Four Color Process printing is a technique for printing anything from spot color to a photo-realistic design using only four ink colors layered over each other: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (or, CMYK).
DOWNLOAD Aurora Force 4 Process Color Profiles
NOTE: Four color process inks are transparent in nature and meant to overlay each other during printing and are not intended to be printed separately.
Screen Mesh
Can be used with any mesh between 230-355. Recommended at 305 mesh, 55-65 LPI.
Stencil & Emulsion Guidelines
We recommend using a water-resistant emulsion like Baselayr Complete. It is recommended to degrease your screens with Baselayr Emulsion Prep. For extended screen life and long print runs it is recommended to post expose the screens and/or use an emulsion hardener like Ryonet® Harden-X.
Mixing
Be sure to stir product prior to use. You may add 5% Green Galaxy Interstellar Slipstream Silicone Additive for improved wet-on-wet performance. Please ensure a proper cure when adding Slipstream as it slows down cure slightly also do not combine Slipstream with Warp Drive.
Printing
Load screen with plenty of ink. Flood screen prior to printing. Green Galaxy™ HSA Water Based Ink can be printed with a push or pull squeegee stroke. After printing, flood screen allowing ink to sit on top of image to avoid drying. If screen clogs or exhibits dry ink in the print, re-flood and aggressively print again, this should clear the screen. If it does not clear the screen, spray a small amount of warm water into the stuck areas of the screen and wipe out with a towel. If you are leaving your screen for an extended period of time be sure to leave your screen flooded completely. If your ink begins to scale over, spray with water to rewet ink. Green Galaxy™ HSA Water Based Ink can be printed with other water based inks and with plastisol inks.
Flash Drying
For flashing, forced air flash is optimal. Flash until dry to the touch.
Curing Instructions
The print should be cured for two minutes, with the whole ink layer reaching 320°F and holding at 320°F for at least 20 seconds. Waterbase ink cures differently than plastisol, its about length of time at temperature. If you do not hold at temperature long enough, your print will not be cured. When curing with a smaller conveyor dryer (typically conveyor dryers with a 6' long tunnel or less) we recommend the use of Green Galaxy™ Warp Drive Low Cure Catalyst to ensure a final cure is achieved after 48 hours.
Testing & Precautions
Always check your print processes and cure parameters for consistency, predictability, and repeatability.
Clean Up
Ink should be removed from the screen as soon as printing is completed. General wash-up (on ink that has not dried) can be done with water, though using Sgreenª Aqua Wash is much easier and recommended. For aggressive or dried screens, use Sgreenª Aqua Wash to dissolve ink and blast out areas of stuck ink with water pressure.
Storage
Keep container(s) tightly closed. Store in cool environment away from direct light.
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