Images_Digital_Edition_September_2019

www.images-magazine.com TIPS & TECHNIQUES AUGUST 2019 images 41 area: this is a guide and should be manipulated according to brightness, design intricacies and the use of tones to create the appearance of more colours (as if 12 wasn’t enough!). ■ Mesh counts Why is that colour on that particular mesh? Is it because it’s all you have that is clean? What’s the tension of that mesh? High mesh counts with high tension are a necessity for multi-colour prints. Allowing for a little personal preference and, of course, adapting to the level of detail or line count, I wouldn’t go lower than a 90 as the strength of the colour comes from that pristine base that goes down first. Using the higher mesh count allows you to control ink deposit while also stopping the ink from smudging on the base white. The last colour can use a lower mesh count as nothing else is going over the top, which is perfect for keeping whites bright or yellows super opaque. ■ Blade choice Most commonly, blade selection is made using the same, age- old, tried-and-tested method that has served print professional for decades – “Which ones are clean?” Better instead to consider some more important variables… The hardness (shore) of the squeegee blade is of extreme importance when printing wet-on-wet as it controls two elements – the amount of ink laid down and the amount of force applied on wet ink to avoid pick-up from the previous screen. Start the job with your hardest blade and work your way through, getting softer and softer. The last colour should have the softest blade in your shop, as this blade will be pressing down on 11 colours sitting atop a solid white base that is designed specifically for the purpose of making Flash curers are wonderful additions to a printer’s arsenal, but multiple flashes are not necessary for successful wet-on-wet plastisol printing Progressive angles are a key factor in reducing the blurriness and maintaining the flow of a job without resorting to multiple flash curers The last colour can use a lower mesh count as nothing else is going over the top, which is perfect for keeping yellows super opaque plastisol run along it (and making that ‘mmpppaahh’ sound that all printers hate). ■ Squeegee angle Progressive angles are a key factor in reducing the blurriness and maintaining the flow of a job without the need to resort to multiple flash curers. Start with that rock-hard blade in the first colour and use a straight angle of around 5 degrees – it won’t hurt anything because you’ll be printing onto that pristine tomato-skin base white. Progressively add angle until the last colour, with the softest blade, when you should use the steepest angle: 25 degrees or more. ■ Squeegee pressure Squeegee pressure plays an integral part in a finely tuned print set-up on press. Using the same theory as the blade selection and angle application, pressure should also be progressive. Reduce the pressure on these wet colours by backing off to the point where the ink doesn’t clear the mesh and then adding just one turn of pressure. Avoid double- stroking as this will add more ink than you need. It may look nice when it first goes down, but once it has been pressed by another five sets of blades it will run along the base white faster than the catcher runs for the exit at the end of the shift. ■ Heat management This is a major factor in ensuring a print job runs smoothly. Let it go cold and the ink starts to go sticky, keep adding heat and the ink starts to go sticky, too hot and the boards leave a little battle scar burn on the belly of the loaders. Keep your cool Multi-colour printing can be difficult and demanding, I have certainly felt like throwing the squeegee blades through the closest window and just sitting in a dark corner of the screen room and gently rocking myself back to normality when a multi-colour job starts to get too hot on the press. So try to keep cool and be persistent. Solve the problems before they hit the press and then sit back and watch the machine knocking out beautiful little works of art. Take great pride in knowing that you printed those little masterpieces using just one flash and progressive angles. But also prepare to be ostracised from polite society if, when you see one of these shirts worn in public, you persist in telling the wearer all about the advantages of using 30 newton screens and a 65/90/65 composite blade. Tony Palmer has been in the garment decoration industry for over 30 years and is now an independent print consultant working closely with print shops to get the most from existing processes and techniques. Tony is passionate about keeping and enhancing production skill levels within in the industry. He is the owner and consultant at Palmprint Consultants, offering practical help and assistance to garment decorators all over the globe. www.palmprintuk.com