Screen Printers Open - A Forum for Screen Printing and Embroidery

I would like to know what all is involved with this. Best inks, what software, emulsion, angles, can screens be exposed with uv blacklight? I know P favors index printing but I have yet to try it.

No, I favor 4CP most of the time but have been doing index and simulated process as well. I just like 4CP for what we do in our mobile shop.

Inks:  Union Tru Tone process inks. ( I use the Y,M & C process inks and then just Union Plus Black)

Software:  Hands down Photoshop with QuikSeps or UltraSeps.

Emulsion:  A wide latitude with high solids is the best.

Angles and such:  305 mesh, 60 LPI, 22.5 degree for all screens.

Multi-tube exposer unit: You will loose detail on the fine side so you may want to go with 55 lpi, 22.5 degree and hope for the best. It really depends on the art and if your emulsion is forgiving enough.

2 Questions,

1) Why not process black?

2) Why just the yellow plates you think?

I only had a chance to print 1 4cp print and that was in a class I took a couple years ago. For the life of me I could not get 2 prints to come out the same. I am sure I would be better now that I understand more about angle and pressure but any tips here?

Had to sit down for a minute, one of my milk goats bit my finger while I was giving her a treat.

No not that kind of treat. a goat licorice treat...they love them. Goats are like customers...if you want them to come back...treat them from time to time. 

On the black ink I agree, but all of us have done it. For a newbie it is one less color to buy and until they dial everything in the reg ink will cut down on the print muddling up some.

If you understand what is happening with process printing is very easy to print and faster than flashing, and you can print tons of colors by only using a few.

We can help any of you do it...

"my new tagline"....Trust Me, I do this for a Living.

I have been doing 4 color process for 10+ years and I will have to agree with Preston on the black but I will also agree with killergraphics on the newbie thing.

If you are a newbie you will notice a difference in using process black versus plus black. But only if you change inks in mid print run. If you have been doing process for years you know just how much to base plus black down to get it to flow like process black and thus get the same results. With process printing it is all about squeegee pressure, angle and speed from the mechanical side and ink viscosity from the ink side.

Even using all process inks your first few prints will not look the same as say the 25th print. All plastisol inks are thixotropic and this is even more so with process inks. Thixotropic in simple terms means the ink starts out thick and then thins as it gets moved around. This is why you hear people say "stir the heck out of the ink before you use it". But you need to be careful with how you stir ink as you can cause it to heat up enough to start the cure process.

The best way to handle the Thixotropy of process inks is to put them in the screen and then kind of fold it back and forth with a spatula. This will get them partway to their full fluid state without and chance of overheating. Do not stir them with a drill.

Now get you some test shirts or test squares and print at least ten test prints. After that your prints should come out constant unless you change sgueegee pressure, angle or speed.

All that above is useless if you do not have good screens. When you are first starting out with process try and use simple art that has colors close to the easy blend range of the process colors. Like blue and yellow makes green. If you have colors that are going to only use a small percentage of one of the process colors you are going that have trouble unless your screens and everything else is dead on. Play with the simple stuff first and you will soon find out just how enjoyable process printing can be.

Agreed

Good advice all, now I just need some seps.

If you want to send me an image, I'll run you set through QS and email it back to you. Maybe not today though, and I'm gone over the weekend, (very rare, but I turn 60 tomorrow) but I'll get it back to you on Monday...

Steve

200 ppi, RGB, at the finished size is best