A subject that is coming to the forefront more than ever before.

I crosses several subjects and i starting to become something that I know is very workable in some situations.

I started in several places and with several parts but is just now coming together for several shops in a very profitable way.

Here is where it started.

Small shop of one person and limited occasional help, moves to a new location where wash development and reclaiming screens is an issue, reclaiming screens is almost impossible because of a new private sewage system.

The first answer this shop had was simple, just don't reclaim and tank the development water to be processed off sight by a public/commercial sewage collection service. This shop was collecting more than enough in charges to cover a new screen for each color - the answer was to buy screens, coat, and expose, then print and after use an on-press wash and set the screen off to the side to be discarded later. This presented a small storage issue, but a huge gain in production time available - zero time reclaiming screens. The screens are heavy and shipping was an issue. Of course I flinch at the thought of a screen "trash canned" like that and tried to convince the shop to at least sell them on e-bey, that failed, they did not want the designs to go to other shops (fair enough).

Final answer we worked out involves several steps and would not be a great fit for every shop but once all the cost and profit were reviewed with the gains in hours used for production rather than reclaim the results were dramatic. This is in action in several small shops currently.

Here is how the procedure works.

Base retensionable screens with table, three days of production.
Insert panels of mesh.
Degreasing chemical and/or chemical stain remover.
Capillary film preparation chemical.
Capillary film.
Quality positives for full exposure and lowest time and water use in wash development.
Current Manual printing equipment.
On-Press Wash of customer preference.

Shop did choose to use a hybrid frame and table with mesh panels, the needed mesh is chosen and locked onto the frame and brought to full tension.

Mesh is prepared for wet application of cap film by first an application of a mild stain remover and short pressure wash (less water use), mesh is then sprayed with a cap film preparation chemical and the necessary choice in cap film applied using the wed roll-on method (this saves a dry step).

Once the screen has the cap film applied it is dried in a high airflow drying cabinet and then exposed, washout is with a light mist and then high pressure wash out with a pressure washer in fan spray, this is where a quality positive lower water use.

Screen is dried then blocked out, dried, (often the block out is skipped) taped with a screen tape and used for printing.

Once the job is printed, rather than reclaim the screen the ink is dry-wiped then a mild on-press wash is used and the panel is removed with the screen table, the frame is placed in storage for the next use.

The snap in panels are a quick ship, light weight item that has a total cost lower than shipping heavy frames each job, possibly they could be sold or even reclaimed later if needed.

At first I thought the idea was heretical and insane until I reviewed the profits captured, efficiency wins, it's not for every shop but it does work, very well in the correct application.

So is it screen printing heresy? or in the right situation just good profitable business?

Question:

Do I have to have retensionable frames to print four color process?

A Rep at a show said I had to to get good results.

Answer:

Retensionable frames DO make a difference by adding just that much more consistency available to the printer.

Four color process is NOT something magic!

There are many LESS THAN OPTIMUM choices that can help you make a customer happy and even sell more shirts or make more sales.

Hang in there while I go over a few things...

1. Screen printers are as superstitious as a bunch of Medieval bog farmers (or the average baseball player) ...

This is an industry based on facts, equipment and chemicals - sacrificing a chicken to JoBoo will NOT help your printing! On the other hand FUD - Having Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt about printing (like 4CP) will only limit your shop.

2. Four Color Process is both wonderful and dreadful at the same time - DEPENDING ON YOUR EXPECTATIONS!

If printing a colorful shirt for a customer is the goal (a green is green and a red is red-ish is "good to go" - a beginner step) then using 4CP is a way to make some customers happy and increasing sales.

If you have never used photoshop and want to print a photograph of human faces with subtle colors on a manual press, with loose wood frame screens and low mesh - you may be in for a challenge!

3. Any screen mesh able to hold a reasonable halftone CAN print 4CP - it may not be the OPTIMUM of results but it can print the inks onto a garment.

4. Any press manual or automatic that can hold reasonable registration can print 4CP! Printing 4CP with a manual press will always have inconsistent results because of the lack of control of critical process items like pressure, angle and speed - that does not even take into consideration the substrate issues, ink brand, ink build-up, and all the issues of exposure and emulsion...

5. Professionals in this industry spend entire carriers building the knowledge necessary to attempt to predict and control the variables in this process to produce the most exacting reproduction of colors and tone for 4CP!

6. Because so many screen printers think JoBoo can help them, using simple facts and procedures can help your shop become more advanced in printing and offer what the JoBooists cannot - a more advanced product that can demand higher charges and gain you a reputation you can use to leverage more sales at a higher profit.

7. There will always be some shop or printer better than you are at something! Find what you can do best!

8. Scaring the average printer OUT of a printing CHALLENGE is also COUNTERPRODUCTIVE! (yes I know it happens)... If any of you have seen me printing a 4CP at a show or at my class you know that the jobs were never designed to win contests, but rather prove a concept - 4CP is a useful TOOL for your graphics production!

9. To say that you HAVE to have retensionable screens and an expensive automatic press to print 4CP is as wrong as to say that you can print the best in 4CP work with a wood frame screen, 200 white mesh, SBQ emulsion, laser printed positives, and a crappy manual press!

There is merit on both sides and the answers are based on outlook and desired results - the real answers cannot be given with a five minute phone call but a conversation over equipment that takes HOURS.

Shake off the FUD and give up on JoBoo, buckle down and learn the facts, try the challenges, take the risks and buy what you need for YOUR PARTICULAR RESULTS BASED GOALS.

You can never go wrong looking at the situation with logic and planning - if you need help there are LOTS of folks willing to help you, but you need to have a goal FIRST, and be willing to look at the problem in several ways and with more depth of study...

You may have seen the debate about this, and because of a recent post about this subject I wanted to review a bit about the inexpensive drum tension tuner...

In fact, there have been several small screen printing supply companies who have used this exact type of tension meter. They often removed the original dial and replaced it with a new dial calibrated to NCM to use as a screen tension meter...

One of the draw-backs to the use of a drum tuner is that the drum tension tuners are deflection meters that are non-directional, unlike the screen tension meters where a base is machined with parallel ridges and a matching bar/ridge on the plunger to measure tension in a particular direction (Even with the ridges and bar there is some residual directional effect in the cross direction).

If you were willing to look for a tension meter (say from a friend) and calibrate a new dial for one of the inexpensive meters for yourself and live with the fact that the dial will only be circularly (omnidirectional - all directions) tension reactive...

If all you need or desire is basic tension in the center of the screen to prevent bursting the mesh then it could give you a reading more accurate than your finger or thumping and guessing, but not much more than a basic reading.

There are some who advise retensionable frames for beginners (and I would be one of them) many choose to propose that 110 mesh is hard to burst so you can live without a tension meter - possibly true. I on the other hand consider handicapping yourself with the typical 110 white mesh beginner albatross to be one of the reasons a new business can fail.

You will soon come up against the limitations with using retensionable screens and not using a deflection tension meter measured for NCM (newtons per centimeter) - quickly reaching bursting tension of the mesh and breaking the mesh (sadly the higher the mesh count the more expensive and more easily broken).

Good EOM...

Coating Screens for Maximum Effect

Full Exposure, Pressure washer develop (step wedge/exposure calculator)

Exposure Control

Tight screen tension (you have with retensionables)

Quality emulsion, most diazo dual cure emulsions are favored for the ability to image great detail.

I also favor larger dots than you mention (40 to 45 on "230" and 62 (when by itself) for an angle (note this is a STARTING POINT).

Did I mention a good positive?

That requires a good printer, good film, god ink, and a RIP - unless you are using an I jet or Oyo film or DTS...

Before I start into a rant, I want to talk about coating screens, a key in good halftone dot formation on a photo stencil.

Using my preferred method to coat screens they are most likely to be much thicker than the norm, about 5-20 EOM (this is recommended by the emulsion and ink companies for good edge definition and bridging).

5 to 20 percent EOM is 3 to 20 times thicker than most screen printers apply (Im not even talking about Cap films yet).

Nothing short of reasonable quality film and good opaque darks will allow a FULL exposure! I have NEVER had output from a laser printer (yes even that boat anchor Xante) or unaided ink-jet be dark enough with enough contrast to shoot a FULL exposure without problems. I have used the best and the worst products in my own shops, and helping client shops and can tell you this is universal with the products we all use.

Let's not forget the average screen printer... atempting to use a "free" RIP - Using Ghostscript, writing even simple code, and lots of "tweaking" just adds a layer of challenge that makes for THOUSANDS of dollars worth of time and frustration for an already challenging skill development!

Registration...

Yes registration is an issue, traps and tricks may be typical SOP, but a good press capable of close micro (and able to hold position for the entire job) can have any competent printer up and printing faster without excessive flashing.

Use art designed to eliminate excessive flashing, most screen printers flash too much and that is proven by the constant overflow of questions about why 110 mesh is not the best for everything, 110 mesh range should be your LEAST used mesh.

NO 110 mesh is not good for four color process.

Professional or skilled/master craftsmen?

In the construction industries there is a term used "jack-leg" to denote a person or business operating and selling services without the required skills, supplies or equipment. Jack-leg also often denotes a lower quality product. Have you ever wondered why our industry has such a bad reputation for "hacks" or "jack-legging"?

To be a professional or skilled craftsman in business also requires an ability to study, improve and increase efficiency and profits.

Using a good positive with an opaque layer in high contrast to the carrier plastic will provide:

a. the ability to coat higher quality screens with good EOM
b. the ability to expose the stencil fully
c. fully exposed screens last longer
d. fully exposed screens wash faster and with greater quality edge
e. a high quality stencil will print with better definition, edge quality and detail
f. close registration will increase the general production speed by using fewer flashes
g. fully exposed screens reclaim faster and with less chemicals

All of this from the start with a good quality positive (hopefully with good art behind that)...

Choosing a press, I just returned from a regional show.

One of the first questions - what press do I start with. A good question and one difficult to answer well because so much background information is necessary.

Most customers orders are for one and two color prints, making up over 60 percent of all orders in most cases, the other 40 percent is 3 or 4 colors making up about 39 of that remaining 40 percent, additional colors make up the last two percent.

Four color four station presses are ok most of the time but of course don't be suprised if it limits you from time to time, many of the orders for additional colors can be contracted out to other printers.

The exception would be when you desire to print your own line of shirts and need additional colors for extensive designs.

I would suggest that you look for a good deal on a 6 color press - UNLESS - money is just that tight.

If you are on a limited set of funds, by all means get a 4 color and when you make some money then get a stand alone 6/6 or save up and get an 8/8.

If you get a good quality 4/4 you can, and will, make money with it, but there are benefits to 6 and 8 color presses, such as pre-set up of front and back or multiple one and two color jobs...

Good luck - I know this is all a big step - think hard and make the best choice you can.