There are different types of film even coming from one manufacturer. Each has specific properties for specific purposes. You definitely get what you pay for in regard to film selection. It costs just a little more to get a superior film. The print result is consistently better. Always choose the best film possible because the film is what dictates the quality of the final screen print. Don’t forget, we are screen printers. If your screens are second rate, then your prints will be too.
Dye film is coated with an emulsion layer intended to fuse with dye ink such as Dmax®. Dye ink is aqueous and therefore requires a specific film coating to work best.
Pigment ink is colorant encapsulated, these capsules require a very different film emulsion coating to adhere to.
If using a pigment style film such as Ulano PIJF (Pigment Inkjet Film) with dye ink, the result will be slow drying, ink puddling and a swelling of the emulsion layer from the polyester film backer that you can see on the backside just after printing. When the emulsion swells because of excess water it separates the emulsion from the polyester backer, this allows the ink to spread (creep) reducing image quality.
Screen printers more often chose to use dye film to achieve greater light-blocking with dye ink and since the dye does not scratch off the film as it does with pigment ink on pigment film, you can benefit from multiple use of films and have less worry while handling your film separations. Use the correct film such as Freehand's DarkStar® with Dmax dye ink for the best result. A proper matching of film and ink makes all the difference.
(c) Freehand Library Article / AccuRIP / Separation Studio NXT / Spot Process / Dmax / Amaze-Ink / DarkStar
Comments
Article is closed for comments.