Things to Consider Before you try Wet-on-Wet Screen Printing
Posted by Mary Yaeger - 8/2/2017
Also seen on Printwear
One of the greatest features of
plastisol ink is the ability to dive into the world of wet on wet printing.
Your shop is filled with orders and you are looking for a way to cut down on
wasted time and get products out faster to your customers. Welcome to wet on
wet printing. Being able to print wet on wet simply means that you can print
successive colors without necessarily having to flash in between colors. Now,
there will always be outlier print jobs (especially with dark colored garments)
that will require you to flash layers, but the general advantage of wet on wet
printing is avoiding the flash cure. Doing so will save you time, money and
ensure that your customers get their products quickly.
The Print Order
A general
rule of thumb for screen printing is to print light layers first and finish
with the dark layers. It is also best practice to print from the smallest
stencil to the largest. This all depends on the amount of detail that you have
in your overall image. Screens with less image detail should print first.
Inversely, screens with the most detail need to be printed last. This ensures
that you are able to print a large design without worrying about excessive ink
build up.
Ink Smears
What you
will notice with wet on wet printing is that your screens will grab ink from
previous layers. This could bring your whole production to a halt if you are
not careful. What happens is that thick ink layers will cause the screen to
stick to the ink and smear the color. It is normal for the screens to pick up
some colors from previous layers, but too much build up will smear the whole
print or block out pars of the screen – ruining the stencil.
There are
a few things you can do to avoid this from happening:
- Choose a high mesh count screen (200+) with high tension
- Use a thin ink deposit
- Put light pressure on your squeegee
Over the
course of your print job make sure to keep your ink layers thin. This reduces
the chance of ink being picked up by your screens. Using a base can give the
ink a short body that prints well and helps prevent smearing by allowing the
ink to penetrate further into the fabric. If you notice that your screens are
picking up too much ink, it would be best to take a few minutes to clean the
substrate side of your screens to avoid a major headache later on.
Practice Makes Perfect
Best practice will be to print a few
test shirts before going into an actual print job. If you have any questions,
you can always reach out to your screen printing supplier. They can recommend
the right inks for wet on wet printing. If you are having trouble with your
screens picking up ink, your supplier can also recommend a reducer to ensure
you get a thin ink deposit.
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