Fine lines broaden after deposition but before fixation. Which paste property should be checked first?
A Flow at low shear
B Final fabric width
C Screen frame size only
D Initial warp sett only
Answer: A. Flow at low shear. The paste needs enough viscosity at low shear to limit spreading after it lands.
Fine fabric details remain aligned across the width but print position varies along the length after the tension is changed. Which fabric transport variable matters most?
A Fibre chemical identity
B Dryer air humidity alone
C Surface paste colour
D Lengthwise fabric stretch
Answer: D. Lengthwise fabric stretch. Changes in web tension can stretch the fabric lengthwise and shift where each impression lands.
Two identical repeats fit around a cylindrical screen of circumference 800 mm. Find the length of one repeat.
A 800 mm
B 200 mm
C 400 mm
D 1,600 mm
Answer: C. 400 mm. Divide the circumference by the two repeats engraved around it.
Given a deposit of 25 g/m² on printed regions covering 40% of fabric area, what is the average deposit over the entire area?
A 62.5 g/m²
B 10 g/m²
C 25 g/m²
D 40 g/m²
Answer: B. 10 g/m². The average is the local deposit multiplied by the printed fraction, 25 × 0.40.
What makes a shear-thinning paste useful during the screen stroke?
A Easier flow under shear
B Permanent solidification in screen
C Immediate fixation to fibre
D Higher viscosity under shear
Answer: A. Easier flow under shear. Shear thinning lowers apparent viscosity during the stroke. The reduced flow resistance helps transfer paste.
Ink drops bead instead of wetting a prepared fabric. What is the most useful check?
A Fibre tensile gauge length
B Number of warp beams
C Colour scale calibration only
D Surface wettability
Answer: D. Surface wettability. Poor wetting can cause deposited drops to bead, making coverage uneven.
At a resolution of 254 dots/in, what is the theoretical centre spacing of addressable dots?
A 1.00 mm
B 0.01 mm
C 0.10 mm
D 2.54 mm
Answer: C. 0.10 mm. One inch is 25.4 mm. Dividing by 254 gives 0.10 mm.
Take two prints of identical paste. One is dried promptly and the other remains wet for longer. What defect is more likely in the second before fixation?
A Less pre-existing lint
B Increased yarn twist
C Higher tensile strength
D Unwanted colour migration
Answer: D. Unwanted colour migration. Longer wet contact can let liquid and dissolved dye travel beyond the original printed areas.
Several dot rows are consistently shifted at the junction between printhead passes. Which calibration should be checked?
A Yarn twist direction
B Pass-to-pass alignment
C Fabric moisture regain
D Pigment curing temperature
Answer: B. Pass-to-pass alignment. Pass alignment controls the positions of dots where adjacent printhead passes meet.
Print paste contains 30 g of colourant in 1.5 kg of formulation. What is its mass percentage?
A 0.2%
B 2.0%
C 4.5%
D 20.0%
Answer: B. 2.0%. Divide 30 g by 1,500 g and multiply by 100.
In a dryer with a 12 m heated path, cloth speed is 6 m/min. Find residence time.
A 2 min
B 0.5 min
C 6 min
D 72 min
Answer: A. 2 min. Residence time is heated path length divided by line speed.
A multicolour screen print develops a gap only when cloth speed varies suddenly. Which failure best fits?
A Higher binder solids
B Loss of motion synchronisation
C Greater dye solubility
D Fibre scale damage
Answer: B. Loss of motion synchronisation. Changes in speed can shift the relationship between moving fabric and screen positions if coordination is poor.
With a 500 mm repeat, how many full repeats fit in 12 m of fabric?
A 24
B 6
C 12
D 60
Answer: A. 24. Each repeat occupies 0.5 m. Divide 12 by 0.5.
A printed solid colour appears much darker under the same lighting on a tightly covered surface than on an open one. Which optical contribution can differ even with the same colorant?
A Pattern repeat count only
B Spindle position
C Yarn storage date
D Unprinted substrate exposure
Answer: D. Unprinted substrate exposure. Open structures can expose more unprinted ground or gaps, altering apparent colour coverage.
In a white-discharge comparison, the paste reacts successfully with one ground dye but leaves the second ground bright. What should be checked?
A Fabric yarn count alone
B Ground dye dischargeability
C Print width registration only
D Position of the dryer tray
Answer: B. Ground dye dischargeability. Different ground dyes respond differently to the same discharge chemistry. The ground dye must be suitable for that process.
At 300 pixels per inch, approximately how wide is a 900-pixel motif?
A 30 inches
B 2 inches
C 3 inches
D 0.3 inches
Answer: C. 3 inches. Divide pixel count by pixels per inch to obtain the physical width.
Over 30 m of fabric, a printer runs 10 m/min at constant speed. What is its running time?
A 3 min
B 20 min
C 30 min
D 300 min
Answer: A. 3 min. Divide fabric length by speed to obtain 3 minutes.
What change can reduce paste flooding through fine openings when too much paste is being forced through the screen?
A Remove all stencil blocks
B Increase paste dilution sharply
C Raise pressure without limit
D Lower excessive squeegee pressure
Answer: D. Lower excessive squeegee pressure. Excess squeegee pressure can deliver too much paste. Correcting it reduces flooding, provided the motif still transfers completely.
How much thickener stock is needed for 4 kg of paste at 50 g stock per kg?
A 200 g
B 80 g
C 500 g
D 20 g
Answer: A. 200 g. The formulation calls for 50 g in each of the four kilograms.
Compare two cotton fabrics, one uniformly pretreated and one unevenly prepared. Which print outcome becomes more likely with the uneven fabric?
A No ink can transfer
B Uniform shade at all points
C Higher tensile force always
D Irregular colour distribution
Answer: D. Irregular colour distribution. Local differences in absorbency can change paste penetration and visual colour yield.
Adjacent colour screens each have the same nominal repeat. One repeat begins 3 mm later than the other. What type of correction is normally needed?
A Lower cotton absorbency
B Higher binder concentration
C Longitudinal phase adjustment
D A longer drying path
Answer: C. Longitudinal phase adjustment. When repeat length matches but the start positions differ, shifting the relative phase brings the impressions into alignment.
Artwork is resized from a 60 mm repeat to a 75 mm repeat with the same aspect ratio. By what factor should a 4 mm line width scale?
A 1.25
B 1.15
C 0.25
D 0.80
Answer: A. 1.25. A linear scale change has factor 75/60. The corresponding line width becomes 5 mm.
After finishing, a 120 mm motif loses 5% of its width. Find the final width.
A 115 mm
B 126 mm
C 114 mm
D 125 mm
Answer: C. 114 mm. Five percent width loss leaves a factor of 0.95, giving 114 mm.
A reactive dye print weakens after wash-off, with substantial dissolved dye in the rinse. Which condition should be checked first?
A Print file page size
B Dye fixation before washing
C Fabric length after folding
D Number of blanket layers
Answer: B. Dye fixation before washing. Unfixed dye can leave during wash-off. Check that the fabric received the specified fixation conditions.
In a transfer trial, measured heat and contact time match the method but one corner appears pale. Which local condition may explain the result?
A Equal contact everywhere
B Increased polymer mobility
C Insufficient contact pressure
D Automatic colour inversion
Answer: C. Insufficient contact pressure. Uneven contact can limit local transfer even if the nominal temperature and contact time are correct.