Common Screen Printing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them: A Comprehensive Guide

There’s something incredibly satisfying about pulling that squeegee across a screen and revealing a perfect print underneath. But as anyone who’s spent time in a print shop knows, screen printing can sometimes feel like a series of happy accidents mixed with frustrating mistakes.

I’ve been around screen printing long enough to see every possible mishap—from ink dripping where it shouldn’t to emulsion washing out at the worst possible moment. What I’ve learned over the years is that knowledge truly is power. Understanding what can go wrong is the first step to ensuring everything goes right.

1. Using the Wrong Type of Ink: A Recipe for Disaster

I’ll never forget the time I used plastisol ink on a delicate silk scarf for a client. The result? A stiff, cracked design that practically stood up on its own. Not exactly the luxurious feel we were going for!

Different materials demand different inks—it’s not just a suggestion, it’s a necessity. Here’s what you need to know:

When working with cotton t-shirts and heavier fabrics, plastisol ink is your best friend. It sits on top of the fabric rather than soaking in, creating those vibrant, opaque prints that pop off the garment. The best part? It won’t dry in your screen, giving you plenty of working time.

For projects where you want the ink to become one with the fabric—think vintage-style band tees or eco-friendly products—water-based inks are the way to go. They soak into the fibers, creating a soft hand that’s virtually undetectable to the touch. Just remember, these dry faster in your screen, so work quickly!

Before committing to a full production run, grab some scrap material similar to your final substrate and do a test print. Pay attention to how the ink flows, how it looks after curing, and how it holds up to a quick wash test. This simple step has saved me countless headaches and materials.

2. Incorrect Screen Tension: The Silent Print Killer

You know that satisfying “thwack” sound when you tap a properly tensioned screen? That’s what you’re aiming for. Screen tension might not be the sexiest topic in printing, but it’s arguably one of the most important.

A loose screen is like trying to print on a trampoline—as you pass your squeegee across, the mesh sags and springs back, creating distortion and registration nightmares. I once struggled for hours trying to get a multi-color print aligned, only to realize my screen had developed the same kind of slack as my old gym shorts!

On the flip side, cranking your screen too tight is asking for trouble. The mesh becomes brittle and prone to tearing—usually right in the middle of your biggest job.

For wooden frames, remember that humidity is your enemy. Wood absorbs moisture from the air, expanding and contracting with weather changes. This means your perfectly tensioned screen in the morning might be a saggy mess by afternoon. I keep a dehumidifier running in my screen room for this very reason.

For professional results, aluminum frames are worth every penny. They maintain consistent tension and resist warping, even after hundreds of prints. Consider them an investment rather than an expense.

3. Poor Screen Exposure: The Make-or-Break Moment

Exposure is where the science of screen printing really shines through—quite literally! Getting it wrong can turn a beautiful design into a blurry mess or a stubborn stencil that refuses to wash out.

I learned this lesson the hard way when I rushed through exposing a detailed halftone design. What should have been subtle gradients ended up looking like a pixelated disaster from a 1980s computer game. The fine dots in the highlights washed away completely, while the shadows became one solid blob.

The key is precision and consistency. Invest in an exposure calculator—it’s a simple tool that takes the guesswork out of the process. It allows you to expose multiple test patches at once, so you can identify the perfect time for your specific setup.

Your exposure unit matters too. Those DIY setups with a single work lamp might get you started, but for consistent results, you need even UV distribution. Professional LED exposure units have become much more affordable in recent years and provide the consistency needed for detailed work.

Keep a notebook with exposure times for different mesh counts and emulsion types. Screen printing has enough variables—don’t let exposure be one of them!

4. Using Too Much or Too Little Emulsion: Finding the Goldilocks Zone

Applying emulsion is a bit like making pancakes—the first one is usually a practice run. Too thin, and you’ll get pinholes and premature breakdown during printing. Too thick, and fine details become impossible to wash out.

I remember preparing screens for a job with extremely fine text. I applied a thick coat of emulsion thinking it would give me more durability, but those tiny letters never fully washed out. What should have been crisp text looked like a blob of ink.

The scoop coater is your best friend here. This simple tool helps distribute emulsion evenly across your screen. The trick is maintaining consistent pressure and speed as you move from bottom to top.

For most jobs, apply one coat on the print side and two on the squeegee side. This builds a good gasket on the print side while providing enough emulsion thickness for durability.

Drying is just as important as application. A fan helps, but avoid pointing it directly at the screen—this can cause uneven drying and result in exposure problems. I set my screens in a dedicated drying cabinet with indirect airflow. A dehumidifier helps speed things along without creating problems.

5. Not Aligning the Design Properly: Registration Nightmares

There’s nothing worse than finishing a multi-color print only to realize everything is slightly off-kilter. What should be crisp overlapping colors becomes a blurry mess.

I once printed 100 four-color posters before noticing that one color was slightly misaligned. The whole batch had to be scrapped—a costly lesson in the importance of registration.

Invest in a proper registration system. This could be as simple as registration marks on your film positives or as advanced as a micro-registration system on your press. Either way, having a consistent method for aligning your screens is essential.

Before starting any print run, do what printers call a “strike-off”—a test print on the actual material you’ll be using. Check it carefully for alignment issues before proceeding. I often tape it to the wall and step back a few feet—mistakes that are hard to see up close become obvious at a distance.

For multi-color jobs, consider creating a “registration jig” by attaching a sample of your substrate to your platen with registration marks already printed. This gives you a template to align subsequent screens against.

6. Applying Too Much or Too Little Pressure: The Squeegee Dance

The squeegee is your paint brush in screen printing—it’s where technique really matters. Too much pressure pushes excess ink through the screen, creating bleeding and lost detail. Too little leaves your prints looking patchy and inconsistent.

Finding the right pressure takes practice. For most jobs, you want just enough pressure to clear the screen in one smooth motion. Your angle matters too—around 45 degrees usually hits the sweet spot between too little ink (more vertical) and too much (more horizontal).

When I train new printers, I tell them to listen to the sound of the squeegee—it should make a consistent “zip” noise as it moves across the screen. Uneven pressure creates an uneven sound, and usually, uneven prints.

The speed of your stroke matters too. Too fast and the ink doesn’t have time to transfer properly; too slow and it may bleed under the stencil. Practice on scrap materials until your movements become fluid and consistent.

Remember that different inks require different techniques. Water-based inks often need a flood stroke (covering the design with ink without pressing through) between each print to prevent drying in the screen.

7. Not Cleaning Screens Properly: Today’s Laziness, Tomorrow’s Problems

After a long printing session, the last thing anyone wants to do is clean screens. But trust me, future you will be extremely annoyed with present you if you skip this crucial step.

I once left a screen with water-based ink overnight, thinking I’d clean it in the morning. By the time I returned, the ink had dried so thoroughly that no amount of screen opener could save it. That screen was permanently retired to the “lesson learned” pile.

For plastisol inks, scrape excess ink back into your container first—it’s perfectly reusable and saves money. Then use an appropriate ink degradent to break down remaining ink before washing with water.

Water-based inks need immediate attention since they dry quickly in the screen. Keep a spray bottle with water handy to mist the screen if you need to step away briefly.

Emulsion removal requires its own process. Apply emulsion remover to both sides of the screen, let it work its magic for a minute or two, then pressure wash from a distance to avoid damaging the mesh. Any ghosting (ink stains) left behind can typically be removed with a haze remover.

Proper cleaning extends the life of your screens and ensures your next print job starts with a clean slate—literally.

8. Neglecting to Cure the Ink Properly: When “Dry” Isn’t Enough

Here’s a mistake I see beginners make constantly: assuming that when ink feels dry to the touch, it’s ready to wear or sell. The truth is, screen printing ink—especially plastisol—needs to reach specific temperatures to cure properly.

I had a friend who started a small t-shirt business using just a heat gun to cure his prints. Two weeks later, he received angry emails from customers whose designs were washing away or cracking. Without proper curing, ink never reaches its full durability potential.

For plastisol inks, you need to hit 320°F (160°C) throughout the entire ink deposit. A heat press works well for small operations, allowing you to apply even heat and pressure. For larger production, a conveyor dryer is worth the investment.

Water-based inks typically need less heat but require enough time for the water to evaporate completely. The technical term is “curing,” not just “drying”—there’s a chemical reaction that needs to happen.

I always run a simple wash test before delivering an order: I cure a sample print, then wash it repeatedly to ensure the print holds up. Better to catch curing problems with one shirt than an entire order!

9. Skipping a Test Print: “Measure Twice, Print Once”

In the rush to complete an order, it’s tempting to jump straight into production. But skipping test prints is like driving with your eyes closed—you might get lucky, but the odds aren’t in your favor.

I once had a client who needed 500 shirts for an event the next day. In the rush, I skipped my usual test print process. About 100 shirts in, I noticed the design had a spelling error. Not the printer’s fault, but guess who had to eat the cost of those 100 unusable shirts? A simple test print would have caught the error before production began.

Test prints serve multiple purposes:

• They verify that your design looks good on the actual substrate
• They confirm that your registration is accurate
• They allow you to check for any flaws in the screen or design
• They give you a chance to adjust ink consistency and pressure

What seems like an extra step actually saves time, money, and materials in the long run. I now have a strict “no test, no print” policy in my shop, regardless of deadlines.

10. Not Keeping a Clean Work Area: Organized Space, Better Prints

A cluttered, disorganized workspace isn’t just inefficient—it actively works against quality printing. Dust particles can settle on screens or wet ink, tools get misplaced when you need them most, and mistakes happen more frequently.

My shop wasn’t always the paragon of cleanliness it is now. I used to work in what I affectionately called “creative chaos.” Then one day, a stray thread from a nearby garment landed on my freshly coated screen. The resulting pinhole ruined an entire run of prints before I noticed it. That was the day I became a convert to the “clean as you go” philosophy.

Develop routines for keeping your space clean. Wipe down surfaces before and after printing sessions. Store screens in a dust-free cabinet. Keep your squeegees clean and hanging rather than lying in puddles of ink. Have designated spaces for tools so you’re not frantically searching for them mid-print.

Remember that screen printing involves chemicals, inks, and emulsions that shouldn’t mix until you want them to. Cross-contamination can ruin materials and equipment. Having separate, clearly marked areas for different processes helps prevent costly mistakes.

The Artistry Behind the Technical

At the end of the day, screen printing is a beautiful blend of technical precision and creative expression. The most stunning prints come from printers who understand both aspects—knowing when to follow the rules and when to break them intentionally for artistic effect.

Each mistake I’ve described has been my teacher at some point. I don’t regret making them because they’ve made me the printer I am today. That said, if I can help you avoid some of the frustration and wasted materials I experienced, then this guide has done its job.

Remember that consistency comes from developing good habits and systems. Take notes on what works and what doesn’t. Adjust one variable at a time when troubleshooting. And above all, approach each challenge with curiosity rather than frustration.

Whether you’re printing in your basement or running a commercial shop, these principles remain the same. Master the fundamentals, respect the process, and the art will follow.