That 30 minute hack for fixing stretched out screens on a t-shirt

I kept getting these print jobs where the screen mesh would get loose after a few uses, especially on detailed stuff. A guy at the shop in Nashville told me to hit it with a hair dryer on high for like 30 seconds before taping it down. Sounds dumb, but it actually tightens the mesh up enough to get another 50 prints out of it. Anyone else got a quick fix like this for keeping screens from sagging?

2 comments

2 Comments

emmar7525d ago

Funny you mention the hair dryer trick because my first attempt at that ended with me melting the tape right off and the screen sagging worse than before. I set it on high and held it too close for like a solid minute like an idiot. The adhesive from the tape just turned into a sticky mess on the mesh. Took me another 20 prints to realize you gotta use a low heat setting and keep the dryer moving or you'll ruin it. Pretty sure that shop guy was laughing at me when he suggested it.

ray21024d ago

Huh, that's interesting you mentioned the low heat thing. Did you find that the brand of tape makes a difference too, or is the technique more important than the material? I've been using the same roll of blue painter's tape for everything but now I'm wondering if there's something better out there for this specific trick.