For the Business of Apparel Decorating
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/418080
18 | PRINTWEAR D EC E M B E R 20 1 4 All squeegees were triple-ply dual du- rometer and ran at a consistent medium pace with minimal pressure and a 15-de- gree angle. Though the shirts were ring- spun cotton, they had some fuzz. We ran a roller squeegee with a Teflon screen after the flash and gelled the underbase. This matted those fibers, so we could set the other colors on top for a smooth finish. It doesn't happen too often on compli- cated work, but there wasn't a single mis- print on all six locations. You have to love that. between them on larger shirts. The solution took multiple setups and screens. We employed a similar strategy for the back location. It probably sounds crazy, but the run time was much faster on the loading and positioning. Setups weren't a big deal with our manufactured reg- istration system. All the logos were similar, so we kept screens identical from setup to setup for consistency. They were all retensionable frames with high-tension mesh at 166 tpi for the underbase, 205 tpi for the highlight whites, and 272 tpi on the colors at 45N/cm. Each stencil was built with a dual-cure, emulsion-coated 2/3 finishing on the squeegee side and dried-substrate side down to get the desired 15 to 18 percent emulsion over mesh stencil thickness for optimal ink deposit. We used a high-quality white ink. While a good white is all about the process, it helps to start with a solid ink. We mixed PMS red 185 and PMS green 354 using our ink matching system and scale. Other than changing platens for sleeves, each setup was virtually the same. From Software to Substrate | | | | pw Top left: For the larger shirts, the logos were placed with greater distance between them, which required multiple setups and screens. Top right: This challenging project required six print locations on black T-shirts. Above: The ring-spun cotton T-shirts were rolled with a squeegee with a Teflon screen to matte the fibers and give the garments an even finish.