The Activist Within

We recently finished up an order of promotional shirts for an upcoming documentary film called The Activist Within.  What a fun job!  In fact, we had such a good time printing the shirts that we put together a short video montage of the process.

The shirts were basic unisex black tees with a rainbow blend print on the front, and a two-color image on the back.  Because the substrate was black, we used a white underbase layer for the rainbow blend.  Ryopaque high-opacity ink was used, and remains our favorite plastisol.

Check out the video and visit www.theactivistwithin.com for information on the film.

Screen Printing Trick

I’d like to share a quick trick for screen printers.  This is a small tip that you may find useful in a smaller shop.

This will come in handy on those occasions when a build-up of spray adhesive works its way through the shirts and slowly begins to make the print side of the screen tacky.  It also helps when printing with thicker inks (like white plastisol or specialty inks), or when the job is set up with less-than-ideal off contact distance.  All of these circumstances can create the same problem, and that is the shirt and/or ink sticking to the screen.  Now, this is generally only a problem with multi-color designs, as it causes the shirt to lift and shift – thus messing up any registration for secondary screens – but it can still be a hassle with one-color prints.

If you find yourself in the middle of a print with a shirt that is stuck to the screen…grab a can of compressed air.  Aim the stream of air directly into the open areas of the screen (the areas where the ink passes through), and blast some air through the screen.  This should create enough pressure to break the contact between screen and substrate without shifting the shirt and throwing off registration.

One thing to be cautious of, though, is over-using the can.  When compressed air gets too cold, the can will expel some of the propellant which, as it turns out, is similar to Plasti-Solve and will dilute and remove the ink – a result which is less than desirable in this instance.

Like this...

Now, after the air has been used to separate the screen and substrate, you’ll need to troubleshoot what caused the adhesion before moving on.  Failing to fix the cause of the problem will only allow the same result to occur on the next print.

 

The Wash Test

There are many different types of inks and dyes used in textile printing – plastisol, water-based, discharge, process…the list goes on.  Each of these inks has their own unique curing parameters.  Curing, of course, is the process of hardening or solidifying the ink to complete the transfer to substrate, therefore reducing the ink’s ability to wash out.

Here’s the rub, though.  There are so many variables that contribute to a print’s final cure – ink film thickness, effectiveness of equipment, quality of ink…even the color of the ink and garment are a factor – that it’s difficult to always be sure when your print is cured.  As if this wasn’t enough to worry about, an improperly cured print can fade in its first wash.  Imagine sending out an order of 300 improperly cured shirts.  That would be one unhappy customer.

If only there was a way…

Well, there is!  It’s called a Wash Test, and it’s as self-explanatory as it sounds.  Here’s how it works.

First, print a test shirt.  This should ideally be printed on the same type of garment you’re planning to use for the final run. 

Second, cure the test shirt in accordance with the curing parameters with which you’re most comfortable.  For example, plastisol is cured at (or around) 320 degrees.  Be sure to take extensive notes during this stage because, if it works, you’ll want to duplicate the steps exactly – “Test #1 – Cured with flash dryer for 45 seconds.”

Finally, cut the cured print in half with scissors and run one half through a full laundry cycle (wash and dry).  Now, compare the washed half of the print to the unwashed half.  If they’re both the same, your print is most likely cured correctly.  If the print lost ink or faded during the wash, run another test until you find the right combination.

 

Ethan

Metallic Inks? Rock & Roll!

I took advantage of the Ryonet Cyber Monday sale last month to pick up some new kinds of ink with which to experiment.  In addition to replenishing some supplies, I also ordered three new items:  Metallic Silver ink, Copper Shimmer ink, and Puff Additive.  Today I experimented for the first time with the Metallic Silver.

After removing the lid, I was immediately struck by just how silver the ink actually looks.  Its appearance is identical to mercury.  I was expecting more of a “bright” gray color, but it literally looks like liquid metal.

Metallic Silver ink through an 86 mesh screen with a 2-and-2 coating of emulsion.

I selected an 86 mesh screen for this trial run, because I was sure the ink would be thick.  I was right, too!  I thought white ink was hard to print with, but Metallic is incredibly viscous.  Think Silly Putty, only silver.  As you print, you can actually let go of the squeegee, and it will stand up on its own.  Considering the pressure I needed to apply to get the ink through the screen, I can’t imagine using anything higher than a 110 mesh. 

“Look! No hands!”

The ink retains a great deal of its “metal” appearance on the substrate, even after curing.

The curing stage proved difficult.  I found the ink film was still not completely cured after doubling our standard drying times.  This weekend I will do a wash test – an effective assessment of an inks’ curing parameters, wherein a test print is cut in half and one half is washed and then compared to the original, un-washed half.

My overall rating for this ink is 4 out of 5 stars.  It has an undeniably bold and beautiful result on the shirt, but it’s difficult to work with and temperamental when it comes to curing.  I believe it would work best as a design highlight, and not the main ink color.

Ethan

Team MOYA

Printing with White Ink

If you’re having difficulties screen printing with white plastisol ink, you’re not alone.  Rest assured that it’s a tricky product by nature, no matter what brand you’re using.  Because white has to have the highest opacity of any color, it will be the thickest ink and, therefore, the hardest to work with.

For starters, we recommend using Ryonet White from www.silkscreeningsupplies.com.  It’s the smoothest white ink we’ve used and should provide the best results.  However, even starting with the best product, successfully printing white ink with stellar results depends on several factors.

Screen Mesh Tension

The tension of your screen plays a major role in the quality of your print.  This is often overlooked when troubleshooting sub-standard prints.  A screen without enough tension will rest on the substrate and “smash” the ink into the shirt.  A properly tensed screen will snap back after the squeegee passes, resulting in a clean, crisp print.  Tension is generally very good on all new screens, but the mesh will relax with age and use.  The only way to know for sure if your screens have the right tension is with a Tension Meter.

Stencil Thickness

The amount of ink laid down with each pass is directly related to the thickness of your stencil.  The thicker the stencil – the more ink on the shirt.  Because white ink needs full coverage for maximum opacity, we recommend coating screens that will be used for white ink with a “1-and-2” or “1-and-3” coating of emulsion.  This means that you coat both sides of the screen with emulsion, allow to dry, and add a second or third coat.  Applying the emulsion in this fashion will yield a thicker stencil which will increase the coverage of your white ink.

Squeegee Technique

This is incredibly important, but also very hard to describe in words.  The first half of this video from Ryonet shows proper squeegee technique.

Following these general guidelines should help you get the best print out of your white ink.  If you’re still not happy with the results, you can try thinning the ink a little with Curable Reducer.  Use the reducer sparingly though because, the more you add, the less opaque the ink will become.  Also, consider using a lower mesh like a 110 or 86.

Where Kangaroos Keep Their Cell Phones…and Their Young.

Now that the weather is cooling off (finally), hoodies are going to be in demand.  Hoodies are great because, not only do they keep you warm, but they provide a nifty little pouch for storing things.  It’s really handy.  I see why the Kangaroos do it.

Yesterday, we printed our first batch of hoodies – an order for a cheerleading squad.  I was a little concerned that sweater material would prove to be a difficult substrate because of its thickness and more porous surface, but there were no problems at all.  I am, however, going to pick up a can of Sprayway Web Adhesive as standard spray mist doesn’t bond particularly well with the fleece lining.

SprayWay Web Adhesive

Web adhesive is used for printing thicker garments and fleece garments such as sweatshirts, sweaters, and thicker t-shirts. Standard web adhesive does not bond to thicker garments properly because it’s not able to get between the fleece structure on the inside of the garment.

 Specially formulated for the screen printing studio.

 Repositionable yet strong enough to hold sweatshirt material.

 Bonds easily to a variety of materials without transferring to the fabric.

 Does not allow shifting of the material during the screen printing process.

This was a one color design, printed with reduced Ryonet White plastisol ink (mixed with Ryopaque Scarlet for pink, and Ryopaque Royal Blue for the light blue).  It was printed through a 110 mesh screen with a 2-and-2 coating of SWR emulsion.

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Ethan

Team MOYA

Gearing up for Halloween!

Greetings and salutations, friends.

Today was a very good day in the MOYA universe.  I spent some time in the lab, printing up a small order for our friends at Last House on Facebook Lane – a group of horror movie buffs, and some of the coolest people you could ever hope to meet.  I designed this shirt for them, and I think it turned out pretty great!

Design inspired by the original movie poster for The Exorcist.

I also spent some time prepping screens for our little Halloween project.  I’m very excited to get to the next stage, because it’s fairly experimental and I’m curious to see how it will turn out.  There’s been a slight delay with that, however.  Due to “adverse weather conditions” UPS has delayed our Ryonet delivery by one day.  No big deal – it’s not like I’m bored!  The screens for the project turned out great.  Below is a little picture teaser of the project.  You can tell how hard we’ve been working by the 500 o’clock shadow I’m rocking.

 

Update on the Mailer Experiment wherein I attempted to print an image on a polyethylene substrate with water-based ink.  This ultimately turned out to be a failure, sadly.  The ink actually did air-dry in less than 48 hours but, as the polyethylene is such a non-porous substrate, the ink is easily scraped off.  I’m heading back to the drawing board on this one.

And finally, I wanted to show a picture of the two custom designs we printed up for a friend’s birthday.  I mentioned these earlier this week, but now I can share them.  Both designs are inspired by the TV show Supernatural.  The black Impala shirt is a water-based print and the teddy bear is a two-color plastisol.

 

Tomorrow our new screens, supplies, and Halloween Ink Kit should arrive.  If all goes according to plan, I should be able to share some fun new stuff by next week.  Stay tuned, and subscribe to the blog!

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Ethan

MOYA Tees

October – Best Month Ever.

October is the best month of the year.  Not just my favorite…that implies that it’s subjective – open to opinions and arguments.  It’s actually just straight-up the best month.  Fall is here, the weather is cooling off, the best of the holidays are just around the corner…

This year we have a few new reasons to be excited about October.  For starters, we’re getting an amazing new BlackMAX Film Output System to play with!  This kit includes AccuRIP software which will allow us to print more involved images rather than just spot color work.  It also includes an Epson 1400 wide-format printer, so we’ll be able to design and print much larger images.  We’ve also just ordered some awesome new inks, new 86 tpi aluminum screens, an exposure calculator (so I can finally diagnose whether or not I’m over- or under-exposing the screens), and some emulsion and chemical supplies. 

I’m especially excited about a couple Halloween-themed projects we’re planning.  I want to keep it a surprise, but I will say that it involves the International Coatings glow-in-the-dark ink we ordered today.  It’s going to be a fun project with a new twist!

One of the items we ordered was Ryonet’s Halloween “Spooky Special” – a kit that includes quite a few different inks for the season – including that glow-in-the-dark I mentioned – as well as some skull and wing clipart.  It’s a great package but, I admit, the YouTube video for it is what really sold me.  Check it out!

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Ethan

MOYA Tees

Another Day, Another T-Shirt

We spent another productive day in the workshop, printing and learning.  Thanks to our awesome friends at Horror Happy Hour, we had another small run of shirts on which to practice.  The results were great and we were fortunate enough to learn a few things the easy way – beats the hard way!

Horror Happy Hour logo, printed with Ryonet White plastisol ink.

First off, we experimented with two types of ink – basic International Coatings Scarlet Red, and RyOpaque Scarlet Red.  Although they both provided excellent coverage on lighter garments, the RyOpaque line had a noticeably brighter, more vibrant finish on dark garments.  Standard procedure for printing on dark garments is to apply an underbase of white ink, but that’s unnecessary with RyOpaque plastisol inks which are formulated for maximum coverage.  We were actually pleasantly surprised by the difference, and I think we’ve found our official ink!

Another thing we learned is that, from now on, we’ll be using 110 mesh screens for all white ink printing.  We covered mesh in the last blog, and we’ve found this particular bit of information to be especially useful – because of the thickness required of white ink, a smaller mesh count is needed.  Trying to force a thick ink through a 305 mesh screen is a losing battle.  It’s worse than trying to fit a square peg in a round hole – it’s more like trying to drive a tank through a straw…it’s going to get messy.

Here’s two smaller bits of helpful knowledge we gained during this last run.  If you have a fan running in your shop, either for temperature control or to dry screens, it seems to affect the accuracy of your flash dryer if it’s pointed directly at it.  We’re still not sure if the fan pushes away too much of the heat emitting from the dryer, or if it only affects the measurement taken by the temp gun but, either way, it creates inconsistencies you don’t need.  So, by all means, run the fan to keep cool…but keep it pointed away from the flash dryer.  Also, we had the opportunity (meaning we messed up) to use Plasti-Solve Ink Remover.  WOW!  This product works incredibly well for removing ink that, if you’re a screen printer – you know, can somehow get on one finger and then end up everywhere.  A couple quick shots of this stuff takes it right out.

Remember to subscribe to this blog and keep an eye out – videos will be coming soon!

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Ethan

Team MOYA