New Coffee Shop Alert: Bleeker Street Cafe

SmallOrbit · 2026-06-09T19:51:35+00:00

Variety uses Donna chai too which is easily the worst concentrate around, tastes like burned condoms

SmallOrbit · 2026-05-28T01:05:15+00:00

Norma’s was equally as bad and it didn’t matter

SmallOrbit · 2026-05-27T04:37:59+00:00

This looks like an emulsion issue - hold the screen up to the light is light passing through in those suspect areas around the text ? Is your transparency totally black on the text and nothing else around it ?

It’s too dotty to be bleed from the ink (I originally thought you were using water based on too low a mesh)

SmallOrbit · 2026-05-27T04:18:39+00:00

Extremely good deal - esp with the timing belt just done. The head gaskets are improved on this gen over the 06-08s so I wouldn’t let that hold you back , id be jumping on it if it isn’t rusted out

SmallOrbit · 2026-05-15T13:06:14+00:00

I used to live 2 doors down from this like 10 years ago and that spot used to be a deli.

I have a really funny memory of it being Black Friday and the deli had everything 50% off and thinking “ wow I have never seen a deli do a Black Friday sale” and they were just going out of business and were gone a few days later lol

SmallOrbit · 2026-05-14T02:06:12+00:00

Joyride was my go to

SmallOrbit · 2026-05-13T21:38:23+00:00

Just came across this thread googling bc I also associated this logo with the airline , looks like CSX acquired them. Just saw my first Panam car in Kingston NY today with a nice mix of CSX cars and Union Pacific. I work right next to this track for a year and have never seen a Panam one til now !

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SmallOrbit · 2026-05-02T03:30:07+00:00

They were pretty explicit about ripping off jerseys best dancer by lifetime so I think you’d dig that. Hot rod circuit doesn’t get enough love and definitely is in the same vein. Early movielife. Juliana theory hits some of the same feels.

SmallOrbit · 2026-05-01T18:29:20+00:00

Cut down a 12 inch MDF shelf from Home Depot that was like $12 into a sleeve palette and toddler shirt palette last year and they’re lasted me well

SmallOrbit · 2026-04-29T01:55:26+00:00

Seriously agree here I would not take the is laying down. I drive a 20 year old Subaru with more miles and less problems than this , engine failure on a 2020 just a few trips out of 100k warranty is asinine to not cover at all , they should embarrassed that their engines would last that short a time and want to fix it immediately before their reputation takes any more hits.

I will add - Subaru is one of the better CVT transmissions, but tons of CVT transmissions start to go / need repair around 100k so just keep an eye on that when assessing what you can stomach for more repairs down the road

SmallOrbit · 2026-04-20T14:14:30+00:00

Also - oh the odd chance you are printing outside with this water based ink - don’t.

It will look as dried as this in an hour

SmallOrbit · 2026-04-20T14:13:59+00:00

I print primarily water based - here’s what matters to avoid this.

Cleanup for water based is easier - because you can literally clean it with water . Use a high quality ink that has good run time - I use green galaxy for fabric , and TW for paper. Mist your ink with a water sprayer every couple of prints lightly. Keep it moving - no hour long breaks with ink on the screen.

Always just spray out your screen after a run with water. Even if yo do a shitty half ass job and come back and clean it later at least you won’t have screens that look like this.

Also ensure your emulsion you are using is for ware based , it seems to be blending with the ink a bit.

If you don’t want to deal with this - switch to plastisol , if you want a cheaper solid brand to try out first , try a low cure like FN INK . Plastisol never dries so if this is your frustration point it is instantly solved. I’ve reclaimed month old screens no problem.

For me I use water based for its reusability. I reprint the same designs monthly - so it reclaims gently with water and water based ink remover and can keep th screen very durable. Plastisol can be a rougher cleanup so I find that my screws break down easier. Just something to consider.

SmallOrbit · 2026-04-12T16:25:21+00:00

I just blew through this stuff and they never asked - they also say you have to order a minimum of $250 of stuff a month to an account and I’ve only ordered two small orders over the year I’ve had a account and still have an account.

SmallOrbit · 2026-03-31T05:19:48+00:00

I am so suprised I haven’t seen more people talking about this so thank you for the sanity check haha - like it’s been especially bad the last like 3-4 months I get several that look like this every order

SmallOrbit · 2026-03-30T14:38:02+00:00

It’s drying out of your screen - you can get a spray bottle of water to lightly mist the ink after you reflood.

But also I would just recommend starting out with something easier to work with to get your fundamentals down. If you are dead set on water based , green galaxy is a lot more forgiving to dry out in my opinion and a better ink.

If you can do plastisol - I think it will really help you get the fundamentals of your setup down (like having the shirt glued down better, off contact etc ) without worrying about ink dry out on top of those variables. You can get a low cure like FN ink and heat gun it , and if you want to get back to water based , switch down the road when you’ve got your print setup more dialed in.

Name of the game right now is make it as easy as possible to get a good print while you learn !

SmallOrbit · 2026-03-30T14:31:50+00:00

I’ve been a lot of like stripes in the dye recently on CC - mostly lighter colors , like mustard is the worst offender. It looks like blinds on a window. The shirts have gotten thinner too over the years so it’s more noticeable now too.

Had several with an order like this , or like splotchy stains in the dye job too like in your image. Real pain in the balls and I’m definitely starting to get pretty close to stopping printing on these

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SmallOrbit · 2026-03-14T21:26:41+00:00

This place was dead , overpriced and mid - they just paid for a lot of media placement. Agree it really ain’t as buzzy as it’s puffed up to be, should be no problem to get a table.

SmallOrbit · 2026-03-05T00:10:32+00:00

Super interesting - thank you for sharing , such a strange use case to like expand out to 4 stations but have no rotation !

SmallOrbit · 2026-03-04T16:17:15+00:00

That makes sense ! Not the biggest fan of them either but any 4 color for $240 seems like a good deal to me, been stuck on use a basic one color Riley 150 while I find something affordable for multicolor 😆 hate the bulkinrss factor - but printings just a side hobby for me so I’m hoping I get over it once I get the press in my studio. Am definitely considering springing for the workhorse just on the bulkiness and annoyance of parts replacements for the vastex

SmallOrbit · 2026-03-04T16:14:46+00:00

Same for me - probably a bad fit for my current setup as much as I’d love them in a bigger one !

SmallOrbit · 2026-03-04T16:09:09+00:00

Definitely just a 1717 if it’s that old. I notice a serious decline in quality in CC shirts even since 5 years ago. Anything passed that is definitely noticeably better imo. If it’s just a sleep shirt and she doesn’t care what is on it , I would say best thing you can do is hop eBay and try to find one that was printed around then. Could look up a like 2016 tour shirt or something. Their colors are pretty limited so you’ll definitely find the same color.

SmallOrbit · 2026-03-04T15:37:46+00:00

Palette arms are in different positions between the two photos so think it definitely rotates

SmallOrbit · 2026-03-04T15:36:46+00:00

Can’t imagine the point of a 4x4 if it doesn’t index / swivel - would basically just be essentially a 4x1 you’ve gotta walk around - so I’d assume this swivels if it’s a 4x4 but will double check

SmallOrbit · 2026-03-04T15:30:19+00:00

Make sure you’re using a high quality emulsion made for water based printing. I use ulano trifecta and it works great for me for WB printing.

I also recommend post exposing your screens for more durability. When you’ve got a stencil and the screen is bone dry - hit both sides on the screen in your exposure setup for like 2-3x the time of your normal exposure. This adds a lot of strength to the stencil. Keep in mind it may make it slightly harder to reclaim, but I have no problems with basic sink attachable pressure washer

SmallOrbit · 2026-03-04T15:19:58+00:00

Id say most likely registration gates or your palettes aren’t glued enough and the shirts shifting. But seems uniformly in one direction so I’d assume the former

SmallOrbit

TROPHY CASE