Understanding One of Your Most Important Tools: The Squeegee

Walk into almost any print shop, and chances are the team doesn’t give much thought to the differences between squeegees. I can’t count how many times I’ve asked for a specific durometer only to be met with a blank stare. More often than not, someone grabs the nearest clean squeegee without considering hardness, sharpness, or purpose.

The truth is, after the screen itself, the squeegee is the second most important tool in screen printing. Understanding its makeup, function, and care can make or break your print quality.

Durometer vs. Shore: Clearing Up the Confusion

You’ve probably heard the terms durometer and Shore used interchangeably, but they mean different things:

• Durometer: The instrument used to measure hardness (like a thermometer measures temperature). A durometer gauge has a spring-loaded pin that presses into the material and gives a reading.

• Shore: The scale used for reporting hardness. For screen printing squeegees, we almost always use the Shore A scale.

So, when someone says “70 durometer squeegee,” what they really mean is a squeegee blade that measures 70 hardness on the Shore A scale using a durometer tester.

Fun fact: Skateboard wheels are also measured on the Shore A scale, but extremely hard wheels can require Shore B. Just like squeegees, wheels are sometimes dual-durometer—harder inside for structure, softer outside for grip.

Choosing the Right Squeegee

Not all squeegees are created equal. The “starter” blades that ship with an automatic press are usually cheap 70 durometer blades—fine for basics, but not ideal for every job.

Here’s a breakdown:

• 60/90/60 or 55/95/55 (Dual/Triple Durometer)

  ◦ Great for white inks or inks with high white pigment loads like lemon yellow or sky blue

  ◦ Softer edges deposit large pigment particles more evenly

  ◦ Prevents excessive garment abrasion (fibrillation)

  ◦ Handles seams and irregular textures better

• 70/90/70

  ◦ Best for darker colors and special effects with large particles

  ◦ Controls ink deposit while preserving line and dot detail

• 80A (Straight Hard Squeegee)

  ◦ Useful for thick inks like high-density or glitter

• 60/90/60

  ◦ Performs well with water-based or silicone inks

For textiles, most printers use a square squeegee. Other profiles exist, but the square edge is the workhorse for garment printing.

Squeegee Maintenance

A good squeegee can quickly turn into a bad one if not properly maintained.

• Never flip a blade in its holder. Once compressed, it won’t drag evenly. Sharpen it or replace it.

• Sharpening reduces blade height, introduces new variables, and can cause uneven wear. Often it’s cheaper—and smarter—to buy new blades.

• Watch for ink type. Discharge inks can swell and soften blades. Always wash immediately and let them rest overnight.

• Check edges. Some prints benefit from a duller edge; almost all others require a sharp blade. Always feel the blade before printing.

Understanding the Squeegee’s Role

Many think the squeegee’s job is to force ink through the mesh. That’s only part of the story.

• The flood bar loads the stencil by rolling a bead of ink over it, whipping the ink into the screen stencil.

• The squeegee shears the ink, transferring it cleanly onto the substrate with minimal pressure.

For process and detail printing, it’s all about shearing—not smashing—ink through the screen. Heavy-handed printing (“tacoing” the blade) reduces quality and increases wear.

Special Purpose Squeegees

• Smiling Jack Squeegee (by Joe Clark): Routed with a semi-circle to balance flex. Designed for thinner inks like CMYK process, though rarely used today.

• Newman Constant Force Squeegee: Whips ink forward like a bulldozer, ideal for high-detail prints—only if pallets are perfectly flat. Fantastic for detail index and process prints but less effective on older presses with warped pallets.

• Manual Constant Force Squeegee: Great for dot detail and reducing fatigue in manual printing. A straight 70 durometer or 60/90/60 can achieve similar results.

• Handle Squeegees: Popular with beginners, but they reduce feedback from the mesh. They may feel easier, but you lose control.

• The Double Squeegee (Action Engineering): Useful for plastisol underbases. Can create a solid opaque base with one stroke when set up correctly.

Key Takeaways

• Know your durometers and combinations—each has a purpose.

• Keep blades sharp and clean. Don’t let ink dry or crust.

• Use correct pressure and angle: start with 10–15° and 40 PSI or less on automatics.

• Less pressure = more ink deposit. More pressure = less ink.

• Handle squeegees are for beginners, not elite printers.

The squeegee may seem simple, but mastering it is one of the biggest steps toward consistent, high-quality printing.