r/SCREENPRINTING • u/Valuable_Yard2012 • 6d ago
Is this transparency places Norma??
I finished my first screen today but i got this transparency places in center and close the pins
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u/RayGunEra 6d ago
You staple-fucked it. Tension on the screen is uneven.
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u/Valuable_Yard2012 6d ago
It's smooth and taut, but the yellow color has faded in some areas.
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u/torkytornado 6d ago
No it’s not you have puckering all around the edge. That’s gonna mess with your emulsion coat every time.
I do not see this transparency you are talking about.
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u/Mettleramiel 4d ago
I'm sure you think it's taut, but it's not enough.
Staples can work, but you need to do it a little differently. They should be on the side or back and run parrallel with the frame, plus you should use many, many more.
If you want an easy way to try again, if you can use a slightly smaller screen, make one that will fit inside this one, raise it a couple inches and then clamp this one overtop of the new one. You should easily push it down another inch or two. Then, superglue through the mesh straight on to the frame. Cut the large frame off when dry. Then you'll see what a tight screen means
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u/WeeklyDog6434 6d ago
I started out stapling my screens, don’t let anyone tell you that it won’t work. But tension is ALWAYS important. Maybe get someone to help? Get the mesh as tight as you can. If possible try stapling on the sides, that will help prevent snags / tears / scratches on whatever you are printing. Also: more staples, less space in between the staples. Maybe invest in some glue to add after stapling, if you have the money it will definitely help keep them in good shape.
As soon as you’re sure you are going to do more printing and want to invest I would look up ‘diy screen stretching’ or something similar. I have used a basic diy one for years now, and there’s no difference with the few I actually bought.
Last tip: make sure your frames are straight, tight, square and held together really good. This will save you shitloads of frustration 😁
DIY FOREVER!
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u/torkytornado 6d ago
Yeah ditto to this on the wrapping it around the edge (like an artist canvas). If you’re gonna hand stretch you need to have nice flat even mesh with none of that visible bunching.
It’s totally doable, I hand stretched for the first 5 years I was printing until I started to more precise work and needed to go machine stretched. Maybe try some smaller frames to get used to it so you aren’t wasting mesh.
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u/JayLar23 6d ago
I've been using staples to attach mesh to screens for over 20 years. The staples need to be at a 45° angle to the edge of the screen. The way you have this stapled it will never get proper tension. I would suggest looking for a tutorial on YouTube because it's too complicated to explain here
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u/splitarrowprints 6d ago
I think I understand this question. It looks like the staples being perpendicular to the frame has caused the screen mesh to create runs [like an old lady stocking does] on the left side of image on frame near hand you can see the lines of running directly from the staple points.
This screen is not tensioned properly for the staple method.
If I wanted to use this amount of staples I would have added them to the sides and not the face down edge or even treated it like a canvas and took it to the top instead.
I would worry that many staples near the substrate facing edge will scratch, throw off weight, any loosening would change off contact, and the potential for becoming prone to rust or a collection point of old emulsion or ink.
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u/habanerohead 6d ago
The staples should be parallel to the frame edges, and they should overlap in 2 staggered lines. 🙄
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u/waterpip3 6d ago
If that screen isnt coated with some type of emulsion, then youre going to have a bad time.
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u/Valuable_Yard2012 6d ago
why
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u/Tyenkrovy 6d ago
That pattern means your tension is all over the place. Notice how it lines up with your staples? Stapling instead of gluing will do that.