| If you have been experimenting with the Yudu | | | | squeegees, including handle characteristics, blade |
| Personal Screen Printing Machine by Provocraft, you | | | | structure, and composition, my main point has to do |
| may have run into several problems when trying to | | | | with flexibility. Since the Yudu is designed for manual |
| print your images on Tshirts. One such problem is | | | | screenprinting, and it is for general purpose use, let's |
| getting thin lines or small type to come out right. | | | | examine what makes a decently flexible |
| Here are 3 of the biggest factors making it difficult to | | | | most-purpose squeegee. |
| get fine details with out-of-the-box Yudu screens: | | | | The flexibility of a squeegee is known as durometer. |
| 1. The mesh of the out-of-the-box screen itself is | | | | Most suppliers carry three durometers of blade, a soft |
| simply too low resolution to hold the image. (Although, | | | | (60 durometer), a medium (70), and a hard (80-90). |
| now the 220 mesh screen may be available a la | | | | While the softer is used for laying down a larger |
| carte.) | | | | volume of ink, the harder varieties are used to achieve |
| 2. The squeegee used to pull the ink is poor quality. | | | | more detail and also for depositing a thinner layer of |
| 3. The frame of the screen is too flimsy to hold | | | | ink. |
| adequate screen tension. | | | | If you want to push most general purpose inks through |
| Most screen printers use one of three mesh counts: a | | | | a screen holding most general purpose images, the |
| low resolution, a medium, and a high. | | | | medium, 70 durometer, is your best choice. What |
| Low resolution, around 110 mesh, is used for thick inks, | | | | durometer is the Yudu squeegee? Provocraft doesn't |
| light colored inks (like white and athletic gold), and for | | | | say, it's a lot less than 70. |
| low detail prints. Their wider screen holes are easier to | | | | But even if you re-stretched the screen with 160 mesh |
| get thick ink through. The mesh is also less expensive | | | | and used a professional squeegee, there is still another |
| than the higher resolution kind. | | | | problem with the Yudu screen: screen tension. |
| Medium resolution, around 160 mesh, is good for | | | | Lower tension screens make for smeary imprints and |
| smaller type (down to about 12 point) and thinner lines | | | | lower quality images. Lower tensioned screens lead to |
| (down to about 1 point). If you have a good method for | | | | a variety of screen printing issues because the mesh |
| making your stencils or a good screen exposure | | | | snags and drags along with the squeegee when |
| system, the medium resolution screen can serve | | | | you're printing. Even if the screen has a good stencil |
| most-purposes. | | | | with thin lines, the line becomes smeared when the |
| Higher resolution screens range from around 190 and | | | | squeegee drags it along, making it blurry. |
| go up. They are able to capture very thin lines and | | | | How good is the tension on the Yudu screen? |
| small dots, and when used in conjunction with | | | | Abysmal. |
| automatic screen printing presses, can even achieve | | | | Given the limitations with the Yudu Personal Screen |
| photographic quality images. | | | | Printing Machine, you may wish to limit the types of |
| So what kind of screen comes with the Yudu? Not a | | | | prints you try. You may want to stick to thick lines (3 |
| medium resolution, but a low resolution mesh count, a | | | | points or more) and large typefaces (20 point and up) |
| 110. Even if the screen was perfect in every other | | | | in your designs. You might also upgrade the squeegee. |
| way, a 110 mesh simply does not hold thin lines and | | | | While your results will vary according to your skill level, |
| small type. | | | | you should improve your prints. If you find the Yudu's |
| Like screen meshes, squeegee blades also come in a | | | | limitations unacceptable, you may wish to use a |
| variety of types. While there are many aspects of | | | | different system with more versatility. |