screen printing

Tag Archive for: screen printing

print onto baby clothing

Looking to print onto baby clothing?

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When it comes to printing onto baby clothing you have to be careful what ink is used as it has to conform to specific standards.

We are proud to say that we have the answer for you with our range of Amex inks.

All Amex Texprint waterbased inks are Oeko-Tex Certified, passing one of the most regulated textile standards within the industry. Making them all fit for use for printing onto baby clothing (Up to 36months). We recommend adding the ‘Amex Extra Soft Base’ for waterbased inks for an even softer feeling print.

Please note: Water Based Inks are cured at 165°C ideally for 2-3 minutes. Always wash test production to ensure prints are adequately cured.

What is Oeko-Tex?

Oeko-Tex is a registered trademark, representing the product labels and company certifications issued and other services provided by the ‘International Association for Research and Testing in the Field of Textile and Leather Ecology’ (which also calls itself Oeko-Tex for short).

Oeko-Tex labels and certificates confirm the human-ecological safety of textile products and leather articles from all stages of production (raw materials and fibres, yarns, fabrics, ready-to-use end products) along the textile value chain. Some also attest to socially and environmentally sound conditions in production facilities.

Oeko-Tex Oeko-Tex

What garments should I print on?

Toxins on some textiles can harm your health through breathing, skin contact and saliva. STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certified products have been tested for harmful substances to protect your health. So we recommend that you to look for garments that are also certified by Oeko-Tex.

This label certifies that every component of the product, from the fabric to the thread and accessories, has been rigorously tested against a list of up to 350 toxic chemicals. The STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® label has been the world’s best-known label for textile safety since 1992, it’s well known and well trusted!

If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team.

 

 

Using a dip tank to reclaim screens

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A regular question we get asked at Screen Print World is “Should I use a dip tank to reclaim screens?” The answer is most definitely a yes.

Why, you ask…?

There are many reasons as to why you should use a dip tank;

More cost effective, less wastage

Using a dip tank will mean that the solution is utilised to its maximum. The solution can be used over a long period of time in the tank instead of being rinsed down the drain each time a screen is reclaimed. This saves a significant amount in chemical cost. When your screens dip in the tank, you are allowing the solution to do the work for you, instead of an employee. Create a cycle process by getting employees to rinse out a screen while the next set of screens soak in the dip tanks, and repeat. This saves you a significant amount of labour and could cut your screen reclaiming costs in half and double your production .

Better control of the process

Within any screen-printing business, chemical usage should be measured and controlled. Without a dip tank, those employees reclaiming the screens would not consider the amount of chemical wastage. Liquids are applied to each screen individually with some screens and employees using more, while other screens use less chemicals yet require more washing time. Employees do not control the amount of screen chemicals used from screen to screen, but with dip tanks you can certainly control and measure the amount of chemicals used.

Simplicity

With a dip tank, you simply place your screen in the tank for 1-3 minutes to soften the ink and emulsion from the mesh enough to be sprayed with a pressure washer and liquefied enough to go down the drain safely. Simplifying the screen reclaiming procedure will make it easier to train staff and a lot less complicated job when compared to doing every step manually.

Time saving, Greater productivity

Although you can clean screens of any size, at anytime and anywhere when cleaning manually. It will take up a lot of your time and effort to do so. Using dip tanks will allow you to clean multiple screens at once. Most dip tank systems combines ink removal, emulsion removal & mesh degreasing. Combining these three steps can increase your screen through-put. In one hour you could clean and reclaim up to 30 or more screens with one person .

 

So why wouldn’t you move to using a dip tank I ask?

Its quicker, cheaper , safer , uses less chemicals and gives you more production ….as we say in the trade it’s a win win!

tips for saving money in your print shop

Tips for saving time and money in your print shop

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Tips for saving time and money in your print shop

As we all know, times are tough, and unfortunately, they will only get tougher as we enter winter. Many of us are worried about our businesses surviving with the cost of living and energy prices going up. Therefore, we have put our heads together to come up with plenty of tips and tricks to help you save money, time, resources, and energy when screen printing. Hopefully, you might make use of one or two and it will help ease the pressure.

Ink room

  • Use standard ink colours, and avoid spending time on mixing Pantone colours (unless the customer pays extra)
  • Use a quality white so you don’t have to print it more than twice
  • Use finer mesh counts where possible, especially when printing on underbases – this will decrease your ink usage.
  • Use an ink mixing system for accurate and fast matching of Pantone colours. This also prevents ink waste from over-mixing.
  • Order in bulk, we offer better deals on bulk buys saving up to 15%
  • Clean used buckets and reuse

Screen Room

  • Use an LED exposure unit rather than an old 3-phase unit, saves a heck of a lot of electricity!
  • Turn off fan heaters when not drying screens
  • Clean multiple of screens at a time not just one at a time
  • Use a dip tank for reclaiming screens. This saves time and labour, plus it’s far better for the environment.
  • Use efficient screen processing chemicals. This will prevent downtime on-screen breakdowns during print runs.
  • Use products that can do two jobs at once. For example, Easiway 701 cleans and removes stains saving both time and money.
  • Never use packing tape on screens takes MUCH longer to remove
  • Use the sun (if it’s out) to dry your screens
  • Top and tail your design on screens – you could potentially get up to four designs per screen

Print shop

  • Keep your print shop and equipment clean – this saves time on cleaning spoiled garments from ink marks or dirty hands.
  • If you can print, dry or cure garments outside of ‘normal’ working hours, the electricity is usually cheaper as it’s off-peak between 10 pm to 7 am
  • Be prepared and plan. Order in advance to prevent rush orders which saves on next-day postage
  • Turn your flash cure and dryer off when not using it’s a very expensive way to heat the printshop!
  • Plan your print shop layout. The better it flows the easier it will work.
  • Look after your machines, regular servicing and a few minutes of care at the end of the day will prevent downtime and costly repairs in the future.
  • Save time cleaning pallets and cover them with pallet mask instead.

On press

  • Use Tri-Lock pre-registration system, to set up multi-colour jobs in minutes!
  • Use water-based glue instead of spray tack, it’s cheaper to use but also will not damage your machine or lungs.
  • Use a spot cleaning gun to save garments marked garments
  • Cut up used T-shirts or misprints to use as cleaning cloths
  • If you’re not printing turn off all equipment

In General

  • Cross-train your staff so skills are shared throughout the print shop. Saves time in the long run if help is needed in other departments.
  • Pay your staff what they are worth, it takes about 6 months for a new employee to settle in which is 6 months of you teaching and not doing your job!
  • Recycle where you can
  • Sign up and watch out for suppliers’ monthly deals and discount codes
  • Automate where possible, machines don’t take time off or holidays
  • Buy nice or buy twice, cheaper isn’t always the best route

 

Top tips on servicing and maintenance of your M&R machinery

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Here are some top tips when it comes to parts and servicing/maintenance of you Screen Printing equipment.

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Why buy M&R

Why buy M&R from Screen Print World?

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M&R is the largest manufacturer of screen printing equipment in the world, they have been manufacturing and developing screen print equipment since 1985. They have a wide range of print presses both graphic and textile, although they concentrate more on textile equipment. M&R manufacture equipment for all aspects of the screen print production, from pre-press to post press. As a company they are focused on streamlining the printing process and making your print shop more efficient.

The legendary reliability an continued support of M&R presses ensure that the presses run with almost indestructible continuity. We have an established network of M&R print shops in the UK and it is not uncommon to come across 20 year old presses which are still producing and are reliable day after day. These presses are still sort after at this age and hold some value, which says a lot about their dependability. We regularly part-ex older presses when our clients upgrade to newer or larger presses as their businesses develops.

Simply put, maximising efficiency in a print shop enables the business to concentrate on delivering quality finished printed garments and maximising the production capacity of your print shop, increasing your daily production and making your print runs more profitable -which is after all why we are in business-to generate profit and maintain sustainable growth.

With M&R your choices are not limited to there wide range of legendary manual or automatic screen print presses and dryers, but they also include automated screen coating equipment, imaging units and screen reclaiming as well to maximising your post print efficiency in their fast automated folding and bagging solutions.

Another element to consider while choosing screen printing equipment should be the availability of service engineers, spares and an experienced pool of knowledge to assist with servicing quickly and efficiently. As UK agents for M&R, Screen Print World have trained in house service engineers to ensure that your equipment is at its best and running smoothly at all times. Here at SPW we have people within the business  who have run their own production facilities with M&R equipment and understand the daily pressures that busy print shops are face with. To use a well known phrase, we really have;

“Been there and got the T-shirt”

As the evolution of print continues to shape and push the industry, M&R have not been confined to developing just the screen print processes. They have developed DTG systems that offer unparalleled speed and efficiency, both on stand alone DTG systems, or with the Digital Squeegee. This market leading DTG now combines the speed of automated print production with full colour hi-res digital print onto light or dark garments without the need for costly pre-press treatment. Check out the latest additions, the POLARIS, an industrial high speed direct to garment printing system.

M&R clearly understand what is required to maximise efficiency and give the printer ultimate control in all aspects of any print job that you may be faced with. M&R equipment has been engineered and refined over many years, by people who understand print and with the print process in mind. Whether manual or automatic, the M&R press will enable the printer every opportunity to set up a print job and ensure that you are able to replicate the best possible result, consistently and throughout your print run. Working with M&R, you are assured that you will have the continuity of a production platform that compliments your desire to be profitable and productive, all day, every day.

Our door is always open if you want to discuss setting up a business, jumping into your first auto, buying your second, or if you just want to chat about your plans and see what might be suitable for you. We are happy to discuss any ideas, feel free to give us a call on 01562 829 009 or send us an email at nick@screenprintworld.co.uk

Top Tips for Using Water Based Ink

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

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Is screen printing messy

Is Screen Printing messy?

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Screen Printing is only as messy as you make it.

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Install at Sea Dog Print Studio

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We have worked with Sea Dog Print Studio for a white now, supplying both screen print machinery and consumables. We are proud to announce the success of another install at their print studio. This time a Diamondback R 6 colour.

Sea Dog Print Studio are based in Portsmouth, so we sent Kris (Screen Print Engineer) on a journey with all the equipment to make sure everything arrived on time and safely.

Once Kris got there he had the task of getting the machinery up to floor one, thankfully there was a goods lift, else this would have been a complicated install!

Once in, Kris set up and installed the machine without an issue. To accompany the Diamondback, Stu from Sea Dog purchased a used compressor to allow the diamondback to function automatically.

This will be a great new addition for Sea Dog Print Studio, it will allow the team to meet the large demand they already have for screen printed goods. In addition, it will also enable them to increase output further as they now have the capacity to do so.

​The differences in screen printing mesh count?

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When looking at screens for screen printing you may notice two different numbers for the same screen. These are UK and US types of measurements. In the UK, the ‘T count’ refers to the number of threads per centimetre. In the US, the number refers to the number of threads per inch. As it’s based on a larger area, the US number is always higher.

A quick note, mesh will either be yellow or white in colour. The difference here is that the yellow mesh absorbs more light compared to white mesh. It stops light scattering, therefore helping expose intricate details in designs.

A little reminder. Different mesh counts will hold different amounts of emulsion, this is due to the size difference in the holes and variation in thread thickness on coarser mesh counts. Therefore a lower mesh count will hold a higher amount of emulsion. But don’t worry, the difference isn’t extreme. You may just need to change up exposure times ever so slightly to allow for the amount of emulsion on the screen. More emulsion on the screen, means longer exposure times

Now, let’s discuss the differences in the most commonly used mesh counts.

UK 32T / US 80

  • Low mesh count.
  • Useful for printing bold designs as it allows more ink to be pushed through the screen.
  • Used for specialist inks such as Glitter or Flakes (this allows the larger particles to be deposited on the substrate)
  • Most suited to paper printing, does NOT always give the best result on fabric

What ink can I use with 32T/80 mesh?

  • Specialty inks
  • White plastisol
  • Low bleed
  • Poly inks

UK 43T / US 110

  • The most commonly used mesh
  • Ideal for printing bold/solid designs on fabric
  • Lay down a moderate deposit of ink
  • Perfect for printing an under base
  • Use with either waterbased or plastisol ink

What ink can I use with 43T/110 mesh?

  • Specialty inks
  • Standard plastisol
  • White plastisol
  • Low bleed
  • Poly inks
  • Glow in the dark
  • Standard Waterbased
  • Hybrid Wasterbased
  • Discharge ink

UK 55T / US 140

  • Perfect for printing on fabric when a little more detail is required

What ink can I use with 55T/140 mesh?

  • Specialty inks
  • Standard plastisol
  • White plastisol
  • Low bleed
  • Poly inks
  • Glow in the dark
  • Hybrid Wasterbased
  • Discharge ink

UK 62T / US 156

  • This is a medium mesh count
  • Good for printing a fine detail or halftone onto fabric.
  • Can be used when printing onto paper.

What ink can I use with 62T/156 mesh?

  • Standard plastisol
  • Standard waterbased
  • White plastisol
  • Low bleed
  • Poly inks
  • Glow in the dark
  • Hybrid Wasterbased
  • Discharge ink

UK 77T / US 196

  • Fantastic for finer detail
  • Good for printing on lightweight garments
  • Still good for printing on paper and card

What ink can I use with 77T/196 mesh?

  • Standard plastisol
  • Standard waterbased
  • White plastisol
  • Low bleed
  • Poly inks
  • Glow in the dark
  • Hybrid Wasterbased
  • Discharge ink

UK 90T / US 230

  • The most common mesh used for printing higher detailed designs
  • Great for top layer prints, leaving behind a thinner coat of ink
  • Use for both fabric and paper printing
  • Use when printing on delicate fabrics
  • Used for when you need a soft hand feel
  • Great when printing discharge inks

What ink can I use with 90T/230 mesh?

  • Standard plastisol
  • Standard waterbased
  • White plastisol
  • Poly inks
  • Hybrid Waterbased
  • Solvent Based Graphic Inks

UK 120T / US 305

  • The ultimate for printing finer details
  • Use for printing halftones and small-sized text
  • More control over the ink deposit
  • Mainly used for graphic printing

What ink can I use with 120T/305 mesh?

  • Standard plastisol
  • Solvent Based Graphic Inks

Now you know what screen mesh you need for the job, head to our online shop to purchase.

​How to speed up your print production – Pallet Mask Applicator

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If you haven’t come across it before, we would like to introduce you to the Pallet Mask Applicator. Who’s whole purpose is to speed up print production, whether you use the on or off press model.

The On Press Pallet Mask Applicator enables you to apply the tape while your pallet on still on the press. And you guessed it…the Off Press Pallet Mask Applicator means you need to take the pallet off the press then apply the tape.

Using the on-press pallet applicator can help you change the pallet mask in under 20 seconds! As shown in this video by our wonderful helper and screen printing expert, Nick.

If you want to increase your production efficiency, use this simple piece of kit to make your pallet mask application a breeze.

For the off-press model, we would recommend that you secure it to a sturdy surface to limit movement and make your job even easier. Secure the applicator by drilling holes or clamps, both will work just fine.

Next, mount the roll onto the system, then the pallet, and lock it in. Peel off the used paper, then you’re ready to apply the new pallet mask. Make sure you let it hang over the edges by at least an inch. Cut the top on the paper to separate it from the roll, tuck the excess in and under the pallet to make sure the tape is secure. For the best application use a manual roller squeegee to smooth it over, unlock the pallet and you’re good to go.

The pallet applicator is suitable for M&R pallets and only requires one size roll (24”). Pallet mask applicator is available for other presses on request

To purchase, please head to the product page, contact us on 01562 820009 or drop us a message on live chat.