Silk Screen help on latex sheeting

[Annisse]

I have never silk screened before. Well, of course I have to take on a another challenging task of trying to silk screen onto latex sheeting.

Some, NOT many latex designers have incoperated silk screening designs onto their latex sheeting.

I had my 1st go at it the other day with very poor results.

Since I am new to SS. I went online to try and figure out the simplest way to go about doing this. I found a YOUTUBE vid of a guy using a stencil design in which he made the design he wanted on the stencil then put that under his silk screen mesh, onto a Tee shirt, did the paint and and all that technique that goes with SS and it worked out beautifully.

Of course he didn't get into details as to what paint he used or what silk screen mesh count he used.

I am using a Rubber Ink from Dischem.com It is VERY VERY thick. I am using a SS mesh count of 230. They told me from the Ink website to use a mesh count between 200-325. I went with 230 to see how that would do.

So, instead of going with the I guess more traditional SS approach with using the Photo Emulsion method and imprinting the design into the mesh, I went with the YOUTUBE vid stencil approach.

I am posting here my results of what happened when I tried SS my rubber ink into the mesh onto latex sheeting with a heart shaped stencil design I made.

As you can see, the results are horrid! I managed to luck out and KINDA get two decent hearts onto my latex after many many tries and almost passed out from INK fumes

Any way, are there any sugguestions anyone can please give me as to what I can do to make SS onto latex sheeting work? Maybe use a different mesh count? Talk to the Rubber INK company about how to thin their INK out? Not use a stencil and try the photo emulsion method instead and maybe a degreaser for my mesh after each pass?

With just one pass my mesh got all gooie and sticky which is what caused all the missing gaps holes in the heart design as you can see in my pics.

It seems this is a big secret how to screen print onto latex sheeting amoung the latex clothing designers community. I have asked many times on other forums for help with even where to purchase rubber ink from. No one wants to offer any advice and definately no sugguestions on how this process is done.

I can understand, as it seems this is going to be a complete pain to figure out and who would want to share their information after it took them ages to figure it out on their own.

But I am not like that. If I can figure this out. I will share my info with others who are interested and any one that helps me with this give them credit as well!


Thanks for listening and any advice is much appreciated!!

 

[Peachykiki]

I can't really offer much help as far as latex SS goes, but I know when doing it with reg. fabric we generally use a thinner. If the screen is getting clogged after one pass you def. need to thin the ink out. Also make sure you're doing the process quickly. If your passes are too slow it will let the ink dry as you do it, clogging the screen more.
I'm sure its very frustrating trying to figure this all out with no help, sorry I can't be of more use to the latex specifically.

 

[darthchiro]

why not just use latex rubber paint? and a design that simple could be stenciled and airbrushed on. I use acrylic mixed with latex on all my costumes and it always works.

 

[Tyr]

What are you using to spread the paint across the screen?
If you use heavy pressure with a squeegee like device or even a putty scraper it may help to prevent the excess paint from sticking to the screen.
I don't have much experience with silk screening but I hope that helps.

 

[Annisse]

This heart stencil was just for practice. When I do this SS on latex for real, I plan to have a design which covers a 8x10 inch space on a 9x12 inch SS frame.

I don't know, let's say the design is a computer chip circuit board pattern 8x10. Well, after one pass onto a yard of latex in one section, on my 2nd pass I will have to somehow line up that pattern onto the next section of latex and so on and so on, until that entire yard of latex sheeting has my design on it.

Ultimately, using a stencil with a design pattern that big will not be the way to go. I will have to use the traditional photo emulsion onto the mesh to achieve this best I believe. I am sure with an 8x10" stencil and a pattern that intricate, it will just wind up falling apart with each pass.

I just didn't want to invest in photo emulsion just yet because I wanted to try out that YOUTUBE SS with a stencil method I saw 1st.

I just did the one heart for now to practice how the SS technique even works. I have a 9x12" frame so picture the entire thing covered with hearts spaced out, or whatever pattern I decide to go with to SS onto the latex.

As far as how much pressure I am using. I used alot of pressure and way to many back and forth passes with the ink and got the results from my pics as you saw in my 1st post. I did use a proper Squegee I bought from a SS website too. It should be two quick passes and that should be it to get the design onto the fabric.

A friend just told me, who has much SS experience, to use a 110 count mesh and to make sure the ink is thick not thin, so it doesn't bleed thru the mesh and did tell me to go with the photo emulsion method and not the stencil method.

SS using the stenciling method seems great for small designs on T-shirts but not for huge prints with multiple passes on a yard of latex material in the long run.

back to the drawing board, this is going to take alot of figuring out, but I am determined to get this.

 

[wannab]

Painful to see! So much wrong I can't absorb it all.

Let me gather myself, reread this post and try to assist. I'll be back.

Few questions to help me to help you.
Is this latex fabric or rigid material? Is it actually latex?
What are you using to hold the material in place?
What ink are you using? Is it solvent or waterbased?
What is the stencil material?
What are you using to anchor the screen?
What are you using as a squeegee (to pull the ink)?
Are you planning to do multi color prints, if so how are you planning on registering your screen and substrate?


Couple things right off...
Using a photo emulsion and pulling with a sharp squeege will give you a thinner laydown of ink. Keep in mind, the lower the screen number the more ink will be layed on the surface. Always thin the ink down (with proper reducer/thinning agent) for sure no matter what it is, it always comes way too thick to use straight out of the tub. Hard to say how much to thin without actually knowing more specifics (see above).

Answer as much as you can and I'll get you on the right track.

Doug

 

[Annisse]

So much wrong??? Great :confused

I have answered your questions below in the Quote....

Painful to see! So much wrong I can't absorb it all.

Let me gather myself, reread this post and try to assist. I'll be back.

Few questions to help me to help you.
Is this latex fabric or rigid material? Is it actually latex? - This is actually latex sheeting I am using.

What are you using to hold the material in place? - Just some metal clamps, total ghetto rig. I do not have a PRO SS set up what so ever.

What ink are you using? Is it solvent or waterbased? - I believe it is waterbased. This is the exact ink I am using and where I purchased it from Ballon Inks, Latex Inks and Rubber Inks by Dischem, Inc.

What is the stencil material? - Mylar by Badger

What are you using to anchor the screen? - a SS 9x12" wooden frame.

What are you using as a squeegee (to pull the ink)? - a 9" squeegee I purchased from silkscreeningsupplies.com

Are you planning to do multi color prints, if so how are you planning on registering your screen and substrate? - Yes I need to do multiple passes to cover let's say one whole yard of latex sheeting, somehow matching my design end to end and make the next pass on the next section of sheeting.


Couple things right off...
Using a photo emulsion and pulling with a sharp squeege will give you a thinner laydown of ink. Keep in mind, the lower the screen number the more ink will be layed on the surface. Always thin the ink down (with proper reducer/thinning agent) for sure no matter what it is, it always comes way too thick to use straight out of the tub. Hard to say how much to thin without actually knowing more specifics (see above).

Answer as much as you can and I'll get you on the right track.

Doug

Thank you for your help Doug. Someone told me to not thin my ink and to use 110 mesh? I am really confused now and really don't know which direction to go with us.