Shop Talks: The Screen Room Test You're Not Doing

Most printers blame the ink. The real fixes are cheaper — and most shops skip them. In this Shop Talks on the Fly from the ISS show floor, Michelle Moxley talks with Keith Stevens of International Coatings — 49 years in the trade — about why so many plastisol printers are stuck fighting their inks with too much pressure and too-hard squeegees, and what actually elevates a print. What Keith covers: → Why inks got thicker over the years (chasing cheap opacity) and how creamier, softer inks on higher mesh with more EOM and softer squeegees let you run faster, with less pressure — for better edge definition, more opacity, a softer hand, and more stretch → EOM (emulsion over mesh), the most overlooked variable: mesh is "the jet of the carburetor," emulsion is the carburetor — get enough EOM and you kill the sawtooth on low meshes and control your ink deposit regardless of viscosity → How proper EOM makes fine work possible — he's running 65-line halftones at 330 mesh down to very fine dots, and stopping dots from "becoming stars" under the mesh → The thin-thread mesh trade-off: a thin-thread 330 opens up like a 305 but holds finer dots — yes you break more screens, but the ROI (more shirts shipped, less ink used) is why "the accountant shouldn't be allowed in the ink room" → The EOM gauge on Amazon that almost nobody buys — and why he keeps one in his bag → Film and screen-room control: make your films as opaque as possible, then dial exposure — and the dark-room test (stand in the dark 5–10 minutes, or leave a quarter on a screen overnight) to expose hidden light contamination, sealed up with black gaff tape → Why white is the gateway to high-density and special effects — master a clean white, dark films, and a dark room, and HD stops being a leap → His closing advice: YouTube's fine at 2 a.m., but call your ink, emulsion, and supply sources first — they're paid to support you, so use your network The throughline: you don't need a new machine to level up — back off the pressure, use the full squeegee range, measure your EOM, and control your screen room. 🎥 New decorating insights every week from the Ink Kitchen. 👉 Subscribe so you don't miss the next one! Shop Talk is a creation of the Ink Kitchen 🎥 More free info at: http://inkkitchen.com    / @inkkitchen