Impressions - August 2015 - 55

Kyle Peterson of Visual Impressions cleans
his squeegee with a palette knife after a job for a
quick and mess-free changeover.
PREPPING TO PRINT

TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Squeegees are a critical component
in the screen-print process, as they transfer the print motion and energy from the
printer down through the screen and onto
the shirt.
In general, most printers use two or
three different squeegee types daily. The
lower the durometer number, the softer
the squeegee's rubber. Most printers I
know like a soft 60-durometer squeegee
to lay down a thicker ink deposit when
needed. For a harder squeegee that will
push less ink through the screen, a 90durometer blade can be used. For in
between, a triple-durometer 70/90/70
often is preferred. Printers will have these
squeegees in multiple squeegee holders in
different widths for multiple color jobs
and image sizes. Regardless of the durometer, the squeegee blade should have sharp,
crisp edges where it will contact the screen.
To scoop ink from a bucket and fill a
screen top, manual printers prefer a palette
knife that has a flexible 6- to 8-inch blade.
This tool allows for fast ink loading and
clean up, but if any additives need to be
mixed into the ink, it can quickly be done
in the screen. For cleanup, the long blade
can scrape a good bit of ink from the screen
and it can be loaded back into the bucket
with ease. While automatic screen printers
tend to use stiffer and shorter putty knives
or plastic "goop scoops," these long, thinbladed palette knives are a versatile and
mandatory tool for manual printing.
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Getting a job set up quickly is key to
a productive day. Set up the work so that
the screens can be registered quickly, accurately and get approved on the first try. A
decent operator should be able to do this
in an average of five minutes per screen.
A veteran operator can do it in half that
time, thanks to a few tricks of the trade.
First, the press platens are set up with
some key landmarks that are used for
quick registration. The platen is measured, and a T-Square is used to divide
it with a bold, easy-to-see vertical mark
down the center. This aligns the registration marks from the screen so that the image is centered perfectly. When the T-shirt
is loaded onto the platen, the bottom of
the neck collar usually hangs off the edge
of the platen.
Screen off-contact also is important,
as your screen mesh will give a little bit
when you pull your squeegee when printing. Ideally, when the screen is down, you
want between 1⁄16- and 1⁄8-inch distance
between it and the garment. Leaving this
gap allows for the screen to snap back into
place when printing and keeps your image

clean afterward. Most manual presses have
an adjustment for this, and you usually can
use a piece of cardboard to help adjust.
The screen needs to be even and level, and
you can use a ruler to verify.
When printing multicolor jobs, if you
set up your screens to go from lightest to
darkest or smallest image to largest, you
usually can print without flashing between colors. This allows you to produce
more jobs at the end of the day, as you
aren't waiting a few moments between
flashing sessions.
Once this screen is loaded, aligned and
locked into place, the printer can load the
screen with ink and pull a test print. Usually these are "junk" T-shirts, which are
printed and reused for this purpose. The
test print is flash cured so it is dry to the
touch. Other screens can be registered to
this test print and locked into place.
For multicolor prints, each screen is
loaded and registered to the rest until all
are in perfect registration with respect to
each other. The shirts for the job should
be loaded onto the table or cart used to
place the garments next to the press. This
should be at a comfortable height, and the

A Printer's Checklist
for Better Daily Results

✔ Load shirts so that collars

✔ Clean, well-lit work area free

✔ Flood the screen with a

of clutter.

✔ All jobs organized and ready
for printing, and all shirts,
screens and ink ready to go.

✔ Tools handy and within
comfortable reach.

✔ Press is level; screens ready
with proper off-contact.

✔ Quick registration; five

minutes per screen or less is
the goal.

✔ Print light to dark and small
areas to large.

drop off the edge. Adjust
print location, if needed.

thin, even deposit of ink.

✔ Squeegee stroke is evenly

balanced and smooth. One
pass is the goal.

✔ Flash cure when necessary.
✔ Clean up after each job to

get ready for the next. Clean
as you go.

✔ Think craftsmanship and
quality when you print.

✔ Quality print is better than

speed. The latter comes with
experience.
August 2015 | Impressions

http://www.impressionsmag.com

Impressions - August 2015

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