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Screen printing is a printing style that uses a piece of fabric, called "mesh," stretched over an aluminum or wood frame. The mesh is stenciled, and then ink is rolled on and pressed to create an image on an object. This process is used for clothing, decals, product labels, signs, and displays.
Mesh can be made from steel, nylon or
polyester. When used repeatedly, it becomes slack, which affects the quality of
your print. Screen Printing businesses have to decide whether to send their
frames to a printing supplier to be re-stretched, or if they will do it
themselves using glue and a stretching frame. This article will tell you how to
re-stretch a mesh frame using adhesive.
Listed
below are step by step instructions to properly restretch mesh screens.
1. Be
sure to clean your frame using a debonding solvent such as acetone to remove
dirt, ink, and any remaining adhesive from your frame.
2. Once
the acetone solvent has been used, remove the used mesh from the frame.
Adhesive should come off nicely as well.
3. Using
a piece of sandpaper, preferably 80 grit, sand the areas of your frame where
the new mesh will be glued.
4. Clean
your frame using a tack cloth to ensure that all remaining adhesive has been
removed.
5. Next
you will choose and adhesive. Depending on your mesh count, you may use a low
or high viscosity adhesive. Choosing the right adhesive is crucial to be sure
that your fabric (mesh) will adhere to the frame.
6. Choose
a mesh that is best suited for the type of printing you will be doing. Once you
have chosen a mesh, cut the fabric slightly bigger than your frame.
7. Place
your frame on the restretching device you have chosen to use. The blocks in the
middle of your screen will help to increase tension between the machine and the
fabric.
8. Place
your fabric over your frame and insert it into the tension bars on your
machine.
9. While
slowly increasing the tension, check the tension using a tension meter.
10. Once
your tension is correct on your fabric, apply a lite coat of adhesive where the
fabric attaches to the frame.
11. Make
sure to allow your adhesive to dry and cure properly.
12. You
can place weights on top of your frame to ensure that is doesn’t bend.
13. Once
the fabric has dried, remove the tension bars and cut any excess fabric from
the frame.
Things
you might need:
·
Solvent (acetone)
·
Cloth
·
Tension meter
·
Adhesive
·
Frame
·
Wooden blocks
·
Sandpaper
·
Screen Stretching Machine