Q&A:
Q: How does Smilin’ Jack™ work?
A: T-Shirt screens are like trampolines—springier in the center, tighter at the edges. So the screen-mesh would prefer a curved blade, but the platen needs a flat blade, add ‘em together and they equal “the smile” [the articulated hinge]. Because the resistance of the mesh is much higher at the edges, traditional blades buckle, buckled blades; 1) demand more pressure which 2) forces a slower stroke speed which in turn 3) prevents matte-down [opaque white] AND penetration [soft hand], 4) it leaves a rough printed image which is 5) stretched in the stroke direction. Smilin’ Jack™ flexes WITHOUT buckling, 8-times more at the ends than at the middle to seamlessly fit the “trampoline-shape” of any and all screens.
Q: How much does Smilin' Jack™ cost?
A: Typically less than 1/10¢ per printed shirt. If we compare it to ink costs; 5¢ to 25¢ per shirt [ink: 50x to 250x the cost of SJT] or the cost of press time; 35¢ to 85¢ per shirt [time: 350x to 850x the cost of SJT]. SJT reduces ink cost per shirt, extends screen life, reduces stoppage and rejection and allows faster cycle rates. Now you can invest $56 [for a 16” blade] and save thousands of dollars on press.
Q: What will I get for my investment in SJT or DJT?
A: Most of our customers tell us the ROI [Return on Investment] is less than a day due to efficiencies in set-up, time-to-color, cycle-rate, stoppage and wasted goods. SJT doesn’t drag across the mesh so the image stays in shape and registration and set-up time is abbreviated by at least 25%. The worst time waster on press is time-to-color, SJT balances ink volume delivered with the wet-film thickness demanded by the mesh and garment, you can print flaw-free and hit color in about half the time. SJT will allow you to print at maximum press speed, precisely fill the mesh, transfer and release the screen without sticking, estimate at least a 10% increase in speed. SJt virtually eliminates stoppage [except lint] so estimate a 75% savings with less interruptive downtime. As for scrap rate; SJT saves, stencil breakdown, screen “pops” ink cost per shirt and a whole lot of ruined garments.
Q: So what's Smilin' Jack™ going to do for me?
A: Virtually all of our customers report real improvements in quality and at higher output but there are two inevitable benefits to SJT technology; PREDICTABILITY & CONSISTENCY. Imagine knowing the answer to three questions; 1) “How long it will take to go from make-ready and get into production?” 2) “When will we finish the order?” And 3) “Will every shirt look the same?” SJT & DJT use a unique method of ink transfer which eliminates most of the “research” on press, increases cycle rates and virtually eliminates stoppage and eliminates variance center-to-edge and shirt-to-shirt.
Q: What durometer is SJ...Dr.J?
A: Smilin’ Jack™ doesn’t rely solely on durometer [always the case with old-fashioned blades] because duro changes with age, use, heat, along the lengths of blade and from side-to-side. SJT balances flex of the blade to fit your screen mesh. However since SJ removes material he can use harder blades, and control the flex with the “smile”—you win two ways; a longer lasting blade which pampers the mesh and the stencil. DJT [blue] is an 80 Shore-A and SJT [red] is an 85 Shore-A. The tolerance is +3/-2 [Shore-A scale] on all SJ blades.
Q: How long will these blades last?
A: Smilin’ Jack outlasts all other blades; at maximum quality and maximum output our customers invariably report at least 6 months of operation. There are three secrets to the longer life of SJT and DJT; 1) We use ONLY ester-based MdI [polyurethane] for maximum chemical resistance 2) We print with less pressure than all other blades [therefore less abrasion] and 3) our blades don’t buckle and this doubles the life at top performance.
Q: Can I get other durometer blades with SJ technology?
A: We manufacture bi-axial, hi-shear blades for printing electronics, adhesives, thick films, CMYK up to 105” long in various polymers and profiles so we are always open to suggestions. The only reason we build the best blades on the market is due our action taken directly from customer feedback. SJT, DJT and MNY were developed explicitly for T-Shirt printing and the press operators feel they are undoubtedly the best, but PLEASE let us know if you can help us make an ever better blade?
Q: Which edge do I print with?
A: This may be the best part…our blades print BOTH sides! SJT is a min/max blade; the bevel delivers the maximum ink [opacity] while the square side delivers the minimum ink [soft hand]. DJT is a med+/med- blade; the bevel delivers more color, the square edge delivers less; it is perfect for “tweaking” colors. Rule of thumb; for meshes from 40/in to 110/in we suggest the beveled side of SJT or SJT. For meshes from 125 to 330 the square edge is the default.
Q: But can it be sharpened?
A: Absolutely on all commercial sharpeners; 1) straight-edge or circular slicers will return the 50m factory edge 2) sanders and large diameter grinders should use a 350 grit for a quality edge [~100m]. However the best edge for superb matte-down [opaques] and penetration [soft-hand] is with the 50m factory edge. Tip: 1) allow the cleaned blade to rest overnight, then 2) use 600 grit emery cloth [black grit] and WD-40. 3) Adhere the 600 grit to a flat surface [IE: float glass] with removable spray-tack. 4) Mist the cloth NOT THE BLADE with Wd-40 and wet-polish the edge as you would run a wood plane across a board. In minutes you have a rejuvenated edge for maximum quality and output. Finally sharpen regularly for use on meshes between 280 and 420, periodically for meshes 110 to 280 and don’t bother sharpening for 30 to 95 meshes.
Q: What do you mean "bi-axial"?
A: Bi-axial means; “sensitive to the resistance of the mesh in BOTH axes; the stroke direction and the perpendicular direction”. Old-fashioned soft blades buckle and blur, old-fashioned hard blades accentuate the difference in center-to-edge deposit and quickly “pop” screens. SJ conforms by flexing to fit the mesh at all points on the image. The “smile” [articulated hinge] is based on: the smallest frame dimension, the maximum image size, the lowest tension and the highest off-contact distance---every other scenario is so much easier.
Q: What makes SJT and DJT go so much faster?
A: SJ answers “the need for speed” because quite simply he doesn’t buckle! Buckling broadcasts or splashes the ink and leads to blurring; it also throttles the volume of opaque inks leaving a rough surface while stretching the image. The key to speed is to make a tight upper seal [between blade & mesh] with minimum pressure. To make an IMMEDIATE lower seal with a near-zero initial angle and to run fast flood & print strokes for matte-down [white] and penetration [soft-hand]. To print the highest image quality with ANY ink on ANY mesh run; minimum initial angle, minimum pressure and maximum stroke speed with SJT and DJT.
Q: Will your blades work on water-based?
A: Absolutely! Water-based; there are three general types; 1) traditional inks 2) high-solids acrylics and 2) rubberized. When printing with the most popular traditional water-based inks DJT delivers saturated and homogenous large solids and the resolution is crisp without variance [because it runs near the zero-angle]. The high-solids acrylics are thick and sticky and subject to varying deposits across the blade but not with DJT [overprint colors] or SJT [highest opacity] and both [due to the smile] will make flashing much easier. The rubberized are fairly low viscosity fluids but they are tacky [like bee’s honey] and heed hi-shear [stroke speed per mesh] in order to release the mesh and provide matte-down with a smooth surface finish.
Q: Will your blades work on discharge?
A: Uniquely! Discharge; water-based inks are readily absorbed by 100% cotton but don’t fare so well on synthetics [due to their acidity [high pH]. For the finest of detail select SJT and use the square edge [backside] for uninterrupted, saturated solids, use either edge of DJT [square for less ink / bevel for slightly more]. The beauty of our blades is they permit MAXIMUM stroke speeds, this is the secret to penetration; better “bleaching”, softer hand and higher output for two reasons; 1) sharper edge evacuates the cells every pass 2) faster fill speed with DJT to eliminate color variance recovery lag and 3) the high speed of DJT and SJT flush the cells out of the cells of the mesh every pass. You’ll experience; way less wiping, increased stencil life and unsurpassed consistency when you use hi-shear blades for discharge.
Q: Why is "zero-angle" an important goal?
A: All traditional blades [soft, hard, doubles & triples] require EXCESS initial angle in order to print. This means [metaphorically] the load [squeegee pressure] is at midnight and the edge is either at 3:00 o’clock or 9:00 o’clock and several things happen: 1) This setting creates a weak upper seal which requires MORE pressure and creates screen-stretch, at times even enough to deflect the platens 2) The contact between blade and mesh is too large, this creates BOTH wet artifacts; [blurring, orange-peel, mottling and dot gain ETC] and dry artifacts; [saw-tooth, mesh-marks, blotchiness, piling & skipping ETC]. 3) Angling, compensating pressure and buckling also cause screen stretch. 4) Finally the ink is transferred and long afterward the edge arrives to make a late lower seal this is what’s causing us to; ”stop and wipe”. SJT & DJT run at minimum angles, with minimum pressure at maximum stroke speed.
Q: Can I use your blades for AOP's (All Over Prints)
A: Yes you can! Fitting the blade to the screen is the forte of the only articulated blades and it is never more critical than with a larger screen upon which the image is so close to the edge—it’s nearly impossible to get consistency from enter to edge with a single-axis blade…but not with Smilin’ Jack and Dr. J. For most conditions we will provide our standard 8:1 ratio blade [flexes up to 8-times more at the ends than in the center.
Q: What about SJ & Dr. J on simulated process?
A: We have no competition in achieving top quality halftones, true process and index or simulated process! The key to matte-down and smoothness is speed; use DJT to flood or fill and SJT to print the underbase[s]. For the overprint colors use DJT in FLOAT mode [do not pre-load the cells] and DJT as the print blade as well. Each of our blades runs at or near the “zero-angle” this orientation ensures dot fidelity and consistency throughout the press run. Also old-fashioned blades print short-fat dots at the edges and tall-skinny dots at the center of the screen and there is NO SOFTWARE in the world which will make up for an inconsistent dot, SJT and DJT print accurate dots on all points of the image!
Q: How do they print white inks?
A: SJT & DJT team up to print the ultimate white inks, use DJT in pre-load mode at zero angle, with the beveled edge at maximum speed to partially fill the cells of the mesh. [Note: if your white ink does not flood easily and allow pre-load, let us tell you about Ryonet White. Then load the beveled edge of SJT into the print position between zero and five degrees and maximum speed. In fewer passes, you will get the best matte-down and the smoothest print at minimal pressure without screen stretch.
Q: How do I intergrate SJ into my shop?
A: SJT and DJT outperform all other blades however they run “opposite” all other blades with less angling, less pressure and more speed. Our customers tell us to dedicate one press for one week and use SJT and DJT exclusively, once this press has proven to out-print all others with higher quality images, continue to convert all other presses. Learn More Presentation PDF
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