It is inevitable that there will be open regions on your screen, which is why screen printers utilize tape of some kind to cover those areas. There are a few different options of tape available from Screen Print Direct®; selecting the one that best suits your needs is most important when choosing the tape you work with. One is not necessarily better than then other.
You can use a R-tape, a tape more similar to a scotch tape to cover your open areas or you can use a liquid tape that hardens and blocks holes. First we will discuss these different tapes pros and cons and then give you our personal insight.
R-TapeThe traditional tape that more closely resembles a scotch tape is called R-Tape. R-Tape is long-lasting, resistant to solvents, and removes cleanly.
PROS
Leaves no residue
Solvent resistant
Very durable
CONS
Must peel off screen once finished using
Need to cut the tape to the appropriate length
The peeled off tape ends up in the trash, making it not as eco-friendly
Then we have liquid tape. Liquid tape is first a liquid that is poured out and then evenly spread across the open areas of your screen. Once the area is covered you let it dry and it acts like a tape that cover the pinholes like the R tape would. There are two different types of liquid tape sold by Screen Print Direct®. Ecotex® SR liquid Tape (Solvent Resistant) and Ecotex® WR Liquid Tape. If you are working with plastisol, uv or solvent inks Ecotex® SR Liquid Tape is the tape for you! If you are working with water-based inks you will need to use Ecotex® WR Liquid Tape.
PROS
Easily apply to fill in areas of the screen
Dries quickly
Very durable against solvents and water depending on which you choose (SR or WR Liquid Tape)
Eco-friendly - less waste
CONS
You need to allow it to dry before printing
WR Liquid Tape can be difficult to remove with its water-resistant characteristics
Watch this video for more info on Liquid Tape!
Pro Printer Takeaway: We keep both of these on deck when printing. If we are doing a quick print of just a few runs we use the R-tape as it is quick to use. If we are doing longer print runs we opt for the liquid tape as we think its a bit more durable for long print runs.
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This post was originally published by Screen print direct.