There are a few basic principles involved in the process of drying screens after they have been coated. You can make a “drying closet” out of very simple materials. Lack of sophisticated materials is not a problem when drying screens, but violation of certain principles IS a problem. I have been in beginner’s shops and…
Pinholes Pinholes piss off customers when you send shirts out without you having found them and removed them from your prints. They waste time and money and brain cells with shooting them out with dry cleaning fluid. They make you ruin most garment-dyed shirts (not Comfort Wash or most SanMar) because they can’t be shot…
Having talked shop with quite a few people at ISS Long Beach I have detected quite a bit of wishful thinking going on out there about screens. With some shops there seems to be a bit of a move away from Newman Roller Frames and in my opinion most of that thinking is not thorough…
This question comes up often with screenprinters: why can we not hold detail? The answer is an idea similar to the art department concept of problems with source artwork where we say “garbage in, garbage out.” We are now are transferring that idea to print production. Basically, if you have a crappy stencil you have no chance…
We recently visited Anderson Studios in Nashville, TN. He has won more screenprinting awards than all of you readers put together. For printing the proof is not measuring dots or holding some line screen, the proof is what the prints look like. Andy Anderson’s prints are phenomenal and we’ll get into that in future posts.…
Often people ask when I see them at shows, “What’s New?” I usually point out that you have to check out the solid steady vendors who often don’t have anything new. Screenprinting is called that for a reason, you need screens! If you are going with rigid frames, the solid solid rigid frame company is…
A few refections as the busy trade show season is mostly over. I think the biggest trends of the past ten years have been digital printing and environmental concerns. Developments in the environmental realm have slowed but still do continue and will not stop, we have to find increasingly safe and sustainable ways to do…
Nine recent questions I have received whether on forums, calls, or at shows: Q: What is the standard over/under on good shirts? A: You are free to make up whatever you want, but we usually tell people 1.5% per location is the industry standard. 300 shirts printed two sides on customer supplied goods means 9 shirts…
Some pieces of equipment come along and they have it all – quality, price, reliability. I love our Epson 4900 and I love the film and ink we get from SPSI, I love the Wasatch RIP (well here I exaggerate slightly,) and I love our chip resetter. Basically I don’t think about film any longer. I know…
An emulsion bucket that is a bit like a teapot? Hey, I sometimes like the little innovations better than the big ones. You can pour the emulsion better–more smoothly, with less mess, and you can also do it with only one hand. Having the bucket close to the scoop coater and pouring it slowly and…
