Hi. I have purchased Coventry Rag 290 gsm 76 x 112 for screenprinting. I need to use latex based masking fluid with this. The masking fluid was on for 2 weeks on the slightly rougher side. It lifted paper when removing and was unsatisfactory. Please advise suitability of Coventry Rag and masking fluid, if the smoother side may work and a shorter time on the paper. I am doing some experiments myself. What is your advice? Have I bought an unsuitable paper? Steve
Hello Steve To attempt to help solve your problem I went to several of my professional fine art silk screen printers. This is their input: because you are dealing with a tacky adhesive in your application to the surface of the sheet you would want the paper to resist the hi tack that causes fiber lift off or peel back when removing tape or any other similar fluid. There is no guarantee to what I am going to suggest that you do, but it may very well help diminish or reduce fiber peel back or fiber lift. Watercolor papers like a Saunders Waterford or Lanaquarelle have internal and surface sizing that allow watercolorists that work with heavy washes the ability to rework areas of their painting without pilling up of surface fiber. These sized papers are suitable and purposefully designed for wet media application. Their enhanced sizing characteristic would potentially give the surface extra strength to resist lifting or pulling away of the fiber surface of the sheet. My recommendation, with no guarantee, since several watercolor papers are excellent for serigraphy as well, should be tested by you to see how they would perform. Saunders Waterford CP or HP in 640gsm (300#) & Lanaquarelle HP or CP in 640gsm (300#) are the 2 that come to mind. The Coventry Rag sheet that you are using is a modestly surface sized & internally sized sheet with great dimensional stability - it was created by me in the early 70s for Irte's fashion silkscreen lithographs that required the paper to take as many as 100 colors. Good luck & let me know how you make out. If you need some 8 1/2 x 11 samples of the 2 grades I mentioned above just let me know. Best, Michael Ginsburg
To attempt to help solve your problem I went to several of my professional fine art silk screen printers. This is their input: because you are dealing with a tacky adhesive in your application to the surface of the sheet you would want the paper to resist the hi tack that causes fiber lift off or peel back when removing tape or any other similar fluid. There is no guarantee to what I am going to suggest that you do, but it may very well help diminish or reduce fiber peel back or fiber lift. Watercolor papers like a Saunders Waterford or Lanaquarelle have internal and surface sizing that allow watercolorists that work with heavy washes the ability to rework areas of their painting without pilling up of surface fiber. These sized papers are suitable and purposefully designed for wet media application. Their enhanced sizing characteristic would potentially give the surface extra strength to resist lifting or pulling away of the fiber surface of the sheet. My recommendation, with no guarantee, since several watercolor papers are excellent for serigraphy as well, should be tested by you to see how they would perform. Saunders Waterford CP or HP in 640gsm (300#) & Lanaquarelle HP or CP in 640gsm (300#) are the 2 that come to mind. The Coventry Rag sheet that you are using is a modestly surface sized & internally sized sheet with great dimensional stability - it was created by me in the early 70s for Irte's fashion silkscreen lithographs that required the paper to take as many as 100 colors. Good luck & let me know how you make out. If you need some 8 1/2 x 11 samples of the 2 grades I mentioned above just let me know.
Best, Michael Ginsburg