SOLUTIONS JOURNAL

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ACHIEVING PLASTISOL CURE ON

TEXTILE PRODUCTS
Having been a screenprinter for over
sixty years, I have witnessed a great
number of changes in the screenprint-
ing industry. Perhaps the greatest of
these was the advent of plastisol ink for
printing on textile substrates. But along
with all the benefits of plastisol came
the headache of achieving cure.
Screenprinters have been troubled with
curing plastisol ink since it’s beginning
in 1956. Most novice screenprinters are
under the mistaken assumption that all
that is needed is for the plastisol ink
deposit to reach a certain temperature
for two minutes to ensure a proper
cure. If it were only that simple.
means that the ink is overcured or un-
dercured, depending on which myth
you hear. This is a myth and nothing
more. Checking for cure by stretching
the ink has never been a viable test.
There are two substrates here, i.e. the
vinyl ink film and the material it is
printed on. There is no way that they
will have the same molecular structure
and stretch the same.
With standard plastisol, there will al-
ways be cracking at some point. The
woven material will always stretch fur-
ther than the most pliable ink film. The
fact is that the plastisol deposit is noth-

Myths
ing more than a vinyl film laid atop a
very stretchable fabric. They are two Links...
different materials and will never stretch
The screenprinting industry is ripe with equally. If a ink separates immediately School of Screenprinting
http://schoolofscreenprinting.com
myths. Screenprint message boards during the stretching process is it
are ripe with screenprinters espousing probably overcured as the plasticizers Bill Hood Consulting
one myth after another. In truth, most have been damaged from the heat and http://billhoodconsulting.com
people only know what they know and become a solid non-flexible layer of ink.
have never given any time to gaining If the separation take a little longer with Screenprint Store
the scientific knowledge necessary to more stretch, the ink may be under- http://screenprintstore.com
understand the process. They believe cured.
that what they are doing is the only, Bill Hood Books
right way to do what ever it is that they Cracking will occur on an undercured http://billhoodbooks.com
do. After all, they have been doing it for ink film just as it will on a cured ink film
Solutions Journal Magazine
years and so it must be true. This is as well as a overcured ink film. Try it for http://solutionsjournal.com
what is referred to as TTWWHADI, an yourself and see. Stretching is never a
acronym for “That’s the way we have good test for cure. UltraSol Inks
always done it!” But, sooner or later http://ultrasolinks.com
everyone becomes more intelligent and Two Minutes
realizes the error of their ways as they
grow to realize that they have been do- There is another myth that plastisol ink Subscribe to
ing the same thing over and over for must be held at a particular tempera- Solutions Journal
years and were wrong. ture (depending on the resin used by Keep up with current technology and
the ink manufacturer) for a certain pass the competition, while working
Stretch Test amount of time, say two minutes. This smarter - not harder!
is a myth based on the fact that dryer
The biggest myths concerning plastisol temperature fluctuates as the thermo- http://solutionsjournal.com
ink cure is that if the ink deposit cracks couple sends a signal to the control
when the substrate is stretched it either panel to turn the units on and off. The

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dryer manufacturer and the ink com- cures fine and the plastisol ink washes “You don’t understand, we don’t have
panies want to assure that the ink was right out of the next job. Perhaps the time to do it THAT way!” Of course,
in the dryer tunnel long enough to go plastisol ink deposit almost completely they always have time to reprint the job
through one cycle of high versus low disappears in the laundering process, when it fails.
heat. The curing of plastisol inks hap- or it becomes splotchy in some areas
pens instantaneously at a prescribed and not in others. Other times, the cen- Taking the time to learn about the
temperature. The resin opens up, al- ter will disappear and the edges will be screenprinting process in depth will
lowing the plasticizer to be enveloped fine, albeit in a circular manner. Know- greatly benefit the screenprinter who
and then as the resin cools a pliable ing that the screen, platen, and flash wants to eliminate or decrease the
layer of ink is formed. Nothing more were either square or rectangular in number of variables in the process.
than that! shape this circular pattern perplexes The best way to learn anything is to
them. study the process that you use every
Heat Till it Bubbles day. No matter whether you are man-
Common sense tells us that surely we ual printer working out of your garage
There is another myth that we should can’t be alone on this island of perpet- or spare bedroom with a one color
take the ink up until it smokes, or blis- ual problems, but where do we turn for press and waterbase plastisol ink or a
ters, or bubbles and then back off. This the answers? This article will cover the giant facility with three dozen automat-
is about as scientific as it gets, right? many variables within the screenprint- ics, you have the same ability to learn
This reminds me of the T-shirt that I ing and curing process that effect the as everyone. There are many experts
used to wear when I rode motorcycles, ability of the plastisol ink deposit to in screenprinting that are more than
"Accelerate until you see the eyes of properly cure. Even more so, it will happy to answer your questions and
God, and then stomp on it!" Most likely provide the reader with the ability to give you the advice you need to excel.
you are always going to overcure the identify and properly diagnose a solu- Many of them can be contacted by
ink if you are using this as a scientific tion so that the plastisol ink deposit can phone, online, at trade shows.
basis for ink cure. be cured from job to job with relative
ease. Fabric – The Beginning
Testing for Cure
There have been tomes written about The first place to begin our search into
The only real tests for plastisol cure the many variables of the screenprint- knowledge of the curing process be-
are the wash test and the chemical test ing process and how the variables af- gins not with the dryer or plastisol ink,
using 99-percent ethyl acetate. How- fect each other. Almost all variables but with the substrates. Yes, the sub-
ever, warning! Ethyl acetate is poison- effect the curing process to some (or a strate greatly effects the curing proc-
ous and flammable. Always wear butyl great) degree. We will discuss those ess. As we mentioned previously most
or nitrile (not latex) rubber gloves and variables that only affect cure. people overlook this because they be-
goggles when handling this chemical. lieve that it is only necessary to bring
Do not pour directly from the container Learning the temperature of the plastisol ink to
onto the fabric. Use a glass eyedrop- the correct temperature. Unfortunately,
per. And, the chemical test can give a Screenprinters have long had a ap- the fabric often dictates the tempera-
false positive due to thick ink deposits proach of never taking the time to learn ture as much as the plastisol ink.
and other variables. the process well. Fewer than 3-percent
of all screenprinters attend any sort of All textile substrates absorb moisture
Getting it Right educational seminar, workshop, or to some degree. Again, the plastisol ink
class on screenprinting. And of those deposit cannot achieve a full cure until
The greatest error that a screenprinter 3-percent that do attend some sort of the reaches this temperature through-
can make is assuming that the plastisol training, they end up using only 10- out the plastisol ink deposit. It is impor-
ink deposit is cured equally on each percent of what they learn. Perhaps it tant to understand that in order for this
and every substrate. The first key to is the creative spirit of the craft that to happen the substrate must also
cure comes about through an exten- makes screenprinters want to ignore reach this temperature as well, since
sive knowledge of the great number of the facts and construct their own way the plastisol ink is in direct contact with
variables in the screenprinting process. of doing things. the substrate.
The second key is to identify each
variable of the curing process to create
Many times I have shown a screen- Yes, the bottom as well as the top of
a standardization of the screenprinting
printer how to properly coat a screen, the plastisol ink deposit must reach full
process. The third key is to implementonly to visit them six-months later and cure temperature. Think of trying to
this standardization, while continue to
find them doing it backwards. I cannot cook a pancake as it sits on a block of
learn more about variables and making tell you how many times I have heard ice. You may cook the surface, but the
small changes as necessary to de- of a screenprinter coating screens with bottom will never receive enough heat
crease the likelihood of a failure in the
one pass on each side of all mesh to cook. This is why we flip pancakes
curing process. counts and then thinking that the ex- over when cooking on skillet, i.e. to
posure time for all screens is the same assure heat distribution on both sides.
Often, screenprinters experience cur- regardless of the thickness of the mesh Obviously, we can’t flip the wet plasti-
ing problems, when nothing has seem- or emulsion. The most often used sol ink deposit over, so we must pre-
ingly changed in the process. One job phrase in the screenprinting industry is, sent an equal heat from above and

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below, thus the substrate must be Again, the marketplace will dictate the and regretted it because of the ex-
heated to the same temperature. fabric weight of the substrates we must treme heat it absorbed from the sun.
print on. Screenprinters in colder re- Since the fabric must be heated to re-
Fabric variables include fiber content, gions will find themselves printing on move the moisture the darker colors
moisture content, fabric weight, fabric heavier fabrics than those in the will absorb this heat faster than lighter
construction and color of the fabric. warmer climates. But, don’t put your colors and disperse the moisture
business up for sale and start packing quicker. Since most darker fabrics are
Fiber Content your bag yet. There is an easier solu- printed with a heavier deposit of plasti-
tion. sol ink they will need the extra heat to
In many cases the client makes the assist in the curing of the underside of
decision about the fabric content, i.e. The weight of a substrate is deter- the ink deposit.
100-percent cotton or a blend of cotton mined by yarn count of the thread used
and polyester. Often they choose 100- and the number of woven stitches per Frame Choice
percent cotton based on comfort alone, inch used to manufacturer the sub-
when in actuality the blended cotton strate. And, the heavier a substrate is, Yes, your choice of frame type can
and polyester substrate give the great- the more moisture it will retain, ad- make a huge difference as to plastisol
est return on investment for them and versely effecting the curing process. ink cure just as it does to all other vari-
the screenprinter. Of course we all The more moisture present in a sub- ables of the screenprinting process.
know that a blended substrate usually strate, the more problematic it is to The reasoning is simple.
shrinks less, holds it’s shape better remove, in order for the plastisol ink to
and wears longer than a 100-percent reach the curing temperature. Lower- Rigid, stretch and glue frames cannot
cotton substrate, but important to the ing the humidity in the facility is often a attain the higher levels of screen ten-
curing process is that a blended sub- huge undertaking due to the generally sion recommended by the manufactur-
strate will better receive, disperse and large area of most screenprinting ers of mesh, and they are incapable of
transmit heat. shops. However, many screenprinters holding the screen tension for more
have found great success in lowering than one job. This of course gives the
A blended cotton and polyester sub- the humidity level of substrates by run- rigid, stretch and glue frames a very
strate will prove better because it’s ning them through a forced air gas poor return on investment, which
non-hydrophilic characteristics. In other dryer just prior to printing them. As a should be enough to avoid them.
words it doesn’t attract as much mois- general rule, infrared dryers are not as
ture as a 100-percent cotton substrate. efficient in removing moisture as most However, more important to our dis-
The blended cotton and polyester sub- lack the high concentrations of air flow cussion of plastisol ink cure is the in-
strate will not absorb moisture and will that are necessary to remove the mois- ability of these rigid, stretch and glue
receive heat faster than a hydrophilic ture from the immediate area of the frames to maintain tension. As the
100-percent cotton substrate, making substrate and thus the substrates re- mesh tension is lost from use, the nec-
the blended cotton substrate a better absorb much the moisture before they essary shearing of the ink is de-
substrate for the curing process. leave the tunnel. creased, off-contact must be increased
and additional squeegee pressure is
Moisture Content Fabric Construction required. As this tension is lost, the
additional squeegee pressure will ex-
The moisture content of a substrate is The construction of the fabric is impor- trude the plastisol ink from the mesh
important to the ability of the plastisol tant to the curing process as a fabric openings as it is pushed down the
ink to reach full cure temperature. with a tighter (more threads per inch) substrate. This excessive plastisol ink
Moisture present within a substrate is stitch density will be smoother and re- is then driven into the wales of the
slower than the cotton fibers and thus quire a thinner deposit of plastisol ink. substrate and acts as an insulator,
moisture must be removed from the This is good news as a thinner ink de- shielding the plastisol ink from the heat
fibers before the plastisol can be posit will receive, retain and disperse that is applied.
cured. The moisture begins to dissi- heat better than a thick plastisol ink
pate at approximately 155-degree deposit. A fabric with a loose weave And, worse, the tension will never sta-
Fahrenheit (68.3-degrees Centigrade). will require a thicker deposit of ink, bilize and thus the screenprinter will
Screenprinters working in areas where which will require more time and heat find himself chasing these variables as
the humidity levels are high understand to bring the thicker deposit of ink to a the mesh continues to lose tension.
this and make adjustments as re- full cure. Keep this in mind as you Finding just two matching, rigid, stretch
quired. Those working in low humidity choose fabrics for printing. and glue frames required for holding
areas will find that they can bring the tight register becomes a physical im-
temperature of the substrate up much Color of Fabric possibility.
quicker and more efficiently than when
the relative humidity is high. It is well documented and accepted Retensionable frames allow the mesh
that darker color substrates absorb to be brought to optimum screen ten-
Fabric Weight heat more than lighter colors. Remem- sion and maintained at that level,
ber the last time you inadvertently wore which is needed to minimize the ink
a dark shirt for a stroll on the beach deposit and prevent it from being

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driven into the wales of the fabric dur-
ing the printing process. Additionally,
the increase in tension levels reduced
the amount of off-contact between the
bottom of the screen and top of the
substrate. As this space is decreased,
so is the pressure needed to push the
fabric to the mesh. This decrease in
pressure affects the ink deposit to a
great degree as it allows the plastisol
ink to be printed onto the surface of the
substrate in a thinner deposit which is
more readily cured.
This improved “surface printing” where
the ink is applied to the surface of the
substrate, in lieu of into the substrate,
cannot be accomplished with under-
tensioned, rigid, stretch and glue
frames.
With the massive amount of written
literature touting the many benefits of
retensionable frames it is incompre-
hensible that manufacturers and dis-
tributors continue to make and sell
these type of frames to screenprinters.
No one tool in the screenprinting proc-
ess has done more to lower the pro-
ductivity and profitability of the industry
than the rigid, stretch and glue frame.
Retensionable frames are favored over
rigid, stretch and glue frames for their
increased control over tension, off-
contact, shear characteristics, squee-
gee pressure, squeegee speed and
registration. Any screenprinter who has
studied his bottom line knows the im-
portance of retensionable frames and
uses them to his benefit.
Yes, you can achieve a level of salable
printed work from using rigid, stretch
and glue frames, but you will never
realize how much more efficient, pro-
ductive and profitable your shop can
be until you decide to print with reten-
sionable frames.
Mesh
All too often, screenprinters will choose
two or three mesh counts based on
what they believe to be true and never
consider switching to a mesh count
that might better achieve a greater de-
gree of detail and lay down a thinner
deposit of ink that will easier to cure.
Mesh Count
Go on any industry message board
and you’ll find hundreds of posts stat-
ing that one should always use 110 place. You measure an inch then,
thread per inch (43 threads per centi- through the loupe, count the threads
meter) mesh to get sufficient coverage with your pointer. After two or three
when printing white ink on black sub- tries, most people use the short-cut
strates. Some recommend using an 83 method of counting a quarter of an
thread per inch (33 threads per centi- inch and multiplying by four to save
meter) mesh. Once they begin printing time. The odd mesh count numbers
with the recommended mesh counts, (305, 330, 355) stem from the fact that
they stick with them until one day they mesh is woven in Europe and based
attend an industry awards presentation on the metric system.
and note that most of the white ink
printed on black garments are printed An obvious question when trouble-
with much finer mesh counts and have shooting a problem print on the press
a much softer hand. is: "What's the mesh count?" To often,
nobody knows and we have to guess
Mesh Selection or try to find enough open area in the
screen to count, which wastes time. To
The object of mesh selection is too make matters worse, even if they write
choose the best mesh for the individual it on the mesh, many screen makers
job. To do so, we must take into con- cover the mesh count label with tape.
sideration the minimum ink deposit that Don't let them do it. Insist on visible
will achieve the coverage that is de- mesh counts!
sired. All that is necessary to achieve
the right coverage is to allow for three Mesh count is probably the most often-
of the largest particles in the plastisol used screen modification. Choosing a
ink to be passed through one mesh higher or lower mesh count usually
opening. The hard work is already creates the most measurable change
done for you if you will only consult the in ink deposit or ink flow, but we should
mesh specifications of the ink manu- first consider mesh that will support our
facturer. They will know how fine they stencil before considering ink deposit
ground the inks and in knowing the and flow.
largest particle size will make recom-
mendations as to the best possible Theoretical Ink Volume
mesh counts.
Theoretical ink volume is a number
Measuring assigned to a particular mesh that de-
notes the amount of ink that will be
The thread measurements on manu- transferred by this mesh in comparison
facturer’s charts reflect the diameter to other mesh counts.
after extrusion, rather than after the
tortures of the manufacturing process. The theoretical ink volume is calcu-
To measure true thread diameter, use lated from the combination of the open
a microscope or loupe with a measur- area and mesh thickness. The volume
ing reticle. Measure the thread at the of the open mesh governs the actual
center of its span from intersection to amount of ink that a screenprinting
intersection. You can also measure a mesh can accept. The calculated ac-
single thread with a micrometer. tual ink volume is always higher, but is
proportional to the theoretical ink vol-
For any screen-printing application, a ume.
mesh should be selected with ink de-
posit and ink flow in mind, but chosen Always remember that under ideal
according to both mesh count and conditions how the mesh is filled with
thread diameter, the combination of ink depends on the squeegee speed,
which will define open area squeegee blade characteristics –
hardness, angle and finish – and the
To measure a mesh count, use a consistency of the ink itself. But make
commercial mesh tester. This can be a no mistake about it; if you don’t fill the
test-film-positive with a design that mesh opening with ink, the ink transfer
makes a distinctive moiré pattern that process is not going to happen well.
will indicate the count of the mesh be-
ing measured. A slower but more accu- The TIV is a particularly important
rate method requires a linen loupe and number in that if after choosing a mesh
something pointy to help you keep your count and realizing that an additional
[4]
15-percent more ink build up is 20-N/cm2. Many printers will print at
needed, you can refer to the mesh Granted this whole process is assisted double that when the mesh can hold
specification chart of the manufacturer by a careful study of the various com- such tension. And, as the tension lev-
to locate a mesh with a TIV that is 15- ponents of the ink transfer system – els have increased, so has the du-
percent higher than the chosen mesh. mesh opening, thread diameter, mesh rometer of the squeegees we use to
Given the difficulty of calculating a tension, rheology of the ink, complete- transfer ink. With the higher tension
value based on so many variables, ness of the fill, the angle, pressure and levels, we have an increase in the
theoretical ink volume provides a more speed of the fill stroke, completeness shear rate and we have found that a
practical alternative for determining ink of fill, and the angle, pressure and harder squeegee blade will produce a
consumption and the thickness of the speed of the squeegee. While that ap- thinner ink deposit but lay it on the sur-
printed volume. pears to be a big list, it really is very face of the substrate, which in effect
simple to create a better print than you increases opacity.
The Fill Stroke might think possible.
Just 10 years ago, textile screenprint-
The fill stroke is my neologism for flood <strong>Fill Stroke Needed</strong> ers were printing with squeegees that
stroke. The flood stroke is actually a hardly registered in durometer. Today,
misnomer that has caused consider- The fill stroke is the most overlooked most have understood the need for a
able problems for screenprinters over
tool in the screenprinting process. So harder squeegee and a sharp or
the years. Flooding the screen with ink
much so that many manual press op- slightly rounded edge. The sales of
will not assist in the ink transfer to any
erators mistakenly believe that the fill squeegee sharpeners has risen over
great degree. And, it makes the stroke is not needed. This couldn't be the past ten years as this understand-
squeegee have to do the work of what
further from the truth. A hard fill stroke ing has increased. In the past, screen-
should have been done with the fillis needed to force the ink into the printers choose a 60, 70 or 80 single
stroke. mesh openings to fill the stencil with durometer squeegee. Today, we find
ink. Too light of a fill stroke will result in more screenprinters choosing a 70/90/
Thickness of Stencil = Wet Ink De- mesh openings that are not sufficiently 70, so called triple durometer squee-
posit filled with ink and a light print. gee for most work and an 80/90/80
when they print process color, high-end
By filling the screen’s mesh openings Squeegee simulated printing or for printing great
completely with a fill stroke you will find detail.
that you can achieve a significant de- Most screenprinters know that squee-
posit with a single squeegee stroke. gee have a limited lifespan, that can be Squeegee Pressure
Why? Because the ink deposit should drastically reduced if the squeegee
always be equal to the thickness of the blade is not cared for. Excessive pres- Excessive squeegee pressure is the
stencil. Read that last sentence again. sure, chemicals and soaking in ink de- curse of screenprinters everywhere.
I don't want you to miss that. The ink gradient will soften the squeegee However, few realize the implications
deposit should always be equal to the blade. of the pressure used on the final print.
thickness of the stencil. The most important lesson a screen-
Soft Squeegees printer can ever learn is the ink deposit
Ink Transfer is control by the stencil – not the
A softer squeegee requires more pres- squeegee. The squeegee is not the
When you fill the mesh openings with sure to push the mesh down to the printing tool – the mesh serves this
ink you are giving the ink every chance substrate to allow for the ink transfer to purpose. The sole purpose of the
to lay down on the shirt during the ink take place. Again, just as with exces- squeegee is to push the ink laden
transfer process. Yes, the ink transfer sive off-contact this excessive pressure mesh openings down to the substrate
process – not print stroke. You see the drives the ink into the mesh openings so that the wet ink is transferred to the
squeegee really isn’t the printing tool as the mesh is pushed down to the substrate in a capillary action.
that we believe it to be. The ink depositsubstrate and subsequently the exces-
is controlled first by the stencil thick-sive ink is pushed into the wales of the The Big Error
ness (think about thick high density substrate. Because the ink is pushed
screens for a minute) and second by into the fabric the opacity will be lack- Press manufacturers have pushed the
the fill stroke. ing and a second or third pass must be fact that their platen arms do not “give”
made to achieve a sufficient opacity. during printing, or that their automatics
The squeegees job is to simply push This increase in plastisol ink will not will produce more pressure per square
the mesh down to the substrate, allow- only have a harsh hand, it will be ex- inch, further exacerbating the idea that
ing the wet ink to adhere to the surface tremely difficult to cure. more pressure is better. Squeegee
of the substrate. Once the thixotropic manufacturers have not done better in
ink begins to move it will bond with the Tension Changes Squeegee Choice their advertising that their blades will
substrate and when the squeegee not flex under pressure. The whole
passes the tension of the mesh cou- Over the years, tension has been im- industry has for too many years be-
pled with the off contact will pull the proved greatly within the screenprinting lieved that excessive pressure is the
mesh from the ink and leave the ink industry. Today, the average tension of answer to producing a more opaque
deposited on the substrate. screens has increased to a minimum of

[5]
ink deposit, when nothing could be opaque ink deposit, especially when tract in the middle, the ink is extruded
further from the truth. printing on coarse mesh counts. This through the mesh openings and is
Fabric Absorbency slightly rounded edge will keep the pushed down into the wales of the
screenprint operator from applying ex- substrate.
The pressure used during the squee- cessive force, as it wants to glide more
gee stroke greatly effects the curing of easily across the surface of the mesh. Aluminum Platens
the plastisol ink deposit. When printing
on an absorbent material that will com- When we speak of a slightly rounded The only cure for this is to use alumi-
press under pressure, one must used edge, we are not referring to what is num platens, which will remain flat
the lightest possible pressure to pre- called a bull-nose edge, but one in much longer than the wood platens. If
vent the ink from penetrating into the which the sharp edge is only slightly you were unfortunate enough to have
wales of the fabric and down into the feathered. What we are looking for is a purchased a press from a manufac-
material. The ink that penetrates the blade which glides across the surface turer who uses wood platens you
fabric will be difficult to cure as it is pro- and not one which spreads the ink should consider upgrading to high
tected from the heat by the cotton fi- onto the surface like spreading butter grade aluminum platens. Although the
bers of the substrate. This was ad- onto bread. A blade edge that is too aluminum platens will not stand the
dressed in a previous section on fabric rounded will cause an excessive rigors of excessive flashing, they will
choice, as to how fabric density and amount of plastisol ink to be applied last years longer than their wood coun-
weave can have a profound effect on and will cause more curing problems terparts.
plastisol ink cure. than it appears to resolve.
Rubber Surface
Squeegee pressure is determined by Platens
other forces, i.e. that tension of the The best aluminum platens will have a
mesh, off-contact distance and the tack The platen is the object upon which the high density rubber surface mounted
of the chosen plastisol ink. More pres- substrate sits during printing. Far too with heat resistant glue. The rubber
sure does not mean more ink deposit – little concern has been paid to this tool surface helps keep the ink on the sur-
never has, never will. The absorbency of the ink transfer process. That’s right, face of the substrate by allowing a little
of the substrate also comes into play. it serves more than just a holder for the more cushion for the compression of
The more absorbent the material the substrate. The platen construction af- the substrate should the force of the
lighter the squeegee pressure should fects the ink deposit and thus the ink squeegee be too great.
be to prevent the compression of the cure in several ways.
fabric, which will only increase the Platen Parallelism
chances of the ink being pushed into Platen Composition
the fabric. By platen parallelism we are speaking
The manufacturers of presses who use of the parallelism between the platen
Squeegee Profile composite wood platens are doing a and the screen. This is easily adjusted
great disservice to the screenprinting on most professional presses. If you
For years it was believed that a industry. They use these platens to cut are in the market for a new press, be
rounded edge was needed to place costs, just as the car companies no sure that this parallelism is adjustable.
more ink on the substrate. This was longer place a full size tire in the trunk The parallelism effects the ink deposit
before the advent of higher tension of inexpensive automobiles. The com- if the distance at one side or one end
levels, increased shear and a better posite wood will never remain flat and of the platen is further away from the
understanding of the ink transfer proc- create problems due to the curving of mesh. The farther distance will be pre-
ess. It is true that a slightly rounded the wood. This curve takes place natu- sented with a thicker deposit of ink,
edge on the squeegee will cause the rally as the wood absorbs moisture and where the closer distance will get a
squeegee to glide across the surface dries. much thinner deposit of ink. These two
of the mesh without unnecessary pres- different thicknesses will not cure the
sure and thus with less pressure the All wood will warp, even the best Me- same. While the thinner deposit may
ink deposit will not penetrate the mate- dium Density Overlay (MDO) platens be completely cured and launder well,
rial, but there is much more going on are subject to this warping effect. As the thicker deposit will be undercured
here than meets the eye at first glance. the outer edges of the wood, which are and will fail during the laundering proc-
not supported, flex upward the surface ess.
The edge of the squeegee blade has of the platen is no longer flat. It is true
an all important effect on the transfer of that the squeegee is flexible to a de- When working with a multi-color rotary
plastisol ink onto the surface of the gree, but few squeegees can ade- press the problem is exacerbated by
substrate. Most educated screenprint- quately apply an even pressure across the fact that not all platens may be
ers and squeegee manufacturers a platen that has been allowed to flex. aligned with any one screen holder
agree that a sharp edge on the squee- The result is that the mesh will touch properly. You may achieve a good par-
gee blade will give the sharpest print the outside edges of the platen long allel on platen one at head number
possible when printing fine detail. before the middle of the mesh has one, but poor parallelism on head
However, when you want to lay down a reached the surface of the substrate in number two. This presents the same
significant amount of ink a slightly the middle. As more force is applied to problem of differing thicknesses of ink
rounded edge will produce a more allow the squeegee to come into con- deposit and poor curing.

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It is important that the parallel of the
press be checked often to assure that
the platens and screen holders are
parallel with one another. Parallel is not
a one time fix. While the press manu-
facturer may have paralleled the press
when it was installed, you are respon-
sible for maintaining that parallel over
the lifetime of the press. Some printers
check parallel each week or each
month depending on the ability of the
press and the shop personnel to hold
this parallel over time. An article is
available from the author on how to
achieve this on both manual and
automatic presses in the resource list
at the end of this article.
Platen Plane
While parallelism effect the distance
between the differing points of the
mesh to substrate, the platen plane
effects the plane of one platen to an-
other. If one platen is just a bit further
away from the screen holder than an-
other platen, the subsequent ink de-
posit will be thicker on all substrates
printed on that platen and thus the
cure is affected. Assure that all platens
are on the same plane by moving each
under a tightly tensioned screen lo-
cated in any one screen holder. The
distance should be the same on each
platen.
Dryer
At last we come to the tool that we
once thought to be solely responsible
for the curing of plastisol ink. By now,
surely you have come to realize that
curing is more than running the sub-
strates though the dryer for two min-
utes at the temperature suggested by
the ink manufacturer.
Visit Solutions Online...
Each month, since 1983, we’ve
been bringing you new articles
concerning all aspects of screen-
printing. We are written and edited
by real world screenprinters who
actually work in the industry and
know what it’s like to need the right
information.
create a sauna, which further compli-
Which Dryer cates the gelling of the ink.
The selection of a dryer is one of the An infrared dryer with forced air will do
most fundamental issues in consider- a slightly better job of helping to re-
ing the productivity and profitability of move the moisture. The addition of the
the shop, as well as ensuring the cur- forced air also allows the moisture to
ing of the substrates. All too be removed from the tunnel, but a
often an owner will choose loss of radiant heat.
the press first and then
have the salesperson Gas Dryer
suggest which dryer
matches up to the press. Visit Us Online A screenprinter who desires
The real problem begins to achieve maximum effi-
when a shop starts out as ciency, productivity and prof-
a manual shop and then itability will do well to begin
grows to an automatic press. with a gas dryer with sufficient
The dryer is often not replaced air to drive off the moisture present
and becomes a bottleneck in the proc- in the substrates. Not only does the
ess. As revenues are not met and the gas dryer with it’s reflective panels
problem identified, the dryer is re- provide a more even and consistent
placed, but because of a lack of reve- temperature across the surface of the
nue an inexpensive dryer that barely substrate and the entire tunnel area,
meets the need is purchased. Econom- the gas dryer provide the screenprinter
ics should never take a back seat to with the ability to print a wider range of
efficiency when looking at production ink systems, such as water-based inks
equipment. and solvent-based inks, which do not
cure well in an infrared dryer.
Infrared Dryer
About the Author
An infrared (IR) dryer do a very poor
job of driving off moisture. As noted in Bill Hood is the author of over a twenty
the section on fabric, the dryer that books on screenprinting and in excess
would be right for a screenprinter in a of 750 technical articles, which are
high humidity area will never work well published at Bill Hood Books. He has
for a screenprinter in a low humidity visited and consulted with over 7,500
area. Radiant heat dryers work on the clients worldwide and due to his vast
premise of heat absorption though ra- background and knowledge is the most
diation. This is why flash units do a sought after consultant in the screen-
very poor job of gelling the ink in an printing industry. Hood is a popular and
efficient manner. The cost to run a frequent speaker at industry trade
flash unit is increased as the moisture shows and open houses throughout
content of the fabric increases. The the world. He can be reached through
moisture attempted to rise up from the his website at Bill Hood Consulting -
substrate and is trapped by the flash, http://billhoodconsulting.com.
which sits just above the surface of the
substrate. This does little more than
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