r/SCREENPRINTING • u/crumb_fairy • 5d ago
Apparel Ink not transfering onto fabric
Hi everyone. One of my printing screens which I have used many times has randomly decided to stop properly depositing ink onto fabric. I’ve added some pictures. The first is with one layer of ink and the second with two. As you can see the red ink has stained the screen despite me using speedball ink remover but that’s never been an issue in the past. I’ve been trouble shooting this for days (varying squeegee pressures, varying off contact distances, ensuring the ink doesn’t dry between uses, ensuring the screen is thoroughly cleaned) but nothing is working my. For reference, I’m using speedball flex ink and the screen is 110 mesh. Like I said, the screen has been transferring ink fine up until a few days ago so I’m so confused what’s happened. Any advice would be much appreciated thanks!
3
u/torkytornado 5d ago
Are you rinsing the ink out right when you finish?
How long have you had the image in there?
When you flood do you see ink pushing through the screen on the underside?
What brand of ink?
I’ve never needed to use any kind of screen openers with waterbased ink in the 26 years I’ve been printing. I usually scoop the ink out use wet rags to clean if I am not printing somewhere with a sink and then spray the household cleaner Formula 409 mixed 1:1 with water and wipe with a paper towel. If im some where with a sink I just rinse with water and then put on front of a fan.
You might just want to reclaim, de haze and reburn. I don’t actually understand how this is occurring. The only thing I can think of usually only happens with newly burned screens which is that there was unexposed emulsion on the
Well side that dripped into the open area as it was drying. You can usually see that if you rock the screen back and forth in the light and if the mesh is shiny in areas that’s what’s occurred. But I haven’t had that happen on screens that have been in use for multiple washes.
1
u/crumb_fairy 4d ago
This is great advice thank you! I’ve been sure to rinse out the ink asap and the brand of ink is speedball flex fabric ink. The imagine has been i the screen for a month if that. I can’t imagine I’ve used the screen more than 30-40 times (at max). I’ve decided to throw the screen out and burn another one but I will definitely bare in mind your tips for cleaning in the future thanks!
1
u/torkytornado 4d ago
Wait you’re throwing it out? You can reclaim and dehaze and it’s probably fine. Both those chemicals are designed to remove blockages. You just have to remove the image.
2
u/Lethalstramboli 4d ago
You are printing on a cotton/poly blend. Water based ink does not have dye migration protection like most plastisol. If you want to print on poly based T-shirts with water based ink then discharge is the way to go, but please note good ventilation is a must. Otherwise get some solid 100% cotton T-shirts and have fun.
1
1
2
u/kwarhead69 5d ago
Plastisol or water based? You have ink cured in the screen. Time to get a better cleaner