On contact v off contact/Newbie question

Researcher

Hi All
I am new to screen printing but I have a reasonable grasp of the principles. I've been doing "crafts" for many years, and some of the things I've learnt lend themselves well to the screen printing process.

I will be printing T shirts using a 4 screen 4 platton carousel printer. I will be using good quality aluminium frames with a 43T mesh that have been professionally assembled.

My question is this:
What are your thoughts regarding On Contact V Off Contact (snap off) technique?
What are the pros and cons?
What problems will I encounter with each technique and what might some of the solutions be?

Many thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

A hopeful Newbie.

Greg hamrick

Well Hopeful, If you print with your screen in contact with the surface of the substrate, the ink will pull a little leaving tiny spikes that will give the print a rough feel.
Off-Contact, about 1/8 of an inch, will allow the ink to be deposited on the substrate and the screen comes back up as your squeegee passes. You will get a smooth print and you can use less pressure as not to drive the ink into the shirt or whatever you are printing.
Keep in mind, the object is to lay the ink on the surface of the substrate without driving it in. You can get quite a build-up of ink if you press too hard, then the print will be bullet-proof and uncomfortable. And you will have problems with the dyes of the shirts bleeding into the inks color, then you'll have to flash the ink and print it again, and there you go, you have a suit of armor.

Hope this helps...................

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