FSP Remeshing vs. The Other Guys

Written By Aaron Bucane

Walked into a shop today to pick up frames for remeshing, and they weren’t quite ready yet—so I jumped in to help pull mesh.

I’m actually glad I did, because it showed me just how many screens had failed.

Out of 140 screens, over 70% had the mesh cleanly separated from the glue bond after only about five production cycles. These screens originally came from a large screen stretching facility that works with a major distributor.

And the reality is simple:
Big companies aren’t always the best companies.
When the focus leans heavily toward speed and output, critical steps in the stretching process can get rushed.

When screens are stretched too fast:

  • The mesh doesn’t have time to relax and settle

  • The pre-glue process isn’t fully executed for a deep mechanical bite

  • The glue bond doesn’t anchor properly into the frame surface

  • Mesh distortion happens, which later shows up as registration issues on press

Those issues lead to:

➡️ Tension loss during production
➡️ Premature mesh failure
➡️ Mesh letting loose clean off the frame (bond failure)

Mixed into that stack were screens we had stretched for them.

Out of all 140 frames:

  • Only two of ours had popped

  • Neither had glue separation

  • Both were due to ink contamination / handling during production, not tension or bond failure

Meaning:

Our screens reached end-of-life the correct way.
Theirs failed likely because the stretching process was rushed to meet output benchmarks.

And to be clear:

Even the best screens in the industry could let loose — including ours — but it happens on a very small and expected scale.
There are also factors in the Screen printing process that can influence this more in some shops than others — chemistry, reclaim, pressure settings, and handling all play a role.

The key difference is always:

  • Bond failure = process foundation issue

  • Mesh fatigue / popping = normal end-of-life after real production use

Our goal is to ensure screens wear out the right way — after they’ve done the work.

✅ Mesh relaxation time matters
✅ The pre-glue process matters
✅ Full bond cure time matters
✅ A controlled, repeatable stretch matters

Quality comes from process — not production speed.

It starts with the screen.
Remesh with the best.

Aaron Bucane