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r/SCREENPRINTING•
danDotDev

Screen coating: 1 over 2 vs 2 over 1

I was watching this video on the emulsion I purchased, base layer long lasting: https://youtu.be/e6E1OnSf9Ok

In it, the dude says for water based inks do 2 over 1 and for plastisol do 1 over 2 and doesn't really go any further. I've searched Google and reddit and haven't really come up with a satisfactory answer for what side is which. My assumption is 1 over 2 would mean one coat ink side and two coats shirt side, as on press the ink side would be over the shirt side. Also, on the Squeegee and Ink podcast I've heard a lot about creating a "gasket" between the shirt and screen with emulsion. Am I correct?

TL/DR: would 1 over 2 coats of emulsion mean 1 on the ink side and 2 on the shirt side of the screen?

Posted Apr 17, 2023, 12:07 AM UTC

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dbx999•

I print with both plastisol and waterbased and find that 1 and 1 works fine.

5
rlaureng•

Like u/dbx999, I generally only coat 1x1. Particularly if you don't have a specialized drying cabinet, you might find a screen coated thicker than 1x1 takes a long time to dry.

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Highronymus•

Got the answer in the comments đź‘Ť

“We always start on the substrate or t-shirt side when coating - and finish on the squeegee side of the screen.

So 1x2 or 1 over 2 will be one coat on the T-Shirt side and 2 coats on the squeegee side.

We than rack the screen having it lay flat with the squeegee side facing up. Using fans and a dehumidifier to evaporate all moisture from the emulsion” -Ryonet

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danDotDevOP•

Oh my gosh, I feel dumb now. Thank you so much!!!

2
Highronymus•

We printers learn new stuff every day!

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PleasantCurrant-FAT1•

Not dumb. Good question. I didn’t know. Learned from your question.

1
screenboss55•

We do 1:1 simultaneously for waterbase and 2:1 (front and back simultaneously and final coat squeegee side) for plastisol

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