Method for providing the mesh of a silk screen at an angle for minimizing moire

Method for providing the mesh of a stretched woven mesh fabric in a silk-screen at an angle for the minimization or localization of moire in a silk-screen printing process comprising the following steps:

• (a) providing halftone color separations of an image to be silkscreen printed to provide a color process film positive for each of the colors of said image to be printed, an emulsion side defining said color process film positive;
• (b) providing a silk-screen comprising an annular-shaped screen frame of predetermined inner and outer diameters, a top and bottom planar surface being provided on said annular-shaped screen frame, indexing means being provided on said annular-shaped screen frame, and a stretched woven mesh fabric comprising a plurality of warp and weft threads being adhesively secured to the top planar surface of said annular-shaped screen frame;
• (c) providing a carrier for the silk-screen, a top and bottom planar surface being provided on said carrier, and said carrier being defined by spaced-apart, parallel front and back linear end edges and spaced-apart, parallel linear side edges intersecting with the linear end edges at 90 degree angles, a circular-shaped opening of predetermined diameter being provided in the carrier, said circular-shaped opening defining a circular-shaped peripheral edge and being located centrally between the linear end and side edges, the diameter of the circular-shaped opening being only slightly larger than the outer diameter of the annular-shaped silk-screen frame whereby the annular-shaped silk-screen frame is freely rotatable therein, said circular-shaped opening defining a clock face and providing a predetermined location at 6 o'clock on the front end of the carrier, and a scale being provided along said circular-shaped peripheral edge of the circular-shaped opening;
• (d) placing the silk-screen in said carrier in such a fashion that said top planar surface of said annular-shaped screen frame faces downwardly, said annular-shaped silk-screen being so located that said indexing means on said annular-shaped screen frame is located opposite from the 6 o'clock location on the screen carrier and a warp and weft thread of the stretched woven mesh fabric is provided in parallel disposition to one of said linear side and end edges, respectively;
• (e) providing a light source for viewing said color process film positive;
• (f) placing said color process film positive emulsion side up opposite said light source and in a predetermined fixed location;
• (g) placing the carrier with the silk-screen located therein and said top planar surface of said annular-shaped screen frame facing downwardly over said color process film positive;
• (h) rotating said silk-screen relative to said fixed location of said color process film positive;
• (i) visualizing the color process film positive through the stretched woven mesh fabric of said silk-screen while rotating the annular-shaped screen frame until moire is at least minimized or localized in the color process film positive;
• and
• (j) placing an indexing means on the annular-shaped screen frame opposite said 6 o'clock location on the carrier whereby to determine the angle at which the mesh of the woven mesh fabric in the silk-screen is to be located relative to the linear side edges of the carrier to at least minimize or localize moire in a silk-screen printing process.

Method for providing the mesh of a stretched woven mesh fabric in a silk-screen to be used in a multicolor process silk-screen printing process at an angle for the minimization or localization of moire comprising the following steps:

• (a) providing halftone color separations of an image to be silkscreen printed on a surface to provide a color process film positive for each of the colors of said image to be printed, an emulsion side defining said color process film positive;
• (b) providing a silk-screen comprising an annular-shaped screen frame of predetermined inner and outer diameters, a top and bottom planar surface being provided on said annular-shaped screen frame, indexing means being provided on at least the bottom surface of said annular-shaped screen frame, and a stretched woven mesh fabric comprising a plurality of warp and weft threads being adhesively secured to the top planar surface of said annular-shaped screen frame;
• (c) providing a carrier for the silk-screen, a top and bottom planar surface being provided on said carrier, and said carrier being defined by spaced-apart, parallel front and back linear end edges and spaced-apart, parallel linear side edges intersecting with the linear end edges, a circular-shaped opening of predetermined diameter being provided in the carrier, said circular-shaped opening defining a circular-shaped peripheral edge and being located centrally between the linear end and side edges, the diameter of the circular-shaped opening being only slightly larger than the outer diameter of the annular-shaped silk-screen frame whereby the annular-shaped silk-screen frame is freely rotatable in said circular-shaped opening, a clock face being defined by said circular-shaped opening and providing a fixed location at 6 o'clock on the front end of the carrier, and a scale being provided along said circular-shaped peripheral edge of the circular-shaped opening, a pair of openings being provided in said carrier along the front edge;
• (d) placing the silk-screen in said carrier in such a fashion that said top planar surface of said annular-shaped screen frame faces downwardly;
• (e) rotating said screen frame to provide said indexing means on said annular-shaped screen frame opposite from the 6 o'clock location on the screen carrier and to align a warp and weft thread of the stretched woven mesh fabric in parallel disposition to one of said linear side and end edges, respectively;
• (f) providing a moire detection apparatus of box-like configuration, vertically upright side and end walls defining said box-like configuration and an internal cavity being provided in said box-like configuration, a top closure defined by a top surface and a bottom surface being provided in said box-like configuration, a centrally located circular-shaped opening being provided in said top closure, a glass window being provided in said circular-shaped opening, a light source for viewing said color process film positive of the halftone image to be silk-screen printed being provided in said cavity below said bottom surface and in opposition to said glass window, a pair of spaced apart registration pins being provided on said top closure, said registration pins being spaced apart the same distance as the openings provided in said carrier and a line connecting said registration pins being in perpendicular disposition to said side walls of the moire detection apparatus;
• (g) placing said color process film positive emulsion side up on said glass window and in fixed opposition to said light source, crop marks being provided on said color process film positive whereby to provide said color process film positive in square relationship to the side walls of said moire detection apparatus;
• (h) placing the carrier with the silk-screen located therein and said top planar surface of said annular-shaped screen frame facing downwardly over said color process film positive and locating said registration pins of the moire detection apparatus in the openings of said moire detection apparatus in the openings of said carrier whereby said carrier is provided in fixed relationship to said moire detection apparatus;
• (i) rotating said silk-screen in said carrier relative to said fixed color process film positive and said fixed carrier;
• (j) visualizing the color process film positive through the stretched woven mesh fabric of said silk-screen while rotating the annular-shaped screen frame until moire is at least minimized or localized in the color process film positive;
• and
• (k) placing a further indexing means on the top surface of the annular-shaped screen frame opposite said 6 o'clock location on the carrier whereby to determine the angle at which the mesh of the woven mesh fabric in the silk-screen is to be located relative to the linear side edges of the carrier to at least minimize or localize moire in a silk-screen printing process.

Method for providing the mesh of a stretched woven mesh fabric in a silk-screen to be used in a multicolor process silk-screen printing process at an angle for the minimization or localization of moire comprising the following steps:

• (a) providing halftone color separations of an image to be silkscreen printed on a surface to provide a color process film positive for each of the colors of said image to be printed, an emulsion side being provided on said color process film positive;
• (b) providing a silk-screen comprising an annular-shaped screen frame of predetermined inner and outer diameters, a top and bottom planar surface being provided on said annular-shaped screen frame, indexing means being provided on at least the bottom surface of said annular-shaped screen frame, and a stretched woven mesh fabric comprising a plurality of warp and weft threads being adhesively secured to the top planar surface of said annular-shaped screen frame;
• (c) providing a moire detection carrier for the silk-screen, a top and bottom planar surface being provided on said carrier, and said carrier being defined by spaced-apart, parallel front and back linear end edges and spaced-apart, parallel linear side edges intersecting with the linear end edges, a circular-shaped opening of predetermined diameter being provided in the carrier, said circular-shaped opening defining a circular-shaped peripheral edge and being located centrally between the linear end and side edges, the diameter of the circular-shaped opening being only slightly larger than the outer diameter of the annular-shaped silk-screen frame whereby the annular-shaped silk-screen frame is freely rotatable in said circular-shaped opening, a clock face being defined by said circular-shaped opening and providing a fixed location at 6 o'clock on the front end of the carrier, and a scale being provided along said circular-shaped peripheral edge of the circular-shaped opening, a pair of openings being provided in said carrier along the front end edge;
• (d) placing the silk-screen in said moire detection carrier in such a fashion that said top planar surface of said annular-shaped screen frame faces downwardly;
• (e) rotating said screen frame to provide said indexing means on said annular-shaped screen frame opposite from the 6 o'clock location on the moire detection carrier and to align a warp and weft thread of the stretched woven mesh fabric in parallel disposition to one of said linear side and end edges, respectively;
• (f) providing a moire detection apparatus of box-like configuration, vertically upright side and end walls defining said box-like configuration and an internal cavity being provided in said box-like configuration, a top closure defined by a top surface and a bottom surface being provided in said box-like configuration, a centrally located circular-shaped opening being provided in said top closure, a glass window being provided in said circular-shaped opening, a light source for viewing said color process film positive of the halftone image to be silk-screen printed being provided in said cavity below said bottom surface and in opposition to said glass window, a pair of spaced-apart registration pins being provided on said top closure, said registration pins being spaced apart the same distance as the openings provided in said carrier and a line connecting said registration pins being in perpendicular disposition to said side walls of the moire detection apparatus;
• (g) placing said color process film positive emulsion side up on said glass window and in fixed opposition to said light source, crop marks being provided on said color process film positive whereby to provided said color process film positive in square relationship to the side walls of said moire detection apparatus;
• (h) placing the moire detection carrier with the silk-screen located therein and said top planar surface of said annular-shaped screen frame facing downwardly over said color process film positive and locating said registration pins of the moire detection apparatus in the openings of said carrier whereby said moire detection carrier is provided in fixed relationship to said moire detection apparatus;
• (i) rotating said silk-screen in said moire detection carrier relative to said fixed color process film positive and said fixed moire detection carrier;
• (j) visualizing the color process film positive through the stretched woven mesh fabric of said silk-screen while rotating the annular-shaped screen frame until moire is at least minimized or localized in the color process film positive;
• (k) placing a further indexing means on the top surface of the annular-shaped screen frame opposite said 6 o'clock location on the carrier whereby to determine the angle at which the mesh of the woven mesh fabric in the silk-screen is to be located relative to the linear side edges of the carrier to at least minimize or localize moire in a silk-screen printing process;
• (l) providing a nesting screen carrier for said annular-shaped screen frame, a circular-shaped opening being provided in said nesting screen carrier of a diameter only slightly larger than the-outer diameter of the annular-shaped screen frame whereby the screen frame is rotatable relative to the nesting screen carrier, a front edge being provided on said nesting screen carrier, an indexing means being provided on said front edge;
• (m) placing said annular-shaped screen frame into said nesting carrier;
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• (n) rotating the annular-shaped screen frame in said nesting carrier to provide said further indexing means on the bottom surface of said annular-shaped screen frame in opposition to the indexing means provided on the nesting screen carrier.