Why You Should Always “Zero Out” the Press Before a Job

Last week at Impressions Expo Long Beach 2026, I was asked to be part of an event called the “Print Masters Throw Down,” put on by Zack “A Can of Corn.” It was a fantastic event—and honestly, something the show has been missing for a long time.

There used to be competitions like this years ago, but keeping them alive takes effort. Zack is clearly willing to do that work, and the industry is better for it.

As a representative for Avient Inks, one of the event sponsors, I genuinely enjoyed being part of it. The competition featured three teams of two, all tasked with switching over a job, setting it up, printing it, and then being judged on print quality and execution.

Of course, Zack and I decided to introduce a little chaos.

Before the competition started, we drained all the air pressure from the print heads and cranked the micro-registration controls hard to one side. That meant the very first thing any team should have done—before touching ink, screens, or squeegees—was to zero out the press.

Some teams did. Some didn’t.

And that’s what this article is about.

 

Printing Feels Urgent — But Process Still Matters

Things move fast in a screen-print shop. Every job feels urgent, and it’s easy to jump straight into setup thinking you’ll “dial it in as you go.”

That’s how problems sneak in.

To prevent issues from showing up later in the process—when they’re harder and more expensive to fix—you need process controls. One of the simplest and most overlooked is zeroing out the press.

Zeroing out means that after tearing down a job, or before setting up a new one, you return the press to a known, neutral baseline. You eliminate as many variables as possible before introducing new ones.

If I walk up to a press I’ve never worked on and I’m asked to set up a job, my first move is always the same: remove history from the machine, meaning that I am going to remove all the tweaks and adjustments made during the last print job that was on that press.

Here’s my standard process.

 

My “Zero-Out” Press Setup Process

Before screens ever go on the press, I do the following:

1. Set all squeegee head pressures to 40 PSI
   (This is just a baseline—not a magic number but it is a safe place to start without risking damage to the screen mesh)
2. Set flood and print speeds to the middle setting
   Usually “5,” or whatever the midpoint is on that press.
3. Zero out all micro-registration knobs
   Left/right, in/out—everything centered.
4. Set off-contact to “0”
   On most presses, this means full contact.
5. Set all squeegee angles to 10–15 degrees
6. Set flood bars to hover just slightly above the screen
   Close enough to flood cleanly, but not dragging. You should be able to see a thin line of light between the bottom of the flood bar and the surface of the screen mesh.
7. Confirm that the print heads are set to stop where I need them for plastisol vs. water base and remove multiple strokes left over from the previous job.
8. Turn of revolver mode or what ever multiple orbit setting that press may have had activated on the last job.

At this point, the press is neutral. No surprises. No inherited problems from the previous job or operator.

 

Why Zero Off-Contact Matters During Registration

Once the screens are installed, I use whatever 3-point registration system the press provides. With off-contact set to zero, I’m replicating how the screen sat against the three registration stops on the exposure unit.

That part is critical.

If you introduce off-contact too early—and your screen frame isn’t perfectly square, or you’re using roller frames—you’ve now changed how the screen contacts the registration points compared to how it sat during exposure. The result? You’re already out of register before you even start printing.

Job one is to replicate, as closely as possible, the screen’s position on press to the position it had on the exposure unit.

 

How I Clamp Screens (And Why)

When it’s time to clamp the screen:

• I lock down the clamp that has the micro-registration controls first
• Then I close the opposite clamp

I don’t clamp both at the same time because screens can jump.

Throughout a job, I’ll open and close the clamp without registration controls multiple times. The side with the micros is the side I want locked in first, every time.

 

Test Prints and Adjustments

Once the job is locked in:

• I run a test print
• I ignore the first print entirely — it’s just loading the stencil with ink
• All adjustments are made based on the second test print

If the press has four central off-contact positions instead of individual screen off-contact controls, I move directly to:

• Position 3 for T-shirts
• Position 4 for fleece

Now I’m adjusting from a stable, predictable baseline—not chasing problems caused by leftover settings.

 

What Happens When You Don’t Zero Out

Here’s where things go sideways.

Let’s say you’re setting up after another operator. Their previous job required the second screen to be cranked hard left, and the micros are already loaded in that direction.

If you don’t zero out that print head:

• The screen clamps at a slight angle which will work against you each time you have to adjust it
• Your registration device fights you
• Adjustments become unintuitive and exaggerated

Worse yet, if you need to move further in that same direction and you’re already maxed out, you’re stuck.

Now your options are:

• Tear down and reset the job entirely
  or
• Try to chase that one screen by adjusting every other screen to match it

Neither option is good.

 

Start Clean, Stay in Control

Zeroing out the press gives you a fresh setup with minimal variables. It simplifies registration, speeds up setup, and prevents surprise problems later in the run.

And if that had been the very first step for every team in last week’s Print Masters Throw Down?

I can say with confidence:

Their job times would’ve been shorter.

Start clean. Remove history. Control the process.

Your prints—and your sanity—will thank you.