Why is my print fuzzy?Updated 2 days ago
When printing with white ink (though this can happen with any ink, just white is the most prone to it), you may notice shirt fibers sticking up through the ink, leaving the print looking fuzzy or feeling rough. This can happen when the screen sticks to the ink or garment instead of cleanly lifting away as the squeegee passes over the design.
The screen needs to snap off the print as the squeegee moves across it. If the screen stays in contact with the ink or garment for too long, it can pull up shirt fibers and affect the smoothness of your print.
Here are a couple of things to check:
Off-contact is too low: If the screen is sitting too close to the garment, it may not have enough room to lift away cleanly. Try increasing your off-contact slightly to help the screen snap off the print more quickly.
Poor blank adhesion: Make sure your garment isn't lifting from the platen and is properly secured using an adhesive that will hold it firm to the platen. If you blank is lifting, it's likely shifting under the screen and creating a smear of the ink in the direction of the squeegee movement.
Poor screen tension: If your screen doesn't have enough tension, it may struggle to lift away from the ink and garment cleanly. Check your screen tension and make sure it's appropriate for your setup.
If your off-contact and screen tension look good, another thing to check is your emulsion coating and stencil thickness. If your stencil is too thin, you may not be depositing enough ink to fully cover the garment fibers, which can leave the print looking rough or fuzzy.
Making small adjustments and testing between prints can help you narrow down the cause and achieve a smoother, cleaner print.
One way you can smooth a print after this has already taken place is with a quick heat press after you've cured the blank. To smooth out a print, all you have to do is get the ink warm enough to be pliable. Say you want to smooth out an ink that cures at 320°. Set the heat press to 270° with light or medium pressure and press for five seconds. The print will be smooth while still maintaining the screen-print look. Now, these exact settings will not apply to every heat press and shop. Press time can range 3-7 seconds. The heat may need to be adjusted. In the end, your goal is to apply the right amount of pressure and heat to press down the fibers. If the pressure or heat is too high, the heat press will push the ink into the fibers, thinning out the ink deposit. The thinner, flatter print will look more like a heat transfer. Learn more about the process in this blog.
Another way to address it before it comes off the platen is with a smoothing screen on your carousel. A smoothing screen mattes down the fibers of the shirt. Smoothing the print helps boost the vibrancy of the ink. To make a smoothing screen, all you need to do is grab either a 200 or 230 mesh screen, coat the screen with emulsion, expose it without any imagery on it, and place it on the press as a blank screen. You're going to need a lubricant like Curable Reducer. When using the smoothing screen, you'll want to use enough pressure to flatten the fibers, but not too much where you're jamming it in. Watch this video to learn how to add a smoothing screen to your process.