How thick should ink be when pushed trhough the screen?

[fred]

Hi,

I tested speedball ink with a squeegee and 200 mesh screen.

The lettering didn't bleed. It looks good but the ink is very thick in the lettering itself. Should it be this thick?

I am used to handstenciling with a stencil brush and mylar stencil ....so it doesn't look like my normal lettering when I hand stencil letters....

Is this correct ?

Fred

[farleypig]

are you heavily flooding?
Speedball is thicker than TW for sure - especially if you are adding any trans or extender.
watch your flood/ put a stronger pressure on the flood - and maybe add off-contact tabs to the side of the frames if it seems your ink is pooling in large open-screen areas.

[archusangelus]

I would try thinning out the ink with water a little at a time, that helped me with Speedball. That would also make it easier to have a thinner flood, thus you'd put down less ink onto the paper.

[standard]

I usually aim for somewhere between "thick as thieves" and "thick as a brick."

[lil_tuffy]

I shoot for 4th day flu snot thickness.

[Andymac]

it's normal for the ink lay from screenprinting to be thicker than just brushed on. to deposit less ink, a higher mesh count screen. As Farley said, when you print, the surface fo the screen should be about 1/16" -1/8" above, the squeegee edge is waht presses down and makes contact, transferring the ink. This keeps it sharp.

[fred]

Okay....After testing the thicker paint it doesn't really look much different. It dries and kind of looks like my normal hand stenciled designs. The 1/16" - 1/8" is something I was doing wrong. I now realize that was what was causing the design to be smudged and distorted looking.

However I am still getting bubbles on the prints. I am using a stencil under the mesh and even when I flood and lift up the screen the bubbles are on the stencil area before it even hits the printed surface.

I read it could be from mixing it to let it set....I did that. I tried thickening the paint....I tried thinning the paint....Still tons of bubbles.

Fred

[farleypig]

like lizard skin bubbles or perfect round bubbles?
hmmmmm - how much pressure are you using when you pull? get right on top of that effer (use a stool if you must or if you 100lbs like me, just get your knees on the table), then use your weight. hard and fast (for screen printing purposes only).
And you aren't using any medium? are you in a climate controlled shop?

[fred]

Not really sure on the type of bubbles....Just a bubbly look....It's not crisp and clean inside its globby and bubbly. I was thinking maybe too much paint was being pushed through. The outside is crisp...There is no bleeding around the outside edge or streaks.

I don't want to go with a higher mesh because I have been told 200 is best for latex paint.

We are printing with latex paint and floetrol mixed in with the instructions on the bottle. Our workshop is climate controlled.

I've tried pushing hard and light...Also going faster and slower....All the same results.


I tried regular screen printing ink. There wasn't as many bubbles but it was so thick in the lettering....It has been 3 days since I printed with the ink and it still isn't dry on the wood surface.

[farleypig]

wood, latex paint....you got me there.
pourous? expanded grain? need to seal wood?
sorry - wish i could help.