Screen E-Book (.PDF) - MacDermid Autotype

The Theory Bit20Why is the 1-2-3 so important?Because everything else follows from it.Once you start to think 1-2-3 you start tobe able to analyse your print problemswith precision and clarity. The old wayof thinking which confuses the flood, thesqueegee and the “ink coming out of themesh” has proven hopeless at being ableto pinpoint the cause of a printing problem.I’ve read countless articles in thescreen press that literally make no senseand leave the reader none the wiser. Assoon as you think 1-2-3 all the mysterysimply vanishes.Do you get positive sawtoothing? EasilyexplainedDo you get negative sawtoothing? EasilyexplainedDo you get on-off sawtoothing? Easily explainedDo you get puppy paws? Easily explainedDo you find it impossible to balance dotgain with skipping in 4-colour prints? EasilyexplainedDo you get weird colour shifts in yourprints? Easily explainedDo you get moiré that comes and goes?Easily explainedDo you get thick edges to your printedlines and blocks? Easily explainedDo you get mesh patterning in the solidprints? Easily (and surprisingly) explainedDo you get confused about how to specifya perfect ink? Easily explainedDo you get puzzled about ink slump? EasilyexplainedI’m sorry to bore you with this list. But 1-2-3makes it easy to identify the root cause ofall your problems. It also makes it easy eitherto find a fix for it, or to explain why nofix is possible.This isn’t about clever theory. This is aboutsolving your screen printing problems.That’s why 1-2-3 is important.Anna and David use 1-2-3 all the time intheir problem solving out in the real world.I leave it to them to show it in action witheach of the issues in the list.That’s all the theory you need to know.There are six more optional topics for thosewho really want to know everything.