Colin is pushing the durometer on this one! Learn what differences durometer has on your prints and how to understand what angle to hold the squeegee to get the best ink deposit for your process! Learn More Here: scrnprntl.ink/DDWCSqueegee View Various Squeegees & Durometers Here: scrnprntl.ink/SqueegeeCollection Drop your Deep Dive submission here: scrnprntl.ink/DDWCYTForm
Oooo, we can do that. Proper eom (emulsion over mesh) and how do you know what good EOM looks and feels like if you dont have the proper tools! EOM = how much emulsion is on the mesh when it is fully dried in contrast to the mesh itself. It is expressed as a ratio using the mesh thickness as measurement tool. Example a target of 20% eom on a 156 mesh to get a nice white ink deposit.
Oooo.... squeegee blades and angles for auto users. Over all, the answers are largely the same. But on an auto you don't have to worry about physical strength. There is a lot more finessing you can achieve on an auto. Definitely worthy of a Deep Dive!!!
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the training videos. They have been a massive help. I do find it difficult to find any videos on using the 350 press. Any place you guys have those?
Hi! The squeegee handle does not make a difference in how the squeegee blade performs as in softness or hardness of blade. The shape of the handle, or the angle at which the handle forces you to grab it, that makes a difference. Take EZ grip squeegees as an example: The handle forces you to have more angle to the squeegee just from grabbing it. It is difficult to hold the squeegee in a way that the angle is closer to straight up.
In a push stroke, you don't have the same downforce as you do when you are pulling (it's only when you are using stiffer blades that the downforce can get close to equal, but that introduces a different issue). But, you still have the edge of the blade interacting with the ink and the screen. So ink shear is still very important. The edge of the blade will still "roll" with the ink as the blade gets softer. So your guess is really close to correct.
Waterbase Hmm.... Discharge WB or High solids WB printing? Both have a slightly different approach. But overall you are typically using slightly softer blades like 63/90/63, 65/90/65, or 70 durometer. Rarely do you want to use a squeegee harder than a 70. You get into very specific printing approaches at that point.
Great information! I could ask sooo many follow up questions but off the top of my head would you suggest more or less off contact depending on the durometer? Say for instance I had a simple white print block letter “Happy Birthday”. If I was using a 70/90/70 would I be better to have a bit more off contact with a hard flood and sheer (and perhaps a couple of more strokes to ensure coverage) verses a 60 or 70 durometer would I want a touch less off contact in case the print has a bit too much dragging from the slight flex increase (and maybe less strokes or even dry strokes)?
Hi! Off contact "should" remain consistent across squeegee blade types for the work you are doing. We still want the screen to snap off the print as quickly as possible. You can see this in the previous deep dive video on Functional Off Contact. A sharper/harder squeegee blade will help you with functional off contact by sheering or cutting the ink layer better than a softer squeegee will. However!!!! A harder blade will also lay down a thinner ink deposit compared to a softer blade. So depending on what you need from the print, make your decision there. My personal approach to simple lettering is to grab a 65/90/65 or 70 durometer squeegee and get the cleanest and most opaque ink laydown I can in as few strokes as possible, 1 maybe 2 print strokes at most. I want to use as little pressure as needed to get the ink onto the shirt and out of the screen mesh. Too much pressure can and will drive the ink INTO the shirt, which just makes a dull looking print. Let me know if I hit all the marks or if you still have questions!
@@Ryonet Thanks for the amazing follow up explanation. I guess I was referring to the off contact still happening to achieve the snap like you said but maybe the difference of 1/16 verses 1/8 inch or something like that depending on the durometer. But I might be overthinking that part and should focus on what is correct for the design with the particular garment. I also believe in having as little amount of squeegee strokes and pressure as possible to achieve a perfect underbase. However, most often I will clear a 157/48 mesh with my triple duro 70/90/70 in 2 passes with quite minimal pressure but will find that I'm not getting the opacity needed unless I do a third stroke until the ink really warms up on a print run (despite stirring the ink and warming the platens beforehand). Hence I should do as you suggested and try the 70 I have instead or maybe the triple one (60/80/60 was it?) I believe I'm getting dialed on the EOM side but that could also be something I could increase perhaps as I'll do further testing with my coating thickness gauge I just acquired recently. I zero'd it and was getting around 38-42 microns. I'm using Bolt White and have also switched from using 1% viscosity buster to virtually nothing and that also seems to have helped achieve slightly more opacity (even though it says you can add up to 3% without it affecting things opacity wise). I should iterate that these are on combed cotton or less than ideal weaves-ringspun I can definitely lay a thinner deposit and be fine on the opacity. Thanks again Ryonet! You guys are the best.
