Top tips for using water based ink from the team at Screen Print World

• Use a heavy flood to lie the water based ink on top of the screen instead of a heavy push in the screen.


• If printing on a manual press, leave the image with a thick flood if you leave it for any time, or between printing other colours (if printing on a manual press) to prevent blocking.


• Instead of misting, find yourself a spray bottle which will help you distribute a fine mist of water over the screen. Try not to drench your screen with water.


• If printing on an auto, set the press to finish the print cycle on a flood stroke and raise the flood bar slightly – Use a winged flood bar.


• Always have clean water and clean rags available for cleaning.


• Don’t use fine mesh counts for solid areas (43T is ideal for most images).


• Use a retarder to slow the drying of the ink on the screen.


• Use a water mist sprayer to help keep the mesh open.


• Use less off contact and a softer squeegee.


• Use an additive like cold cure if you don’t have sufficient curing facililties to aid curing at room temperature.


• Warm up your platens before printing, Doing so will allow the heat to rise through the garment, resulting in a shorter flash time.


• A smooth underbase is key: clean your platens, used good quality ink and screens, sharpen your squeegee blade, ensure the correct off-contact.

With ANY ink wash test each order and keep the test as proof.

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