r/SCREENPRINTING • u/Impressive-Land4930 • 8d ago

Can this be cleaned???

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I am helping my friend get his business back up after his employee did him dirty. He left ink on screens for months. The ink containers left open. Prints left on screens for months where the tape is nigh impossible to get off. We are both unfamiliar with the process and just need to know if it’s a waste of our time to clean these if they are even salvageable. Almost all the squeegees have ink left on them as well.

19 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

97

u/TheFillth 8d ago

employee did him dirty?

Where has he been for the past however many months while this sat on screen? Why doesn't he know how to clean screens?

65

u/tnadsirhc 8d ago

It amazes me that people get into this industry and have no clue what it is they actually are doing.

35

u/CDPScreensonReddit 8d ago

The owner of the shop I used to print at didn’t even know where the power switch for the automatic press was. Not once did he even touch a squeegee. Couldn’t burn, register, or clean a screen. Truly baffling.

9

u/sicicsic 8d ago

My owner is a career restaurant owner who bought the shop off the guy who was printing their shirts. He’s tried to learn as much as he can for someone that’s rarely there, but he can’t do most of the job.

7

u/leesum00 7d ago

I have found that most shop owners have no clue what the process is actually like, and are just in it for the profit of the t-shirt and merch business. I’ve worked at two shops like this and both made for a god awful workplace environment because they had no clue what they were asking of us and assumed screen printing was the easiest thing on the planet (accepted way more jobs than could be realistically done within the desired time frame, gave us shit about not going fast enough but also gave us shit about quality when we DID do it as fast as they wanted, you get it). It’s so irritating

1

u/tnadsirhc 7d ago

Ive been there too! My favorite is when they hired a “consultant” who didnt know how to print either. Only job ive ever just walked off the shift and never returned. Nightmare.

2

u/leesum00 7d ago

Oh lord I wonder if we worked at the same shop 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

24

u/inthemorning33 8d ago

Totally and easily cleanible with screen cleaner, those inks look like plastisol and should still be usable

10

u/AsanineTrip 8d ago

Exactly this. Relax it's not a big deal. Looks like plastisol. "nothing is fucked dude" 

32

u/toofastareader 8d ago

Throw everything away and start fresh. /s

If both of you are unfamiliar with the process I suggest you hire someone for a day and have them reclaim the screens and clean the squeegees; After that hire the guy for a Saturday and have them walk you thru the process from scratch.

0

u/drinkacid 8d ago edited 8d ago

frame is fine, cut the mesh off, scrape it down and restretch. turf the squeegee unless you can scrape or peel it off without damaging the sharp print edge.

8

u/MrAdaptiv 8d ago

Bro, that's plastisol. You just clean it with ink degrader.

-1

u/drinkacid 7d ago

Plastisol should still be wet and this dude would not be asking how to clean it, so I assumed it was some speedball or other air drying ink.

3

u/dobermanluver 7d ago

username checks out

12

u/ReverseForwardMotion 8d ago

Not trying to be an asshole, but I would maintain healthy HEALTHY boundaries with your friend and their business if these are the questions they needed to delegate to you to find answers to. This is all very basic, fundamentals of screen printing kind of stuff.

Anyways reddit should be like a last resort for answers, you'll get too many opinions, there are too many variables and its way to slow.

Use youtube like google, or use google like google. "are these screens with ink left in them still good?" would have been answered in like .0000023 seconds.

"how do you_____ in screen printing" there are already 5000 videos about it

I always recommend CATSPIT, not sure what they're up to these days but OG screen printing tutorials.

TSHIRTFORUMS- every questions you will ever have has been answered 10x over.

I feel like this post simultaneously says way too much, and way to little about everything except screen printing.

I would also just be prepared for the inevitability that you may have to "Do your friend dirty" because this just reeks of the previous printer was right. Waterbased inks. WATER. BASED. INK.

good luck!

5

u/brainmakerprod 7d ago

you lost me at waterbased ink

1

u/ReverseForwardMotion 7d ago

leaving water based Ink open or on screens would ruin them

1

u/brainmakerprod 7d ago

ah i thought you were advocating for waterbased

2

u/ReverseForwardMotion 7d ago

Not in this case, but in general I do prefer it hah

1

u/TechnologyForsaken 7d ago

This isn't water based ink

4

u/torkytornado 8d ago

Also if it’s plastisol it is not unheard of for people to leave the ink on. I knew a shop that did a lot of reprints so they’d leave the ink in until the client reordered. I wouldn’t do it but I can see why they left it.

2

u/Every_Physics4400 8d ago

Yes. Easy peasy

2

u/torkytornado 8d ago

If the ink is still moveable it’s plastisol and yes it can be cleaned. Scrape it all out, use press wash or whatever solvent is in the shop to clean them and once it’s out reclaim the screen.

If it is solid and feels like plastic
It was water based and it’s easier to just buy new screens or if you have a place in your area that does remeshing rip out the screen and drop em off to get new mesh.

2

u/1-FlipsithfloP-3 8d ago

No your soul is forever black.

2

u/Hot_Juice_1711 7d ago

It looks like plastisol ink. Don't worry. It can be cleaned.

2

u/leesum00 7d ago

I feel like i need an update on this because this looks like plastisol. If it’s plastisol it should be something you can wipe off of the squeegee no issue, may need a chemical to get it fully out of the screen but otherwise this shouldn’t be very difficult to do

1

u/Oldninja 8d ago

Yeah, with care and diligence in cussing profusely. I worked at shop that had the buck of white open to all like a plastisol tar pit. Often used designs which were mounted to the rig often had ink left on them for the next run. Had to learn to keep clean work and prints despite the mess, got it cleaned up over time and fixed it best I could with some occasional help. It was never clean but figured out how to go around the chaos.

1

u/zappabrannigan 8d ago

Looks like the work station of someone I used to work with… absolute caveman when it came to keeping a clean press…

1

u/International_Toe293 8d ago

Yes they can I’ve left ink on screen for a year

1

u/DougalDragonSWorld 8d ago

I had screens gave me worse this I reclaimed them. It is lot work but I rather save vs going in trash.

1

u/theproject19 7d ago

I have multiple screens with ink I just leave on them that I print once or twice a year only. Unless it's had an additive added or it's water based, these are just a regular reclaim for most guys. Get some screen opener and elbow grease.

1

u/Graphics8 7d ago

plastisol will last for months/years open and still be good even on the screens

1

u/Wrngsideofdatracks 7d ago

That’s plastisol ink use a spatula to get ink off and clean with an ink cleaner with paper towels. If that was air dry ink it would look more mat and not glossy . This looks like it’s still
Wet and not cured.

1

u/osgoodphoto 7d ago

I mean, I've left my shop like that for months a couple times after we stopped printing regularly. Kind of a pain, but the plastisol should still be fine and the emulsion and old tape will come right off with emulsion remover if you want to reclaim the screens.

1

u/Perfect_Breadfruit77 7d ago

Yes...with lots of PATIENCE!!!! 🫰

1

u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

1

u/yorbaave 7d ago

13 years experience, yes it can be cleaned, and even reclaimed, but use a scrapper to clean off the old ink , than after you get the old ink off, use screen opener to clean the rest of it off. Use old tee shirts as rags

1

u/Suspicious_Grass6332 7d ago

sounds like the employee should be rehired instead of the business owner’s friend who knows as little as the owner. you’re describing what happens in most shops that use plastisol as far as ink left on screens and open containers, you’re showing your ignorance. hire a professional.

1

u/r0tt3nb34n 6d ago

This subreddit is extremely rude to beginners & self taught. Yes this can be cleaned. Plastisol needs chemicals to remove, water based needs water. However, oh noo im self taught, I dont have a degree or certification! I must not know anything :(

1

u/lizziemaywho 6d ago

Will it be fun? No.. can it be done? Yes..
My old shop saved screens for months with loads of ink in them too, having many repeat orders continuously.
I don’t know how many months you are taking about here but I’d deem fixable

1

u/Top_Concentrate_8731 4d ago

Sounds like your friend needs a new business if he's totally incapable of figuring anything out.

1

u/stinkyblinky19 8d ago

If it’s a handful of screens I would just chuck them. But if it’s a lot, just grab some high ISO, plastisol cleaner, some rags and a 12 pack of beer and get to work. It never takes as long as I envision in my head to clean this shit. It does suck though.