News
Why Screen Printers Should Use a Filtration System
If you have ever had to pay for a drain cleaning service or plumber to come to your shop to unclog your drain, you already know why you should be using a filtration system underneath your washout booth. Filtration systems keep solids from washing down the drain, clogging up your pipes, and creating a lot of stress for you. Let’s go over why printers need a filtration system and how to use it.
20+ T-shirt Terms Every Screen Printer Should Know
Jumping into the world of screen printing means a pretty big learning curve. There are endless terms, practices, and tips to learn about the trade. Whether you’re new to screen printing or have been in the game for a while, there are some terms you should know about T-shirts. Check out any clothing distributor’s website. Are there terms you don’t recognize? Here’s a list of popular T-shirt terms that you’ll see and regularly use in the screen printing industry.
How to Use a PMS Mixing System to Mix Custom Gray Ink Colors
Gray is a popular color for screen printing. It’s great for printing neck tags and looks good on many colors of garments. Printers who choose gray for a design’s color scheme usually have to mix it themselves. Ink manufacturers may not carry a ready-to-print gray. If they do, there’s a chance it won’t be the shade you’re looking for. Good thing for mixing systems, right? Here’s how to mix your own perfect shade of gray screen printing ink.
4 Steps to Turn Cardboard into a DIY T-shirt Folder
Ever seen a T-shirt folded to perfection and thought it increased the value of the shirt? Folding T-shirts is a great way to increase the value of your orders. By folding shirts, you can create custom packaging and wow customers by adding a small step into your process. A T-shirt folder not only quickly folds t-shirts to industry-standard specs, but it is also an affordable option to streamline your process. Want to create your own? Here’s how.
How to Achieve Matte or Glossy Screen Prints
Ink has the ability to look matte or glossy. Sometimes, a print will come out of the dryer looking glossier than expected, or more matte than you’re looking for. Wondering how to adjust the final looks of the ink? Let's look into it.
Curable Reducer, Soft Hand Additive, Extender Base: What’s the Difference?
Looking for your prints to have a soft hand feel? There are three products that seem pretty similar: Extender Base, Curable Reducer, and soft hand additive. While they may look the same, they have different functions. Let’s take a look at all three and discover which ink gives prints the softest feel.
6 Steps in the Riley Hopkins Manufacturing Process
All Riley Hopkins presses and equipment are manufactured by a team of experienced engineers in the USA. This is great for customers, because it keeps quality standards high, offers fast shipping, and provides printers with great customer service.
Ever wondered how a Riley Hopkins press gets made? Chris Drury, Director of Manufacturing and Distribution, gives a behind-the-scenes tour of the making of a Riley Hopkins 300 6x4.
How Riley Hopkins Screen Printing Equipment Evolves to Benefit Printers
Since 2005, the Riley Hopkins press has evolved 11 times. If you look back into Riley Hopkins's history, there’s been a lot of improvement. Over the years the engineers behind the press have consistently turned up the heat to match printers’ demands. Every press is built like a race car to improve at top speed from lap 1 to 499.
Riley Hopkins presses are constantly being upgraded to make printers’ crafts easier. Chris Drury, Director of Manufacturing and Warehouse, walks through a timeline of Riley Hopkins presses.
How to Create a Heat Map for Screen Printing Using Puff Additive
Do you know where the sweet spot is on your flash dryer? Every flash unit has an area that gives off the most consistent heat. How do you find out where that is? Print expert Colin Huggins has a solution: creating a heat map using puff ink. Let’s find out how he does it.
Best Practices for Adding Screen Printing Ink to a Screen
Adding ink to a screen for the first time can be a bit daunting. It seems easy enough, but once you get the ink bucket, spatula, and screen, you might wonder exactly how to do it. How much ink do you add? Where do you put it? If you’re asking these questions, keep reading. Let’s walk through how to prep ink for printing and how to apply it to a screen.
Missed the FN-INK™ Puff Livestream? Here’s the Highlights
Print expert and FN-INK™ Puff enthusiast Colin Huggins went live on Friday to answer frequently asked questions about this rad 3D ink. If you missed the live stream, don’t worry: we’ve got your back. Huggins covered best practices, getting tons of detail, proper curing, and more. Check out the highlights.
Why Live Printing? PRNT SCRN Screen Printing Weighs In
Live printing: some printers love it, others don’t. Doing live printing takes a little bit of bravery and a whole lot of preparation. So why should you do live printing? What’s so great about it? Josh Dykstra, the owner of PRNT SCRN Screen Printing, discusses his experience in live screen printing.
