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4 4 G R A P H I C S P R O • J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M efficient method to keep your production moving, without stopping to reclaim, recoat and reburn screens during the week. Some suppliers will take your used static aluminum frames as a trade-in toward new stretched frames. While you can purchase a pneumatic stretcher to build your own screens, it is more practical in small to medium shops to buy frames fac- tory-stretched and ready to use. Spend your time producing garments rather than stretching screens. Proper mesh count ere has always been a misconception in the industry that lower mesh count screens are preferable to lay down more ink or to reduce the number of print passes. Also lower mesh count screens are used to try and avoid printing an under- base and flashing. e true result is a too- heavy laydown of ink on the fabric. Mesh count translates to the number of threads per inch. A 160-mesh screen has 160 threads per inch of fabric. In simplest terms, the lower the mesh count, the fewer threads, the more ink will pass through the screen. So instead of a 110-mesh screen, your go-to screen for general use should be in the 160-mesh range. is will give you a more crisp image, and less pickup of ink on subsequent screens when printing multi-color jobs. While there are many mesh counts to choose from, you will likely have four or five different mesh count screens in your inventory. Specialty inks such a puff require a lower mesh such as an 86-mesh. Photographic images using a simulated process will require a 305-mesh for col- ors and a 230-mesh for the white under- base and highlight white. Your particular niche in the marketplace will determine you mesh count inventory. Proper tension Mesh tension is measured in newtons, and tells you how much deflection (give) To speed up setup on the press, place a registration mark center-top and center- bottom of your film positive. S C R E E N P R I N T I N G