Screen printed my fingertips off. Help!

November 15, 2010 7:15 AM

I've been screen printing all weekend and the squeegee has abraded my fingertips off! I'm leaving bloody fingerprints on my paper and my hands hurt. I still have 200 more prints to go in the run... is there anything I can put on my fingertips to protect and heal them, and/or dull the pain while I finish?

My fingertips look a little bit like I've been in the tub too long- they're kinda wrinkly but on the other hand the fingertips are all shiny, like my fingerprints have been worn away. Also, there's blood oozing out in spots. The squeegee is made of wood, and it's not a problem for smaller print runs but so far I've printed almost 800 prints and my hands just can't take it any more.

I've tried band-aids but after a few dozen pulls they just kind of fall apart and slide off. Rubber gloves are out of the question - too bulky and they make my hands sweaty, and they probably wouldn't hold up to the repetition anyway. Any ideas?

posted by 40 Watt to Health & Fitness (26 answers total)

Latex gloves? Neoprene gloves?

Blister bandaids seem to stay on better, but may be too bulky.
posted by elsietheeel at 7:22 AM on November 15, 2010

I'm not sure that I have a good solution (I'd likely go for latex gloves, replacing them as I went, which is what I do for long litho runs), but depending on what kind of ink you're using, you probably want to find a way to create some sort of barrier. A lot of printing inks are at least mildly toxic, and mildly can become more seriously when you're talking about direct contact with your blood. Please be careful.
posted by you're a kitty! at 7:31 AM on November 15, 2010

I'm not sure I understand what's abrading during the screen printing, but when I played bass in pit orchestras and rehearsal went super-long and my fingerprints wore off and then my fingertips cracked and bled, we'd use duct tape to hold them together and protect them while they healed, and I could still play okay. Just kinda wrap it up carefully.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:35 AM on November 15, 2010

Best answer: Micropore tape over your fingertips and latex gloves over that.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:40 AM on November 15, 2010

Response by poster: depending on what kind of ink you're using

it's Speedball Acrylic screen ink- supposedly non-toxic, according to the label, but I know most bright colors have a little bit of nasty in them so yeah, I don't want to take any chances. :)

I'm not sure I understand what's abrading during the screen printing

Eyebrows, it's the wooden handle for the squeegee- my guess is that the pressure of my fingertips on the handle, combined with the back-and-forth pulling motions I'm doing, is gradually rubbing my fingertips off.
posted by 40 Watt at 7:44 AM on November 15, 2010

I would consider trying a few decent thimbles on the affected fingers, and perhaps some cleaning gloves just to keep them in place.
posted by Citrus at 7:44 AM on November 15, 2010

Best answer: I like New Skin for things like this. It's basically rubber cement that you put on your body to form an artificial callus/bandaid thing. I use it on areas of my feet that get blistered when I run distance, and I use it on my fingers when I'm gardening, handling abrasive surfaces, or other things that tend to lead to my rubbing the skin off my body. If you're going to be getting the New Skin-covered area wet, make sure to let it dry really well before you start screenprinting, and put on two or three coats.
posted by kataclysm at 7:46 AM on November 15, 2010

Best answer: Fingercots?
posted by Happy Dave at 7:46 AM on November 15, 2010

Response by poster: So many good suggestions, I might just have to try them all.

Micropore tape over your fingertips and latex gloves over that.

That looks interesting... and that's two votes for tape. I was considering the duct tape idea by Eyebrows McGee but this looks like it might be a little more suited for what I'm doing.

Maybe micropore tape + fingercots? Less bulky than gloves... Hmm.
posted by 40 Watt at 7:51 AM on November 15, 2010

If doctors can perform surgery in latex gloves I think they are bulkless enough for screen printing. If you have a latex sensitivity there are alternatives available. Good luck with your print run and mind yerself!
posted by Iteki at 7:55 AM on November 15, 2010

yeah newskin or, if you're cheap, liquid (not gel) superglue or clear nail polish.

your current state is my chronic wintertime condition, so every winter I stock up on superglue or nail polish. basically you're just coating all these little splits with liquid acrylic and it usually lasts at least a day or two.

cleans up with acetone (conventional nail polish remover, not the stuff for fake nails), if necessary.
posted by toodleydoodley at 7:55 AM on November 15, 2010

I would try superglue. I've used it many times on small cuts, and it sure does make my fingertips hard and tough every time I spill it all over them... Just keep your fingers far apart while they dry, of course, and maybe only try one first in case it stings. (It doesn't sting on paper cuts.)
posted by artychoke at 7:56 AM on November 15, 2010

Best answer: Micropore & latex gloves sounds good to me. Put some antibiotic ointment on first.

When you're done with the job and need to rebuild your fingertips, Tuf-Foot is amazing.

I'm a bass player & had lots of issues with cracking skin on my fingertips. Couldn't play well with duct tape or finger cots. Tried every kind of moisturizer but it didn't help. Tuf-Foot is stinky and it stings, but dries quickly and over time will toughen up the skin.
posted by omnidrew at 8:14 AM on November 15, 2010

Protip: If you need fine motor control/feeling, buy textured latex gloves and turn them inside out. Works great.
posted by zug at 8:16 AM on November 15, 2010 [1 favorite]

I use fingercots a lot for a variety of creative projects (including opening ancient tubes of printing ink, grouting, smoothing small patches of concrete, and etc.) and they're great. They can tear if caught on sharp corners, but otherwise, they totally get the job done. Plus, it's easy to take off one dirtied cot and replace the one finger cot when it rips or get dirty or whatever.
posted by julen at 8:27 AM on November 15, 2010

Maybe wrap the duct tape around the wooden handle of the squeegee, in addition to whatever you decide for your hands.
posted by CathyG at 9:25 AM on November 15, 2010

I was just thinking that maybe you could alter your squeegee a bit, so that there would be no little or no direct pressure on your fingertips.

I made a rather crude drawing. Imagine that red block is a piece of wood screwed onto the handle, increasing the size of the grip and allowing you to apply pressure without your fingertips touching so much.
posted by orme at 9:28 AM on November 15, 2010

Oh, CathyG just got me thinking - how about also gluing a piece of stiff foam to the area where your fingers contact the handle?
posted by orme at 9:30 AM on November 15, 2010

New Skin is great; there are other liquid band-aid products out there. Some stinged-instrument players I know will use that, or a drop of super-glue rubbed over the fingertip, as a pre-treatment to apply a callous before they start a long weekend of music that they know would make their fingertips sore.

So, keep superglue in mind as a preventative option if you have plans to do something like this again.
posted by aimedwander at 9:51 AM on November 15, 2010

Response by poster: Modifying the handle is an interesting idea- I'll have to look into that next time.

I went to the pharmacy at lunch and picked up micropore tape, fingercots and liquid skin. I've got latex gloves at home already... I'll try a combination of everything on various fingers and see how they work.

Thanks for the suggestions, all!
posted by 40 Watt at 10:57 AM on November 15, 2010

You could head to the pharmacy and get some Moleskin. It's basically a strong, fuzzy, adhesive tape you cut into the shape you want. It's designed for the feet so it should handle the wear and tear of your hands nicely. As it's fuzzy it will affect your grip though.
posted by chairface at 11:21 AM on November 15, 2010

You need to buy a decent squeegee, because I printed every day for 7 years and never once had my fingers bleed (and I was doing larger runs that what you're doing). I have worn hand shaped grooves into wooden squeegees from years of use, but fingers bleeding? You either have the world's worst squeegee or you are doing something very, very wrong.
posted by bradbane at 11:35 AM on November 15, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: bradbane, I'd love to hear some recommendations on squeegees, or technique. I'm just using a 70-durometer one that I bought at Victory Factory a few years ago. As far as technique, I can't imagine what I'd be doing wrong, except for possibly using too much pressure on the print stroke.
posted by 40 Watt at 1:43 PM on November 15, 2010

Best answer: The VF ones should be fine, you can coat them with some kind of shellac if you want to make them a little smoother. If you are using some kind of press with jiffy clamps make sure you are not leaning the squeegee against the bolts between pulls, that will turn the surface into sandpaper.
posted by bradbane at 12:56 PM on November 16, 2010

Response by poster: make sure you are not leaning the squeegee against the bolts between pulls

Holy mother of god, that's gotta be it. OK, no more of that, then. The only problem I have is that I was doing split fountains on two of my screens and I didn't want to set the squeegee down and contaminate the blend. Any suggestions there? Is there a way to lean it without using the bolts as a crutch? Where do you set your squeegee between pulls?

On a related note, I ended up using the Liquid Skin. I started out with the Micropore tape and fingercots, but the tape peeled after a few dozen pulls and I took it off. The fingercots were OK until the first time I accidentally dipped a finger into my ink, and then I just decided it was too much hassle. The Liquid Skin held up much longer than I expected, and with the added bonus of keeping blood smears off the prints. ;)
posted by 40 Watt at 5:57 PM on November 16, 2010

Hammer long nails into the ends of your squeegee so that it'll rest on the sides of the screen instead of dropping into the ink. Or just don't lean it against the actual bolt part of the hinge.
posted by bradbane at 10:51 AM on November 17, 2010