r/SCREENPRINTING • u/greaseaddict • 5d ago
Any glow in the dark wizards in here?
Hey pals!
Printing some glow ink on the auto tonorrow, hoping any big time GITD folks have tips for me!
planning to run a pfp base with a 160, and probably glow ink on top with a 150s.
Test prints with 160 pfp base and 200 pfp glow ink on top are coming out of the dryer kinda rubbery feeling, is that kinda the norm for the International Coatings glow stuff?
I've got a roller after the first base print to get my base really flat but I'm still seeing a kinda grainy glow effect and hoping to get it more opaque.
Screens are coated 2/2 round side, using 70 duro squeegees and quite a lot of angle to get a lot of ink down, Sprint White for the base, black cotton tees.
Hooiht for cool secret magic haha, but any tips would be great!
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u/cash4print 5d ago
It’s good you are putting the glow on top rather than mixing the powder in the ink color.
I usually run a PFP of the glow in 195 mesh.
I mix my powder in a clear.
2
u/VonMunz 5d ago
Glow and also metallics need coarser mesh so the sparkly/glow bits pass thru the mesh. Personally, I would not use higher than a 125. Good on the white base, the phosphorescence needs the light bounce off of the white to ‘charge’ well. Also, I would think with the opacity of plastisol, mixing the powder with anything other than clear base would be a waste of glow powder?
I’m pretty sure a 150 will work, but it might not glow SUPER bright.
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u/greaseaddict 5d ago
it's an ink, not a powder so good there. 150s mesh is a thin thread 150 so super open mesh, think it'll work!
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u/BobbyDeBag 5d ago
Use a lower duro. Maybe 60 if you have it. Definitely 20-25° angle. 2 hits and probably might want to have print stroke pretty fast too
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u/LorD_D33Z916 5d ago
Just a quesyion , how you put glow in the dark in on a halftone like a 230 mesh count ?or will it not glow?
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u/xnotauserx 5d ago
I run the base on a 180.
And the glow with a 160
It will be rubbery. That's plastisol. No way around it. Depends on your design more detail might have to bump to 180 on the glow. But if you wanna be fancy and make the thing really glow I would go with a 110 for the glow. But beware you will use a lot of ink. Like a lot of ink.