Need Advice: Paint Not Flowing Through Screen

bendytree

I bought a speedball screen printing kit to do photo emulsion. Here's what i did:
1) Mixed/applied the emulsion on both sides
2) Let it dry in a dark place overnight
3) Layered 2 duplicated transparencies on the screen
4) Laid glass over them to hold them down
5) Applied 150W light at 12" for 45 minutes
6) Sprayed it off with warm water

The screen looks perfect. Completely see through on my logo, green everywhere else.

I lay the screen down on the fabric, spread the paint, lift the screen, and NOTHING.

If I press extremely hard, then leave the paint pretty thick across the logo, then it works ok. Anyone know where I screwed up?

dd2

I think you figured it out. You need to flood the screen with ink (spread ink over logo area), then with your squeegee- at an angle and firm pressure, pull the squeegee across the image area at least twice. First pull lays down the majority of the ink on the shirt, second pull clears the screen of ink. Make sure you have a small gap between the platen and screen, called "off contact". Watch a few you tube videos..... Good luck.

bendytree

dd2 -

Thanks, that was super helpful. Of all the tutorials & videos I watched, I don't remember any of them mentioning a gap between the shirt and the screen. That makes all the difference. I was having all the classic problems - shirt was sticking to the screen, everything look smeared, etc. Now that I think about it, the kit came with popsicle sticks but I thought they were to mix the emulsion... Hahahahahaha I'm a dope.

Thanks again!

Pulsemerch

Go to YouTube and type in catspit productions. Jonathan has a whole channel to screen printing videos, that's where I got about 90% of my info when I first started out. He responds to your questions as well. Highly suggest it! There's other great videos out there too but I haven't found a channel that had as much info as that one.

Jerry2253

You probably have emulsion haze blocking your image open area. If you look at an angle on the bottom of the screen you will see the haze. This can't be removed and you will need to start over. Suggest you thoroughly wash your screen after exposure with med temp water. . both sides, top to bottom. Then dry your screen horizontally with the ink side up. If you dry the screen leaning against something the emulsion will run into your image open areas. I also don't like your double positive idea. If you are using a laser printer go to Home Depot and get Krylon Matte Finish and put a light spray on the print. It will make the print much more opaque. If you are using an inkjet printer, put your print settings to indicate you are printing on Transparency Film at maximum DPI. Regards, . ThePrintinator.Com

Ghostwork Ink

when starting out printing i was always told, you should be able to rub your finger across your design on the screen, and ink shouldn't show up on your finger . . .
meaning you want to use a decent amount of pressure (depending on the ink colors) when pulling your squeegee across your screen. . make sure your pressure is leveled on both hands, and i would pull the ink through the screen, not push. .
best of luck

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@Justin_PalmTees

Sulp

This problem happens all the time when using "paint". Use ink and you'll have much better results.

InkNotPaint

Haha, agree with Sulp 100%