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blurry prints? What did I do wrong?

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olivelawn
Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 11:25 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 06 Jun 2002 Posts: 3080 Location: San Francisco



So I did my first ever print today and it looks alright, but not great. All of my solid lines look like they have a lighter shadow outline. What did I do wrong? I burned my screen for 20 mins. The emulsion easily washed out. I used white acrylic speedball ink with a touch of acrylic extender. I did one pass and I didn't get full coverage so I did another. I've got the board clamped down so I know it didn't move. Any ideas?
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donald20
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 6:28 am Reply with quote
Joined: 01 Aug 2002 Posts: 1075 Location: germany
1st:either the flex of your mesh could have caused that or 2nd:i never do a second pass when the first one didn't work out fine.i always wait for the color to dry and do it then again.very hard to tell from your pic what happened exactly.i would say it is your mesh.too flexible,a bit more tension would suffice
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ohio
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 12:45 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 14 Nov 2002 Posts: 104
yea its hard to see from the pic what happened show the whole board and then some close ups. also try a better ink speedball is junk, but will work for now. donald are you still doing that step procedure you talked about?
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olivelawn
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 2:01 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 06 Jun 2002 Posts: 3080 Location: San Francisco
Well, I have no idea how tight my mesh is, but my guess is it is tight enough. I really yanked hard when I staple-gunned it onto the frame. Who knows though, since this is my first print. Here is another thing I noticed. When I was doing the black layer underneath, I *think* that the printing side of the silk (where there is burned emulsion, i.e. where it is not supposed to print) soaked up some of the ink, but it was much clearer and had less black pigment. I am wondering if I didn't mix the black and extender base good enough. I am wondering if perhaps this is the same problem I had with my white ink, but it just so happens to be more noticeable when printed. Anyway, I am gonna sand down what I did and give it another go this morning and try again. This time I'll be particularly careful of doing it in one pass (i'm still not convinced it is possible on a board with so much concave) and mixing proportions correctly. If the same thing happens I'll post better pics. Thanks for the help guys.
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donald20
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 3:54 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 01 Aug 2002 Posts: 1075 Location: germany
one pass only.your squeegee schould be max 9" wide.hard urethane with sharp edges.remeber to use your fingers on the urethane too.don't just grab the wood.your fingertips are on the last 2 inches on both sides.they want to press the urethane to the concave.when you look at my squeegee after 50 boards or so you can see the urethane being bent.remember 1 pass only and that's it
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ohio
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 4:48 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 14 Nov 2002 Posts: 104
thats one of the exact reasons that i wanted to know screen tensions they make a large difference especially when doing a tip to tail print but since know has any info on this i dont know what to tell ya, if you just stapling mesh to a frame you will not get the same tension each time and this could effect the print mabey not. show some pics of youre frame also so we can see the stretched mesh, is this a flat of tip to tail frame?
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Drunk Engine
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 12:33 am Reply with quote
Joined: 11 Jul 2002 Posts: 765 Location: New Jersey!!
olivelawn, looks like maybe you got some screen movement, make sure your screen and board are isolated and tight, you should have no movement of the frame when printing. Also you should keep about 1/8th of an inch offset from your screen to your board, meaning your mesh should not be in direct contact with your deck untill you apply squeegee presure on your pass. Also one pass at a time. Remember to utilize the queegee's edge, some people flex the sqeegee too much and it causes ink to roll under the screen, it's hard to describe but there is a happy medium of pressure and flex and edge. After your first pass your image area of the screen should be cleared of ink. And like everyone has stated never go for a second pass when the ink is wet, you can't gaurantee that your frame will align perfectly. If you were to do a second pass on wet ink the underside of your screen will pick up ink that should be cleaned off, this scenario applies more to mass production though. I'm guessing your printing a Matt Hensely H-Street. Ohh and welcome to your new nightmare! Heh.

[ This Message was edited by: Drunk Engine on 2003-03-24 00:42 ]
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olivelawn
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 1:17 am Reply with quote
Joined: 06 Jun 2002 Posts: 3080 Location: San Francisco
@drunkengine. Thanks for the info. I am gonna print in a matter of minutes and you gave me the inspiration I needed. I agree, I do think ink is getting under my screen. One pass and thats it. If I don't get full coverage, i'll wait for it to dry and realign. Yup, you're right, I am screening a hensley. I've been restoring this board for what seems like a year and I am almost done. So stoked to get this out of the restore pile.

BTW, I am thinking of putting some kind of very light spray glossy finishing coat to finish her off. Any glossy spray recommendations?
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donald20
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 2:04 am Reply with quote
Joined: 01 Aug 2002 Posts: 1075 Location: germany
try to get some clear laquer from the colors you are using and give it a full pas.
don't try to spray that board,you might be in for a bad surprise
post a pic of your frame though,so we can see some problems,ok?
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olivelawn
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 2:46 am Reply with quote
Joined: 06 Jun 2002 Posts: 3080 Location: San Francisco
Alright guys, same problem. I can seem to get full coverage in one pass. It took me 4 passes to get the whole thing. I tried what you guys recommended, using my fingers to push on the squeege itself and no luck. The only thing I can think of would be my squeege is too big. It is 12" long and I know donald recommeneds 9". Could that be it right there? I have a hard time thinking thats it. I'll have to post some pics of my frame.
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