawson Screen & Digital
More in Curing

Wash-test it. Lawson: cut a test print in half, wash one half 3–5 times, machine-dry it, and compare. Also measure the ink film temperature against the ink’s tech data sheet; ScreenPrinting.com’s help center prefers a donut probe over a laser thermometer. See how to run a wash test.

Sources: Lawson Screen & Digital · ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Curing

ScreenPrinting.com: card extra plastisol back into the can, then use a plastisol screen cleaner and rags. Plastisol doesn’t air-dry, so there’s less rush. Water-based cleans up with water but gets harder to remove the longer it sits, so clean promptly.

Sources: ScreenPrinting.com Help · Signs101 forum
More in Emulsion & exposure

Lawson’s FAQ answers no, calling it a common myth: compare the safety data sheets. Davis says waste ink shouldn’t go in the trash or down the sink unless it’s properly filtered or cured, and that water-based ink isn’t necessarily harmless. ScreenPrinting.com says know your chemicals’ hazards and your local rules, and use a licensed waste hauler where needed. Your local wastewater utility can tell you what applies.

Sources: Lawson Screen & Digital · Davis International · ScreenPrinting.com Help
More in Inks