The best decision I ever made

Here's a bit of what I've discovered over the last 10 years. I made a conscious decision to start using waterbase for art prints after we used them for various commercial jobs at the request of a few clients back when I had a large commercial operation, and it was the best decision I ever made. Not the easiest, mind you, but once you learn the rules that govern the waterbase inks, what works and what doesn't, it's great.

Waterbase inks come in a number of formulations from a number of manufacturers. Some of the commercial waterbase inks have more of a gloss to give them a better life outdoors when used on posters or plastics or other materials. These are usable for art printing, but from an asthetic point of view, many artists might want to look a bit further. For art printing, you want a flat look, and you also don't want a gloss buildup as more inks are laid down. I use TW 5000 flat. I've seen good finish results from Speedball, and I know there are a few 'artprinting' inks where you add colour to base that finish up with a flat or satin look. You just have to look around and sample a few. What you really want is an ink that will perform well in your shop environment - i.e. not dry in the screen, print fine detail, and comes with proper additives to allow you to adjust viscosity, opacity, etc. (See my Virtual Screenprinting Course Chpt. 5.)

Don't Be Seduced by a Bargain

Probably the best characteristic in an ink is having a dealer close by! Don't buy based on price unless you have no choice. Cheaper inks are ground less fine, and clog the screens. In the overall picture, the cost of the ink on a print is the smallest cost of any item in the whole screen printing process. Use the best you can possibly afford. The main problem with waterbase is making sure the stencil is properly made and exposed, especially if you are pulling longer runs. A diazo- based or dual cure emulsion rated for waterbase is recommended. (Autotype 8000 plus, Murikami 9500, there are lots...)

The stencil must be coated onto a properly degreased and cleaned screen. I use 230-280 mesh for good ink coverage on rougher art papers - any higher and you can't get enough ink coverage, any coarser and too much ink bleeds or sawtoothing occurs. Then dry the stencil for a minimum 3 hrs with heat if neccessary to drive the relative humidity below 50%. This allows the stencil to dry completely and set all the way through. Do not rush this stage, or you will regret it later. The exposure must be adequate (fully exposed, use an exposure calculator to determine proper time). If you underexpose, unexposed stencil scum on the top side will be re-wet by the inks and clog your openings. I like to post expose after washout - throw the screen into direct sunlight and lock the stencil in.

Paper buckling?

Buckling of paper is an issue, because it looks bad when you start, but... Try and use a good quality thicker rag paper. Let the paper aclimatize on the racks overnight if you open a fresh package. I put down a flood seal coat the size of the image made from clear and white. When you first print, the paper goes a bit wavey, but after it dries, unrack and stack it and then weight it down with a flat board on top. It will straighten out. Repeat the unrack and stack with weight over the entire print run, and you'll find it soon goes dead flat. The flood coat helps seal the paper, the ensuing inks print better detail because the tooth of the paper gets filled a bit, and after a while the paper isn't touched by layers of ink, so it doesn't go floppy from the wet.

Printing solvent-based inks through essentially a water-soluble stencil is child's play, because you can screw up all over but the ink won't attack the stencil. (water resists oil). If you've been printing a long time, old habits die hard... just don't expect the waterbase and stencils to perform exactly like solvent -based materials. That's the key to making it work: learn some new methods!

Live Better, Live Longer!

Waterbase makes for a pleasant printing environment, especially if you are highballing and need to go for long periods. Where I used to be too whacked to spend more than a few hours at a time printing (because of the fumes, even with a mask) with waterbase I can put in 10 or 12 hours or more. I may get tired, but I don't keel over from solvents. Artists working with me in the studio like it because they can't stand the smell of solvent inks after a while. I fried my smell years ago, but I noticed it really bothers "normal" people.

I save money because I don't need solvents for clean-up, or bags of rags. I've used the same 3 sponges for clean-up for 5 years now. I thin the inks with water, clean up with water, and reclaim the stencils with far less remover and dehazing paste. One last thing - waterbase inks are thinned down and print better if they are runny - not too runny, or they blur, but thinner than you would run solvent based. Try it, you'll like it.

For print samples and info about studio rental, workshops, or machine sales, explore our website at Squeegeeville.

Andy MacDougall
www.squeegeeville.com
'Squeegee Power!'