How to Prepare Screens for T-Shirt Screen Printing Machine?

As a t-shirt screen printing machine user, you should know various steps of screen preparation. Screen preparation is the primary step in t-shirt screen printing process. It can save your valuable time and solve the pinholes problems or remaking screens from poor emulsion adhesion. Proper screen preparation increases the performance of your t-shirt screen printing press.

Preparing Older Screens for T-Shirt Screen Printing Machine

While you are preparing the old screens for your press, you have to keep in mind that the mesh needs to be clean before coating it with emulsion. The more you clean the mesh, the more you get the emulsion to attach to it.  You can prepare the old screen by following the steps below.

1. Take apart the old stencil from the mesh carefully.
2. Clean the haze from the mesh and remove all the ink stains from the screens
3. Remove the grease, oils or other contaminating chemicals from the mesh
4. Finally, you need to dry the screen thoroughly before you starting to coat it with the emulsion.

Clean the mesh with a water washer and brush carefully. Don’t scrub the screen excessively. In addition to your pressure washer, you can use an emulsion remover to clean the screen. However, you shouldn’t give extra pressure as it can damage the mesh fibers. On the other hand, the use of excessive haze remover can be harmful to the mesh.

The step of degreasing comes after making the screen free from all the ink stains and emulsion. In the case of the mesh of the t-shirt screen printing machine, you need to wet both the side of the screen to decrease appropriately. Wet the screen with water, use degreaser and a scrub brush.  Start brushing with the scrub brush from the squeegee side. Don’t use a rough and abrasive brush as it harms the mesh. After scrubbing, you need to clean both the squeegee side and print side with water.  At last, you have to dry the screen in an environment that hasn’t any dust or water residue.

Preparing New Screens for Your T-shirt Screen Printing machine

While you are using brand new screens to your press for emulsion, first you should abrade it smoothly. Then you need to decrease and dry the screen. But you just need to ensure that you are abrading the mesh a little bit so that you can apply the emulsion correctly. The hard brush is good for the brand new screen to abrade the surface of the mesh. Of course, the brush needs to be contamination free. It is better to use mesh prep to your t-shirt screen printing equipment while decreasing the screen.  Some screen printers like to use the dish soap, but you should avoid it as it contains oil. Though the emulsion of the present days is better to adhere than the past, still you need to prepare your brand new screens adequately. For this, you can use the instructions below.

1. First, make the screen wet
2. On the screen, mesh prep needs to be sprayed
3. Use a hard brush to scrub both the sides of the new display
4. Remove the impurity, soap or dirt with the clean water using the pressure washer.
5. Finally, keep the screen in dust or oil-free dryer to dry completely.

Don’t keep your brand new screen near the fans or drafts while you are drying your screen as dust or dirt can spoil the screen. You can use your screens to your screen printing machine to coat with emulsion after completing the perpetration steps above.

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