I know I'm making a newbie mistake or three somewhere...

Here you can discuss any issues related to working with water based screen printing inks. This would include curing, heat setting, mixing colors, additives, brands, usages and much more.

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Shamax
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Re: I know I'm making a newbie mistake or three somewhere...

Post by Shamax »

I *do* have some screen opener just for that, actually. At the time, it wouldn't have helped, though, since my issue was one of off-contact and getting excess ink on the substrate side of the screen. For the latter issue, keeping some paper towels nearby would have remedied that in hindsight, but I still would have been dealing with too much off-contact and a tilt adjustment that was slightly out of whack.

The opener I have is pretty strong-smelling, so I'd really only want to use it as a last resort in my apartment - and even then only with plenty of fans/ventilation going. Keeping my screen backflooded and a spray bottle of water nearby for a gentle "misting" over the press every 15-20 minutes seemed to work fine.
Andy Barker
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