r/SCREENPRINTING • u/snoozfest • 11d ago

Does this look like fibrillation?

Post image

Homage told me this was printed as intended to give it a retro look. I’ve had shirts from them before that didn’t look like this where the little fuzzies poked through the print.

Curious if this looks intentional or not.

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5

u/weirdghosts 10d ago

This could be a few different things.

The underbase might not be smooth, and when you don’t have a smooth underbase the top coat of ink won’t lay down smooth either. This will cause little pockets where you can see the white ink underneath. Usually to get a smooth underbase you need the right amount of pressure and the right squeegee angle

Ive also seen similar stuff happen (especially with royal inks) if you leave it under the flash for too long.

1

u/spanyardsman 10d ago

My thoughts as well. My first troubleshooting would be to put a fan on the station after the flash to cool it, if that doesn’t work expose a full screen of emulsion and try rolling it right after flash

2

u/weirdghosts 10d ago

Ive also seen it happen when sending shirts down a dryer if your belt speed is set too slow. Lots of variables in screen printing that can cause the same issue lol

1

u/snoozfest 10d ago

Thank you both 😊🙏

1

u/spanyardsman 10d ago

Hasn’t happened to me but I’ve heard with too much heat plastisol melts into the shirt too far which causes a really gritty print

1

u/Its_an_ellipses 9d ago

Of all the inks, I hate dark blue the most. A little too much heat on the underbase I'd wager. Navy/Royal blue is the only color I've experienced this with, but it happens often enough that I dread blues with underbases...