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Art problems

MoiréA wavy, plaid or checkerboard pattern in halftones or gradients that isn’t in the art.
Looks like
A wavy, plaid or checkerboard pattern in halftones or gradients that isn’t in the art.
Likely causes
  • The halftone dot grid clashing with the mesh grid (or with the knit, or patterns in the art)
  • Mesh count too low for the line count
  • Halftone angles that don’t work together
  • Inconsistent mesh or tension
Fix it now
Re-output films at a different angle or line count, or rotate the film slightly on a new screen (ICC).
Stop it next time
ICC’s rule of thumb is mesh about 4.5× the line count (so 230 mesh suits about 45–50 LPI). ScreenPrinting.com pairs 55 LPI with 280 mesh, and Screen Printing Magazine warns ratios are only a guide, so test. Keep angles consistent, keep tension in a narrow range, and record each job’s settings.
More
Art & separations
Sources: International Coatings · Screen Printing Magazine · Solutions for Screen Printers
Sources for this guide (50)
  1. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Pinholes and fisheyes
  2. Chromaline, Causes of pinholes during screen making
  3. Chromaline, Underexposed screen tech tip (PDF)
  4. Avery Dennison, IB 8.34 silkscreen troubleshooting guide (PDF)
  5. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Over- vs. under-exposure
  6. ScreenPrinting.com Help, How do I figure out exposure times?
  7. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Why can’t I burn my screens correctly?
  8. ScreenPrintingNow, Using the 21-step wedge
  9. Lawson Screen & Digital, Direct emulsion troubleshooting checklist
  10. Avient, Print technique guide, 2023 (PDF)
  11. Chromaline, 10 common reasons for stencil breakdown on press
  12. ScreenPrinting.com, Printing with plastisol vs. water-based ink
  13. ScreenPrinting.com, Get rid of ghost images
  14. ScreenPrinting.com Help, How do you reclaim screens?
  15. Screen Printing Magazine, Preventing and removing haze
  16. International Coatings, Preventing moiré patterns
  17. Screen Printing Magazine, Ten tips to help avoid halftone moiré
  18. Solutions for Screen Printers, Halftone angles demystified
  19. Impressions, Troubleshooting screen printing (2018)
  20. Screen Printing Magazine, Catching the on-press culprit
  21. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Why is my print fuzzy?
  22. Ink Kitchen, Why out of register? Let me count the ways
  23. ScreenPrinting.com Help, What’s considered good mesh tension?
  24. ScreenPrinting.com, Registering water-based and plastisol prints
  25. Davis International, Common issues
  26. PrintWiki, Mesh marks
  27. Lawson Screen & Digital, Eliminating fibrillation
  28. Texsource, What is fibrillation?
  29. Fujifilm, Fibrillation in plastisols (PDF)
  30. ScreenPrinting.com Help, How do I pick the right mesh count?
  31. ScreenPrinting.com, High contrast with discharge inks
  32. Signs101 forum, Just started screen printing again
  33. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Water-based vs. plastisol
  34. Lawson Screen & Digital, Plastisol ink FAQ
  35. Lawson Screen & Digital, Reducing plastisol ink build-up
  36. Screen Printing Magazine, Anti-build-up additive
  37. PIA/SPTF, Textile plastisol curing troubleshooting (PDF)
  38. Lawson Screen & Digital, Curing plastisol inks
  39. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Why does ink crack in a stretch test?
  40. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Why does ink look faded after washing?
  41. Screen Printing Magazine, Curing comes clean through wash testing
  42. International Coatings, How do I test to make sure my inks are properly cured?
  43. ScreenPrinting.com, What is dye migration?
  44. ScreenPrinting.com, Decoding poly white and dye blocker inks
  45. Lawson Screen & Digital, Testing polyester for dye migration
  46. Lawson Screen & Digital, Low-cure screen printing ink
  47. Ink Kitchen, Scorching heat, scorching shirts
  48. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Can you over-cure plastisol ink?
  49. Screen Printing Magazine, Figuring out flash-curing parameters
  50. Wilflex (Avient), Ink curing tips (2020, PDF)

Where sources disagree, the page says so.