Through the years, the basic principles of the ancient art that is screen-printing have suffered little changes. Although the materials and chemicals evolved drastically, the basic idea of screen-printing is still the same: to print a color at a time, through a screen. Because of that, the squeegee still remains as a central part of the screen-printing industry.
There are several aspects the printing technician should always be paying attention to, depending on the job: he may want more or less ink on the garment and/or more or less definition on the design. And for that he/she must consider variables such as: the angle and pressure of the squeegee, the velocity and length of the stroke, how hard should the squeegee in use be and the kind of mesh used.
Shore is the term used to measure how hard a squeegee is, and usually, different rubber shores have different colors. It is important to mention that how hard a squeegee is, is truly what sets them apart from each other. If the printer needs a higher definition on the design, usually he/she will use a squeegee with a higher shore, while if he/she needs to let more ink into the garment then a squeegee with a lower shore will be put in use.
A quality that stands out on all KTK Squeegees, is their light-weight aluminum profile, that due to its very solid structure, makes it possible to print with undeniable quality, without any tonality variations between the centre and the edges of the design. It is important to mention that it also increases the lifetime of this specific equipment.
In the KTK catalogue, the printer may find squeegees that are 9mm thick with 65, 75 and 85 shore, with or without central seam, and with or without metal reinforcement for easier printing on stitches (special squeegees). Furthermore, he/she can also find the KTK Floodbars, with its innovative design and finishing.
