ImagesMagUK_September_2021

www.images-magazine.com SEPTEMBER 2021 images 41 KB TIPS & TECHNIQUES www.randomgenerator.co Achieving the different textures and shades of this print by Random Generator required careful planning and a willingness to take risks Anatomy of a print The design and separations were completed by the client, Alex @soapland.worldwide. This rarely ever happens, but the client had separated it perfectly. The emulsion was Amex’s Screen-Sol QT Blu. I coated once on each side, and then exposed the screens for three minutes in a Ryonet X-Vactor table-top exposure unit. It was a small run of only 25 shirts, so it was important to have a consistently high quality. I used 43T meshes for all of the screens. The inks were from the Eco-Plas range from Screen Colour Systems. I mixed them together to get the specific greens that the client was after. The prints were done on a manual Hopkins six-colour, four-station carousel. Hi Rise Base from Screen Colours Systems was added to the inks in varying amounts: the orange had the most at 15%, then the lightest green had 11%, the mid- green had about 8%, and the dark green had around 6%. This was to give the print a highly textured feel. Each colour was flashed before the next colour, and the print order went from highest additive to smallest additive (orange to dark green) to allow each colour to rise properly. The T-shirts were run through a Panther Texitunnel dryer at 445°C (the surface temperature of the elements) at speed 7 for the final cure. Gimme 5! The exceptional B-FLEX premium range of heat transfer vinyl is now available in the UK from Papergraphics : supplied in sheets or 25m rolls; please call 0345 1300 662 | paper-graphics.com The puff-ink design was printed onto Heavyweight tees, from the American brand Pro Club, which were supplied by the client. T im Petrohilos of Random Generator Printing is known for his experimental approach to printing, resulting in unique pieces that demand your attention. This puff print for clothing brand Soapland Worldwide is no exception, with Tim using varying amounts of a high-rise additive to create a textured take on the brand’s logo. “Sometimes you’re not sure how things might work until you do them in practice,” he says. “The main issue I foresaw was the layers rising unevenly and pushing each others’ boundary; however, after discussing the possibilities with the client, he was happy to see what the final result would be, and this was one of those great times when everything went smoothly without any issues.” The response to the tees has been great, Tim reports, and has generated lots of requests for puff printing.