Let’s face it. There are a lot of jokers out there calling themselves web developers. (You know at least on joker calling himself a screen printer!). You know me by now if you’ve spent any time on the site. I’m cheap. Really cheap. However, I would never sacrifice quality for the sake of saving a few dollars. That would defeat the purpose. The problem is that a truly “professional” web site is pretty darned expensive, and yet a professional, modern appearance on the web is not just a good idea - these days it is vital – especially to us, the small time screen printer.

So, you might be asking “how do I bridge the gap between quality and price?” Continue reading →

Not for the Faint of Heart. Not for the Start-Up, Newbie Screen Printer.

This is the first and only screen printing press I have ever owned. I have grown to love it, in spite of it’s many flaws. If I had it to do over again this is probably not the press I would have bought, nevertheless, since I invested deep, deep, deep into this particular machine, it became incumbent upon me to learn it’s many nuances, and flaws, and then workaround them.

Most of them, I eventually discovered, came from many of my own shortcomings, along with a few flawed misconceptions on my part. Some of the problems, however, reside solely in the heart of this machine, which in my opinion, while mechanically sound, could have undergone a few more years of R&D before it was sold with such hype, Continue reading →

We’ve heard of Handmade Screen Presses, but how about Handmade Heat Presses?? What world are we on? How did this happen? Am I still asleep? How can a handmade heat press even be possible? It sounds like an electrical nightmare. Doesn’t this stuff have to be vetted by the UL certification process? Are these the descendants of the aliens who built the pyramids??

Possibly.

Anyway. It’s called the Monkey Press and it is an outstanding piece of handiwork. As an added benefit, for about $500 less than you’ll pay for a standard Hicks Press you can get a Monkey Press which works just as well for about $200 after shipping.

The heating platen (genius) is made from a flat griddle (used for cooking grilled cheeses for my daughter) which you can purchase from Walmart. It can heat up to about 450 degrees, and is 10″x15″ which will meet most of your needs.

It comes in four flavors, with the low end starting around $149.00, and the biggest press coming at around $220.00 before shipping. There’s also a version which doesn’t come with the locking cam, which means that you’ll have to brute-force the pressure onto the shirts yourself. This is fine if you’re strong and/or fat. Not so great if you’re scrawny (and fat) like me. Spend the extra $20 for the locking cam.

They sell their presses almost exclusively on Ebay. Here’s the link. Click on their profile and read the FAQ. It’s priceless, and one of the reasons I love these guys so much.

Check Out the Monkey Press.

I know what you’re thinking. If this chemical isn’t strong enough to kill my daughter from one accidental sip, then it isn’t strong enough to take emulsion off of my screen. What red-blooded American doesn’t first reach for the harshest chemicals on the shelf? I know I do.

Let’s get something straight: I’m not green. I think hybrid cars are a waste of time in terms of how they protect the environment. The gas they don’t use still gets sold. Still gets burned. Still pollutes as though it the green-car never existed. That said. I’d still like to have one, if for no other reason than I’m going to have to take out a mortgage on my home to pay for passage to and from church on Sundays. I suppose we could leave our five year old daughter home alone - she is getting to be such a big, and costly-to-transport child. But then social services probably wouldn’t approve.

So, I read about Franmar. Turned my nose up to it figuring that anything which can’t strip the lining of my esophagus proper, isn’t worth stripping a screen, never-the-less I swallowed my ungreen pride and gave it a try. Hey, I love my daughter. Even if it works marginally. It’s better than the risk of her swallowing a mouthful of Rhino Chem.

The trial kit comes nicely packaged with all sorts of goodies inside, including an instructional DVD (non-Blu_ray) of what has to be one of the most sickeningly charming people on the face of the planet. He’s either this happy all the time, or he’s just a darn good salesman. After watching him “magically” remove the ink and emulsions from the screens I decided to give it a try - about three months later when my screen wash tank went dead. (The water is bright purple with emulsion. Did I mention that you’re not supposed to let the emulsion drip off the screen? There’s a deposit on the bottom of my tank about 8 inches deep.)

Reluctantly, I sprayed on the Strip-e-doo. Three minutes later my fricken’ screen was clean! Strip-e-doo is the best emulsion remover I have ever used. Hands down. You’ll find no affiliate links (yet) on this site to Franmar. I’m not a paid advertiser. This stuff is just plain awesome. It has the added benefit of being unable to kill my daughter - even in vast quantities. It’s soybean based.

This prompted me to try the other stuff, including the Ikee-Stickee-Unstuck which is the best all purpose cleaner I’ve ever used! The Inky Dinky Doo is an excellent ink remover, and also, I’m not sure if Franmar knows this or not. It’s a pretty good spot cleaner! I loaded some into an extra spot gun and it blasted the the ink out like a champ!

I can’t say enough about Bean-e-do, and the other ink degradients. They’re quite simply the most awesome product line that I have ever used.

The D-hazer, and D-grease serve admirably given their simple tasks, partnered with the exceptional performance of the rest of the Franmar screen cleaning, and reclamation line. I’m blown away. Just completely blown away.

Warning! Do not drink any of the Franmar products. Inability to kill your daughter has no bearing on good taste - and this stuff tastes awful.