ScreenPress
The Journal
How Much Ink Do You Actually Need for a Print Run
A practical way to estimate plastisol, water-based, or discharge ink for a job before you mix it — so you don't run short mid-run or over-order and waste money.
Choosing the Right Mesh Count for Your Screen
Mesh count is the single biggest lever in how a screen print turns out. Here's how ink type and design detail should drive the number you pick.
Squeegee Durometer Explained: Soft vs. Firm Blades
Durometer, edge profile, and attack angle all shape how much ink your squeegee lays down. Here's what each choice actually does to your print.
Curing Plastisol Ink the Right Way (Not Just Warming It)
A dryer that's hot enough to touch isn't the same as a print that's actually cured. Here's the difference between set temperature and ink-surface temperature, and how to check your work.
How to Expose a Screen Without Guessing
Exposure time isn't a fixed number — it depends on your lamp's distance and wattage. Here's the physics behind adjusting a known-good exposure to a new setup.
Pricing a T-Shirt Print Job So You Actually Profit
It's easy to price a print job by gut feeling and quietly lose money on it. Here's how to account for setup cost, ink, labor, and overhead so your price actually covers what the job costs.
Plastisol vs. Water-Based vs. Discharge Ink: Which One to Use
Each major screen printing ink chemistry has a different feel, different equipment needs, and different ideal use case. Here's how to choose, with general safety notes for handling each.
Mesh Count by Ink and Detail: The Complete Decision Guide
Eight real ink-and-detail combinations worked through with the actual recommended mesh count and squeegee pairing for each, so picking a screen stops being a guess at a range.
Under- vs. Over-Exposure: How Each One Fails (and How to Fix It)
Two opposite exposure mistakes, worked through with real distance and wattage numbers, so you can tell which one you are looking at and fix the actual cause instead of guessing at more or less time.
How Many Prints a Litre of Ink Actually Yields
Working backward from a container you already have to a real print count, with plastisol, water-based, and discharge ink compared at two common print sizes.
Flash Cure vs. Full Cure: How to Know a Print Is Truly Cured
Flash curing and full curing are not two strengths of the same step. Here is what each one actually does, why a print can look finished and still fail the wash test, and how to check.
Costing a Print Run Properly: Screens, Reclaim, and Waste
The basic setup-ink-labor-garment model misses a few real costs — reclaim chemistry, screen wear, and ink waste — worked through here with actual numbers so they stop hiding in your margin.