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DMI is truly an International Screen Printing Institute!
Hi Friends,
My recent houseful workshop had 19 overseas participants (South Africa – 10, Egypt – 5, Japan – 1, Nepal – 2 and Sri Lanka – 1). In all there were 59 participants.
DMI is now truly an international screen printing institute!
There is a saying that sometimes photo speaks more than words. So let me share with you photos of my recent textile workshop.
CLICK HERE AND ENJOY THE PHOTO GALLERY
Have a nice & lazy Sunday…
Bhargav Mistry
DMI’s Creative Calendar – A Master Piece For Every Printer
Hi Friends,
See photos gallery of DMI’s New Luxury & Creative Calendar.
This calendar will be a master piece & reference guide for all Graphic Designers, Screen Printers, Packaging Product Developers and all those who are constantly searching for new innovative ideas in Printing, Packaging, Print Finishing for value addition to make more profits from existing facility.
In this calendar we have printed 23 special effects and combinations of UV Inks, Metallic Inks & Varnishes plus 10 different reflective designs (Micro Embossing Screen Printed).
We have also printed with UV CMYK Inks by Screen Printing using DMI’s new FM Screening Technique on FOIL Laminated Sheets and Special Matt UV White on Black Paper to create and artistic effect on black background.
I am sure you will use this calendar every day in your company for reference and designing purpose. This calendar will surely help you to get new ideas to make better profits.
This calendar was screen printed in my recent workshop and all those 50 lucky participants could see the making of this calendar LIVE.
Plus they could also see and note all the technical informations which I demonstrated during my workshop.
If you wish to earn more and stay ahead in competition than order your copy today.
The calendar can be ordered by sending SMS or WhatsApp on +91 88794 49765
or
You can also email to: sales@graficaindia.com
Don’t forget to subscribe my blog to get regular updates about my workshops and many such technical and informative contents.
You will find this option on the top right and by entering your email id you will automatically receive notifications whenever I post any information on my blog.
Have a creative days ahead and stay in touch.
Bhargav Mistry
DMI to demonstrate 23 NEW Combinations in Print Finishing & Special Effects
Hi Friends,
If you are a packaging product developer or a graphic designer who are constantly searching for new ideas / innovative concepts in Printing & Packaging, then my upcoming workshop on 12-13-14 June 2017 on Graphics, Print Finishing, Special Effect, and Value Addition would be the most important event of this year for you.
Because in this workshop, I will be demonstrating for the first time, 23 New Creative Ideas in Print Finishing & Special Effects for value addition on your offset and screen printed jobs.
To demonstrate all these 23 effects in just 3 days, I have prepared more than 40+ Screens of different mesh count and thread diameters. Even more than 18 to 20 types of special effects UV Inks / Solvent Inks / Metallic Inks / Pearl Inks / Spot Colour Inks and Varnishes will be used in different combinations to create dramatic effects on offset and screen printed jobs on various substrates like paper and foil laminated sheets.
For the first time in DMI, I will be demonstrating how to create amazing ‘Black and White’ effect, screen printed on black paper with complex foiling technique without using any kind of dies or templates.
Moreover, I will also be teaching monitor calibration, colour management system and software, digital proofing with proof certification, plus stochastic screening techniques to produce MOIRE FREE digital-like quality prints with traditional screen printing process. EVERYTHING LIVE!
And I will be showing many new tools and software which will speed up your selection of any complex images to create special effect on selective areas.
Today, all the screen and offset printers are constantly searching for new ideas and innovative concepts which can create three dimensional effects on two dimensional prints. Let me tell you that currently screen printing is the only process which can produce that third dimension effect with minimum investments and maximum returns.
As such, I am proud to say that DMI is the only institute in the world where you get to learn print finishing and special effects on screen/offset/packaging and also textile screen printing.
Currently my forthcoming workshop in June’17 is overbooked and we have closed the registration. However, if you are in the process of creating or developing new packaging products, brochure, catalogues, books, diaries, flyers, invitation cards, calendars, posters or any type of exclusive graphic prints for your customer, then do visit DMI soon. You will be able to see many new creative samples on display at DMI’s sample gallery. This will help you in your designing and can save you lot of money.
If you wish to see how to print all these new special effects LIVE, then do subscribe to my Blog (www.bhargav.com) because soon I shall be announcing my next workshop dates on graphics and value addition.
Believe me, only within a week DMI workshops gets completely booked. So, once I announce the next dates, do register quickly before we close the registration.
In the mean time enjoy the monsoon season ahead!
Bhargav Mistry
Technical Tips on Screen Printing by Bhargav Mistry, DMI – #6
Tips on squeegee blade (squeegee rubber)
- Maintain a reasonable gap between the squeegee edge and inside of frame
- Short gap will negatively affect print quality, performance, uniformity of ink deposit; and it also shortens the life of stencil, fabric & squeegee
- Squeegee should be only 2” bigger than the print area i.e. for printing 30” wide squeegee should be 32” only
- Keep ends of the squeegee rounded to get good registration and uniform ink deposit
- Always maintain sharp squeegee while printing and use squeegee sharpener regularly.
- Storage of squeegees is also very important. Its advisable to store the squeegees vertically (squeegee rubber side up) and ensure no objects are in contact during storage.
- Good air circulation is also recommended to keep the squeegee dry after cleaning with solvents.
- Do not use aggressive solvents to clean the squeegees
- Do not wipe the ink from the squeegee after printing with any sharp metal or hard materials. This can damage the squeegee edge.
- Do not print squeegees with one edge for longer period always use both edges after few hours or impressions to maintain the edge sharpness and parallelism
Finally I would to remind you to register for my next Graphics workshop schedule in June 12 to 14, 2017.
This time you will learn all about linearisation right from pre-press to screen making to screen printing including colour management system, digital workflow, ICC profiling and digital proofing on Inkjet Printer before final screen printing. Everything will be displayed live.
Plus for the first time you will also learn all about Monitor Calibration, Digital Proofing & Certification.
Enjoy and have a nice weekend.
Bhargav Mistry
Technical Tips on Screen Printing by Bhargav Mistry, DMI – #5
Screen Dryer
Q – Why is my direct emulsion stencil breaking down during printing?
Underexposure (the most common cause of stencil failure)
Use an exposure calculator to determine proper exposure time.
Screen not fully dry before exposing
Use proper screen dryer after coating emulsion and give enough time to dry before exposing.
Screen not fully dry before printing
After developing let the water to completely evaporate before sending the screen for production. If possible keep screen in dryer for min 20 mins @40℃ after developing
Emulsion Coating Machine & Screen Dyer
Coating technique
Too many coats (wet-on-wet) will increase the emulsion build up drastically and slow down emulsion dry. Reduce number of coats (wet-on-wet).
Improper handling
Use yellow safelights. Insufficient degreasing or degreased screen must have been touch by naked hands/fingers.
Screen Tension too low
Use the screen tension recommended by the mesh manufacturer.
Emulsion thickness too low
Ensure that the emulsion build up is proper apply multiple coats or emulsion solid content too low.
Emulsion not compatible with Inks
Use water resistant emulsion for Water based Inks and use Solvent Resistant Emulsion for Solvent Based Inks.
Too much squeegee pressure
Reduce squeegee pressure and reduce off-contact distance (distance between screen mesh and substrate). To high off-contact also increases squeegee pressure.
Screen is clean to often
Do not let the ink dry in the screen. Flood/Fill the mesh after each print stroke. Do not use fans on the top of the print area. Use less aggressive solvents to clean the screen. If the ink is becoming too tacky this can also lead to emulsion break down. Use screen hardeners to increase the resistance and durability of the emulsion.
Emulsion not stored properly or outdated
Always store the liquid emulsion in a refrigerator temperature between 20℃ to 23℃. Write the date on the can after sensitised. Dual Cure Emulsion has to be consumed within 1 to 3 months depending on storage and manufacturer. Single Component ready to use emulsions generally last for 6 months to 1 year depending on storage and manufacturer.
Improper sensitizing
Ensure that diazo is thoroughly mixed into the added water, and then into the emulsion. Use only recommended amount of diazo. Always stir diazo in the emulsion very slowly and use only after one over night or 12 hours after mixing.
Upcoming DMI Workshop on Commercial, Graphics, Industrial, Packaging, Print Finishing & Special Effects Screen Printing
I am excited to announce about my upcoming workshop on GRAPHICS, INDUSTRIAL, PACKAGING, PRINT FINISHING & SPECIAL EFFECTS SCREEN PRINTING application on:
12 – 13 – 14 June 2017
DMI has successfully completed 10 years in 2016 and all these years whenever we conduct any workshop our challenge was always to demonstrate new and latest techniques which should be way ahead in all terms.
Click here to watch DMI’s 10 years of innovative journey
In the past I had demonstrated many innovative techniques live at DMI. Here are few important ones:
Micro Embossing also known as Refractive Designs by screen printing
Special Effects Inks & Varnish on packaging & commercial printing
ICC Profiling and colour management system in screen-printing
Art/Serigraphy screen-printing
Demonstrated process colour screen-printing on various rigid substrates
2nd Generation FM Screening in graphics & textile screen printing
So in my upcoming workshop you will learn 10 new and improved techniques:
- Now a days in DMI we say “Once upon a time there was a moire in screen printing”, yes its true. Since 2015 we have completely stopped teaching/demonstrating traditional halftone technology because that’s one of the main reason why we get Moire problems in screen printing. At DMI we believe halftone printing is an outdated technology in certain areas and applications like advertising, poster, signage, garments & textile printing and some industrial printing applications where you want to achieve smooth gradients without MOIRE.So welcome to the world of DMI and learn how to print Stochastic Dots (2nd generation FM Screening), an alternative solution to achieve MOIRE FREE SCREEN PRINTING. With this technique it will be difficult for you to differentiate the printed job whether its screen or digital printing. Now with 2nd generation FM Screening you can achieve digital like quality through screen printing. A complete workflow right from designing to screen making to printing will be demonstrated to achieve this result.
- ICC Profiles & Workflow from artwork/designing to final PDF. What are the important criteria and settings to make a proper PDF file for printing.
- Practical demonstration & workflow how to linearise Positives, Screen Making & Screen Printing Press.
- Practical demonstration how to create your own ICC Profiles for your inks and printers.
- For the first time we shall display LIVE how to CALIBRATE and VALIDATE Monitor and Printer so that “WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET” (WYSIWYG)
- Learn all about digital proofing & validation of the proofs in details. This is a very helpful topics for designers and all kind of printers who outsource their jobs and even who has in-house printing. The challenge every printer or designer faces today is standardisation and repetition accuracy of jobs e.g. if one particular PDF file is given to 10 different printers, even if they all use same machines, screen or plates in case of offset printer, paper and inks still all those 10 printers will produce different colours. The main reason behind this is lack of knowledge and understanding of Colour Management System. So you will learn all this in details to achieve perfection.
- Introducing for the first time in DMI, non PVC BASED, ECO-FRIENDLY water based inks for GREEN SOLUTIONS/APPLICATIONS. Water based inks can be also used in various products and application such as packaging, wedding cards, paper bags, cotton bags, serigraphy/art screen printing etc. etc…
-
Serigraphy/Art screen printing on hand made papers using water based inks.
- Learn productive and ideas and techniques to improve your printing quality.
- Introducing new special effects UV inks & varnish and how to apply foil on selective areas without foil stamping machine.
The workshop registration is open.
Important Note: After receiving registration for this workshop we will be screening each participants to qualify for this workshop.
There is one exciting offer specially received to DMI which I will be announcing soon.
So till that time enjoy and keep in touch.
Bhargav Mistry
Technical Tips by Michel Caza #4
Q – Why my UV inks break when I cut, fold or die-cut paper, board after printing ?
The main reason for that is an over curing of the UV inks.
There are three main secrets for a successful UV inks curing :
- Print as thin ink coat as possible.
- Avoid absolutely “over-curing”.
- Take care of “post-curing”.
To respect those two items, the mistakes to avoid are the following:
Wrong choice of fabrics for the screen. In UV , the totality of ink leaving the screen remains intact on the substrate : no evaporation of water or solvent.
50% of the ink thickness is related to the fabric. Use finer fabrics, from 140/cm to 180/cm, 27 to 33 µ threads. Or, even better when available “calendared meshes”. Calendared side on squeegee side reduces the ink coat of 25%. (Exceptions can be made for some special effects).
Calendared Mesh
Poor tension of the fabric:
It’s even more critical with UV inks. Don’t print if your screen tension is below 22 Newton/inch. Best is between 25 and 32 Newton/inch.
Too thick emulsion coating:
Use on single coat of emulsion (substrate side) or 1 than Dry plus 1 more and Dry again.
Image Courtesy – Fimor France
Too soft or rounded squeegee rubber : it increases the surface of the ink transfer.
Use 75° or 85° shore hard squeegee rubber. The best for UV Inks is to use triple shore 75/90/75° shore hard. Very well sharpened.
Too thick flood bars.
1 or 2 mm rounded aluminium to be replaced by 500µ blue steel blade (very well and “sweet” sharpened of course). The flood bars determinate widely the thickness of ink deposit. For best result use angled floor bars.
Too thick ink coat deposited on the screen by the flood-coater : simply fill the fabric, no more.
These angled flood bars with sharp hardened Stainless Steel Blade is very useful for printing fine lines & halftones thus it also reduces ink thickness.
Too much pressure on the squeegee = bending of blade, too large ink transfer surface = more ink on the substrate. Use “kiss printing” with a low off-contact distance : max. 2 mm.
Squeegee angle between 10° to 15° angle. Too much low squeegee angle will increase ink thickness drastically.
All this leads to a too thick ink deposit, bringing the necessity for the printer to increase the UV curing : increasing the power of the lamp and/or reducing the speed of the belt of the UV dryer.
This, added to a natural tendency of the printer to be afraid of “not be “dry” enough” causes an over curing of the ink.
This over-curing is the key of the problem. It must absolutely be avoided.
Logically, a thinner coat of ink needs a faster curing with less power. Why is over-curing so damageable ?
That’s a classical physical-chemical issue : the number of molecular links increases drastically and the tighter those links, the harder becomes the structure of the newly created polymer and its suppleness reduces…. and it becomes more or less highly “breakable” with many types of UV inks.
Then the shock when cutting or folding the printed substrate engenders breaks in the ink coat. It can even also engender difficulties of inter-coat adhesion of inks.
Then, there is the last bad point : the printer forget the “post-curing” of the ink.
Don’t believe that when the print leaves the curing unit, the polymerization (or curing) stops.
Any reaction of polymerisation initiated by a chemical catalyst or by heat, or by UV keeps going during 24 to 48 hours after the printed sheet left the curing unit. Then, if the curing was at its maximum (at the supposed satisfaction of the printer), the molecular structure will become tighter and tighter and the ink of course more “breakable”.
You must simply cure enough to harden the surface of the ink (for easy pilling) and leave the undercoat less cured. A trick : use your nail to scrap the surface. You must have light traces of wet ink under your nail. Try again same place the day after and you will find the ink “hard at heart”. This mean that the polymerisation has finished naturally with the post-curing. Then the UV ink keeps its suppleness.
Wishing all my friends in India. Happy Holi…
Michel Caza
Bhargav Mistry
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