I have a two color run on black and gray shirts. I started with the crest and the white is laying down great with a flash coat. I started the red ( am using a flash coat instead of a white undercoat because of the small letters) and I can't get even the first coat of red down without it smearing all up. It's mostly on the left side. I have tried a heavy stroke, a light stroke, a light flood. A heavy flood and a light stroke. I have messed with the off contact, I tried to get some thicker ink from the bottom of the bucket and nothing works. Then to make matters worse I went ahead and skipped to the back design thinking maybe the screen was bad on the other one and it's doing the same thing. Not as bad and still mostly on the left side but I can't get a single clean print.

What am I doing wrong. I have had problems in the past laying down a good coat of red,but this is ridiculous.

Thanks for any advice.

Well that can be difficult to figure out from afar but I would first check that the pallet is smooth, flat, level and parallel to the screen. If the pallet is warped with a convex or concave surface it will need to be replaced. Also be sure the stencil is not too close to the frame edge on the screen.

If the mesh is tight and the screen is rigid and true then there may be an issue with the way the screen is coming down on the pallet. Off contact can cause this sort of thing too. If the off contact is too high it will cause problems. So make it lower when in doubt.

Jonathan,
Do you have a video that talks about off contact? If so can you link me to that.

Thanks, Jim

Here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDQrhmfF9ms

Thanks!

Ok I am still having issues.
I am going to try and spell out all of the conditions.
This is a Next Level 100% cotton shirt that has a poly feel to it.
I am doing a two color run attempting to not lay down a white undercoat.
I have adjusted the off contact several times.
I reburned the screen and moved it a little further away from the edge of the screen.
I have tried to push the squeegee and pull the squeegee.
I thought maybe the platin was getting hot so I started using all four stations so that there was cooling in between.
I tried a poly mix ink.
I have used the exposure calculator and seem to have a good exposure.
It is only happening on the right side of the design which is the left had side of the screen.
I cannot get a good clear print on the right side, this picture is one of the worst ones but none have been good.
Should I be using a white undercoat?
I know if one of you guys were here you would look at it and say "yeah that's the problem " but I am totally at a loss, I can't finish this job.
Thanks for the help.

One other note the mess on the right side of the I is part of the design, that's not the issue.

One other note is I am using a 156 mesh. With this red ink and the small design should I be using a high mesh count?
Sorry just grasping for straws here.

How are you printing the red ?
Maybe too heavy handed on the flood and print.
Could be too soft of a squeegee allowing too much ink through.
An underbase (with a stroke removed) should make the red nice and bright with only one pass.
Are you having the same problem on the light colored shirts ?
Is this an opaque ink made for dark shirts ?

Thanks for the info. I have tried a lighter hand with the squeegee and and heavy hand, it doesn't seem to make a difference. I am using Ryopogue ink which is made to use on dark shirts without an undercoat. I don't have a clue what the squeegee is. I know they have different durometer readings but that is something I haven't learned yet. Maybe Catspit has an educational video about squeegee selection. I just know I have tried different stokes and it doesn't make a difference. It seems to be just the red ink.