Ink looks weird on card

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pdslevin7
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Ink looks weird on card

Post by pdslevin7 »

Hi everyone

I'm new to the forum, so hello :)

Just wondering if anyone can help me with a problem I'm having please?

I'm printing on a thick card (350gsm) using a 110 mesh and keep having a recurring problem and none of my prints have turned out right so far.

There's a picture at the bottom of the post. There's a lot of stuff wrong in the photo as I was doing some rough prints to see if adjusting anything would help, so please ignore the obvious mistakes!

Whenever I print, the ink ends up looking really 'crackly' and weirdly pixelated. I'm using vectors in my positives so I know it's not that. And I can't figure out what it is. I've tried adjusting my off contact, changing up pressure on the squeegee and going faster and slower when printing, but it still turns out weird.

Hopefully somebody can help!

Thanks!
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Shamax
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Re: Ink looks weird on card

Post by Shamax »

Welcome to the forums! :mrgreen:

From the looks of it, the "pixelation" you're seeing seems to be the texture of the cardstock. What kind of inks are you using - waterbase, plastisol or other? and what brand? Also, a 110 mesh seems like a really low mesh count to use for printing on paper. I spoke with another printer about a job he did printing LP jackets for a record release and he said his main mistake was using too low of a mesh and not having enough control over the amount of ink being laid down. All told, I'd say check the cardstock you're using (make sure it's a "smooth" stock, preferably coated), and after that try a higher mesh (at least a 200 or maybe 230).
Andy Barker
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pdslevin7
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Location: London UK

Re: Ink looks weird on card

Post by pdslevin7 »

Hi and thank you for the warm welcome :D

Thanks so much for your reply, I really appreciate it.

The stock that I'm using is GF Smith Colorplan, it has a slight 'tooth' to it but their sample book says that it's suitable for screen printing. There are also quite a few examples of screen printing onto Colorplan on some websites that I've seen and none of them seem to have the same problems that I've been having.

As you said, it may be the mesh - I'll order a new screen now. Thanks so much!

The ink that I've got is from here:
http://www.art2screen.co.uk/paperboardw ... s-23-c.asp

It doesn't say whether it's waterbased or plastisol - I just assumed it was ink specifically for paper/card.

Thanks again for your help, feel better that I have people to talk to who know all about this kind of stuff! :)
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Catspit Productions
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Re: Ink looks weird on card

Post by Catspit Productions »

If this is an ink specifically for posters and paper board then yes, it is “water based.”

Knowing that then I would agree a 110 mesh is too low. You’ll want to go much higher. Depending on the thickness of the ink a 160 through 230 mesh like Andy suggests will work much better.

I also agree that there is some coarseness to this paper. It looks as though there are highs and lows. The lows are where you see a nice rich color and the highs are where you see the lighter shades.

You could use a smoother surfaced paper to print. Or you’ll need to print a higher volume of ink. However printing more ink could mean more issues with paper curl when it dries. Also a more opaque ink would work better either way.

So yeah now that I look at this.... what Andy said... LOL :)

Thanks for joining the Catspit forum. Good luck!
Jonathan Monaco
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Shamax
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Re: Ink looks weird on card

Post by Shamax »

Somewhat related to this, I just finished printing up some 7" record covers yesterday for my label's first record release. I had gotten some black, coated, pre-glued sleeves that I was going to print with my regular white waterbased ink. I had tried burning the stencil on a 200 mesh screen, but couldn't get all the dots to hold, so I did it on a 305. I still lost some dot detail (mostly due to my exposure setup I think, and a single pass on that 305 screen was more than enough ink for what I was doing - and that was white, which is thicker than most other colors. Granted, once dried, the white looks like a more dull light-grey, but it's still fine for my purposes. Granted, it was a pain to get it dry, and it still flaked-off quite a bit (mostly because I wasn't using an ink specifically formulated for the task), but on the whole it's ok, adds to the DIY aesthetic of it, and I learned some valuable experience from it ;)
Andy Barker
Owner/Operator of Fragile Branch
Store: http://fragilebranch.storenvy.com
Site/blog: http://www.fragilebranch.com
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pdslevin7
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Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2013 7:55 am
Location: London UK

Re: Ink looks weird on card

Post by pdslevin7 »

Hi guys :D

Thanks SO much for your replies!

I've been in touch with a company who prints on the same card that I'm hoping to use, so hopefully they'll let me know what mesh count they use.

Thanks again and I'll let you know how it goes! :)
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