Posts tagged ‘phthalate free’
Screen Printing Tip of the Week: Preventing Moiré Patterns
Heads up Screen Printers!!! Kieth Stevens has a great tip on how to combat Moiré, a technique that even some seasoned printers don’t know about (as published in Impressions Magazine):
When printing halftones, a radiating pattern sometimes appears. This pattern, called a moiré, occurs when the pattern of the mesh or screen fabric conflicts with the pattern of the halftone line count.
Moiré also can be caused by the artwork’s patterns, or the interaction between the patterns and the substrate’s texture. Sometimes, the moiré pattern doesn’t appear until after the artwork is printed.
A common method for countering this pattern collision is to increase the mesh thread count by a factor of 4.5 times. For example, if the moiré pattern occurs when using a 55 line halftone count, you would increase the mesh thread count to 230. For the most part, this solution will work; however, using higher mesh counts to eliminate the moiré pattern can result in a white underbase that is less opaque.
Another strategy is to custom stretch the screen mesh at an angle that will eliminate or reduce the moiré prior to burning the screen. To do so, stretch the frame, put it on the stretcher and lay a mesh over it. Then, take the positive film that contains the halftone art and lay that down on the mesh as if you were placing it to burn the screen.
If you see a moiré pattern appearing between the mesh and the positive, rotate the mesh and leave the film in the position that you want to burn it. As you rotate the mesh, you will see the moiré pattern move and change. Keep rotating it until you see the moiré reduce to almost nothing. Lock down your mesh at this exact angle and leave the film in the proper position for printing.
Finally, place the positive back down on the stretched and adhered mesh and you should see that the moiré pattern is gone. Mark down on the mesh the location of the registration so that after you coat the mesh with your emulsion, you can once again place the film on the screen, tape it down and expose the image as you normally would.
International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers. For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.
International Coatings: The Intelligent Choice
FESPA 2013 Preview
FESPA 2013 is almost upon us. Don’t miss the print industry’s largest event for screen, digital wide format and textile print innovation, to be held at ExCeL London, June 25-29.
If you are attending, we would love to see you. Please visit us at our booth(# H54N).
For complimentary registration passes, please click here.
Here are a few of the exciting print techniques we’ve been working on to showcase at the show. Be sure to come by!
International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers. For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.
International Coatings: The Intelligent Choice
Screen Printing Tip of the Week: Storing Plastisol Ink Correctly
The following Screen Printing Tip of the Week by Kieth Stevens was recently published in Impressions Magazine.
Storing Plastisol Ink Correctly
Whenever I receive calls from customers who tell me our inks are not performing as expected, I ask them questions to troubleshoot the problem.
I usually find that the ink has not been cured properly during the printing process. However, I occasionally find that the ink wasn’t stored properly, causing it to lose some of its printing properties.
Is there really a right and wrong way to store plastisol inks? Does it really make such a difference? Absolutely!
Plastisol is affected by temperature, either hot or cold, which can change the viscosity and printability of the ink. So here are a few things to remember when storing plastisol inks:
DON’T: - Store buckets near a flash unit or other source of heat. – Store near an open window where it can be exposed to the sun. – Store on a cold floor, which can raise the thickness or viscosity. – Store near the ceiling or roof where the sun’s radiant heat can affect the stored temperature. – Let it sit on a shipping dock where it can get exposed to the sun, which can partially cure the ink. – Allow it to travel in the back of an open pickup truck, where it can get sun exposure.
DO: - Store between 65°F-90°F (18°C-32°C). – Store the ink with the lid tightly sealed on bucket. – Stir prior to use. – Keep it off concrete floors.
Kieth Stevens is the Western regional sales manager for International Coatings. He has been teaching screen printing for more than 10 years and is a regular contributor to International Coatings’ blogs. For more information, visit iccink.com and read the company’s blog at internationalcoatingsblog.com.
International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers. For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.
International Coatings: The Intelligent Choice
PRINTWEAR Article: Clarifying Compliance
Ed Branigan wrote a new article published in the recent April 2013 edition of Printwear Magazine, entitled: “Clarifying Compliance – What the CPSIA means to you.” Here Ed breaks down the complex definitions and restrictions of the CPSIA laws and how it may apply to everyday printers. An informative flowchart as well as an explanation what the printer needs to know makes the article a must-read.
Check out the article (in PDF format) from our website here.
International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers. For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.
International Coatings: The Intelligent Choice
DAX Chicagoland 2013, April 26-27, 2013
DAX Chicagoland is upon us once again!
John Levocz, our North East Regional Sales Manager is going to present our latest inks and print techniques. Come by SPSI’s (Booths 217, 218) or Atlas Screen Supply’s (Booths 418, 420, 517, 519) booths and check out our latest performance whites.
DAX Chicagoland 2013 is being held at the Tinley Park Convention Center April 26-27, 2013. Be sure to visit!
John Levocz, International Coatings’ Northeast regional sales director, has been in the screen printing industry for more than 30 years and has broad experience in graphics and textile printing. John is a contributor to International Coatings’ blogs and holds print seminars all over the country.
International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers. For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.
International Coatings: The Intelligent Choice
New 7014 Legacy White Available Now!
It’s official!
Our new 7014 Legacy White™ is now one of our top sellers, and we haven’t even formally launched it yet. Needless to say, International Coatings is excited to introduce the newly reformulated 7014 Legacy White™ that has everyone buzzing.
What Is So Special About the 7014 Legacy White™?
7014 Legacy White™ is very opaque and easy to print, covers easily, is smooth to the touch and produces in a matte finish. It is creamy, fast-flashing and has great bleed resistance.
Continue to read our New Product Announcement here.
International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers. For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.
International Coatings: The Intelligent Choice
DAX Minneapolis 2013, March 22 – 23, 2013
It’s time for the next DAX show, this time in Minneapolis March 22 – 23rd, 2013. Come visit us at SPSI’s (Booths 401, 402) or Atlas Screen Supply’s (Booth 918, 802, 804, 806) booths.
Our North East Regional Sales Manager, John Levocz will be on-site to present the latest inks and techniques. He will also be doing live print demos, so don’t miss out!
The DAX Minneapolis show will be held at the Double Tree Bloomington.
John Levocz, International Coatings’ Northeast regional sales director, has been in the screen printing industry for more than 30 years and has broad experience in graphics and textile printing. John is a contributor to International Coatings’ blogs and holds print seminars all over the country.
International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers. For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.
International Coatings: The Intelligent Choice
New 7031 Ultra White Is Here
International Coatings is proud to introduce its newly reformulated 7031 Ultra White™.
7031 Ultra White™ was redesigned from the ground up. It contains Non-Phthalate materials to meet a list of exacting standards. Importantly, it is easier to print and is one of the highest-performing whites in the market.
- Here are some of the attributes of the new 7031 Ultra White:
- The new 7031 offers exceptional brightness, super soft feel, excellent opacity, and is very creamy and short-bodied.
- 7031 flashes very fast and has a matte finish.
- 7031 has moderate bleed resistance.
- 7031 can be used as an underbase or highlight white and can be printed through mesh counts of up to 305.
Major printers that have completed beta-tests with the new 7031 Ultra White™ all agree that it exceeds their expectations, especially in coverage and brightness. In side-by-side print tests with comparable competitive products, the 7031 Ultra White™ out-performed the competition in coverage and printability.
7031 Ultra White™ is available through International Coatings’ exclusive network of distributor companies.
Contact International Coatings toll free at 1 (800) 423-4103 (within the U.S. only) or 1 (562) 926-1010, or go to our website at www.iccink.com, for more information.
International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers. For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.
International Coatings: The Intelligent Choice
New 7100 Performance Pro Available Now!
After completing months of beta-testing, we are now launching our 7100 Performance Pro Line. Check out Pefrmance Pro’s attributes and info here:
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/New-7100-Performance-Pro-Available-Now.html?soid=1102801309700&aid=CtJUDlNbldw
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International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers. For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.
International Coatings: The Intelligent Choice
SGIA 2012 Coming Up!
Visit us at SGIA in Las Vegas next week, October 18 – 20, 2012, Booth # 3259. We have lots of new products to show you!
Check out live demos at our booth throughout the day. We will be featuring our innovative AXEON line of Non-PVC, Non-Phthalate special effects inks as well as our GEN IV Non-PVC, Non-Phthalate high-solids water-base inks. In addition, we will also be showcasing our 7100 Performance Pro Series, specifically formulated for athletic and poly/stretch fabrics.
On Saturday, Oct. 20th, don’t miss Kieth Stevens and Ed Branigan’s live seminars and demos at the Screen Printed Apparel Training Zone (Booth # 3624) at 10:00 am, 11:00 am, and 1:00 pm.
Come by the booth and check out our new products. Ed Branigan has some great print effects lined up. We’d love to see you there!
Register for FREE here (use VIP code 2112 if prompted).
