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    • CNC Milling
    • Screen Printing
      • Cracking emulsion
      • Design not appearing
      • Design still visible after reclaiming a screen (ghost image)
      • Details washing away when revealing the design
      • Drops appearing in the dried emulsion - Coating too thick
      • Emulsion getting damaged when revealing or printing
      • Impossible to fix the springs
      • Ink is too thick
      • Ink not passing through the screen
      • Irregular emulsion layer - Waves visibles in the coating
      • Nothing prints onto my transparent films
      • Print quality decreasing on the same screen
      • Printer stains on the transparent film - Bad stencil prints
      • Screen can't be reclaimed - Impossible to remove the emulsion
      • The arm of the press doesn't stay up
      • The screen print looks transparent - White/Clear Ink Printing
      • Thick fabric printing - Screen lowering stuck by the fabric
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Screen Printing

  • Cracking emulsion
  • Design not appearing
  • Design still visible after reclaiming a screen (ghost image)
  • Details washing away when revealing the design
  • Drops appearing in the dried emulsion - Coating too thick
  • Emulsion getting damaged when revealing or printing
  • Impossible to fix the springs
  • Ink is too thick
  • Ink not passing through the screen
  • Irregular emulsion layer - Waves visibles in the coating
  • Nothing prints onto my transparent films
  • Print quality decreasing on the same screen
  • Printer stains on the transparent film - Bad stencil prints
  • Screen can't be reclaimed - Impossible to remove the emulsion
  • The arm of the press doesn't stay up
  • The screen print looks transparent - White/Clear Ink Printing
  • Thick fabric printing - Screen lowering stuck by the fabric
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  • The screen print looks transparent - White/Clear Ink Printing

The screen print looks transparent - White/Clear Ink Printing

 monochrome, printing, screen-printing, sp_usage, usage

▶  Description of the problem

Your white ink went through your screen but the result isn't opaque. When printing with light colors, you can see the fabric's color through it.

▶  Possible origins

That is a normal behaviour: printing white or clear colors on dark fabric is the most technical type of one-color printing. 

The pigment may be strong, but the fabric absorbs a part and covering a darker color may require multiple layers.

▶  Solution

Make sure you're using a good quality ink, that has a good coverage (like the one we sell in our shop).

Even then, if there is transparency, you will need to print multiple layers to cover it:

  • Make a first print pass.
    • Move your screen up slowly, but make sure the frame and fabric don't move!
      • Use a hot air gun or hair dryer to dry the printed ink for 1 or 2 minutes (stay alert to not move anything, and to not expose the screen to too much heat).
        • Lower the frame again and print a second pass.
          • Light the screen carefully to check if this made the coverage sufficient. If not, dry that new layer and continue the process to print a 3rd one.
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