Need help with question about emulsion

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OneDropAlarm
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Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2015 8:55 am

Need help with question about emulsion

Post by OneDropAlarm »

Hello, I am new to the forum and new to screen printing. I am doing something that is fairly rare and need some direction. I recently had a screen made for me for my product I call One Drop Alarm. It a flat mat that is placed underneath a sink, laundry machine, fish aquarium or any where else that a water leak may occur. If one drop of water hits the mat, it triggers an attached alarm, notifying the user that a leak has occurred.

I am screen printing a conductive ink on a polyester film. The design is a series of lines that are 4mm apart from each other. No two lines are touch each other. When a drop of water lands on the mat, it completes a circuit and thus, sending a signal to an attached alarm.

Here's the problem I ran into. After the first run, I didn't get the screen cleaned well enough, using RC5 to clean the scree. I then used a screen opener on the screen, scrubbed it lightly with a paper towel and it took off some of the edges of emulsion, rendering the screen now useless.

I will need to have another screen made for me. My question is, even though I am sure that the emulsion is suppose to me chemically resistant, is there a stronger emulsion that can be used to be more chemically resistant or a hardener that can be added? I am not sure what was used before and all I know about it is that it was red in color. I will never need to remove the emulsion, so something that is 100% permanent (and very durable) is okay. I was a little long-winded, but I wanted to make sure the reader understood what I am doing.

Any advice on this?

Thanks,
Matt
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Catspit Productions
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Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:47 am
Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Re: Need help with question about emulsion

Post by Catspit Productions »

Yes, you need to first use an emulsion that is resistant to the specific inks you're using. Then you need to make sure the solvents you use are not aggressive and compatible with the emulsion. It is possible to use a hardener to solidify the emulsion "permanently."

I have these emulsions for graphic industrial use age but I focus mainly on textile products. See the product descriptions for details.

http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/saa ... on-gallon/

http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/saa ... on-gallon/

One is a dual cure and the other is a photopolymer. I would post cure the photopolymer for good measure and the following solvents would work well with the mentioned inks.



Plastisol:
http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/saa ... ress-wash/

Solvent, discharge and water based:
http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/saa ... ress-wash/

Screen openers can be aggressive so I would use a citrus based one if at all needed:
http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/alb ... ener-1634/

I can get a hardener for you if you need it but I do not have one listed on my eCommerce site because there is not much call for it.
Jonathan Monaco
Catspit Productions, LLC
Learn how to screen print tee shirts!

http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/CatspitProductions
OneDropAlarm
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2015 8:55 am

Re: Need help with question about emulsion

Post by OneDropAlarm »

Thanks Jonathon. You do a great job with your business, getting customer engagement. I have referred to many of your YouTube videos. I have another question for you. Do you have any recommendations for somebody that can expose over-sized screens? I have a print size of roughly 21"x33". If they can use a stainless steel mesh would be a plus, as it is recommended, but not required, by the ink supplier.

Thanks again,
Matt
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Catspit Productions
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Posts: 1995
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:47 am
Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Re: Need help with question about emulsion

Post by Catspit Productions »

You're very welcome. My pleasure to help out where I can.

Thanks, I try hard to help people first and teach them as much as I can before they make a purchase with me. An educated customer is a happy customer.

I do not know anyone that would do that for you currently. Stainless steel mesh is very expensive and not just anyone can stretch it. You have a unique project that may require you to do much of your own fabricating and prototyping which I am assuming you are already doing ;)

So you may have to figure it out yourself if you cannot find a printer locally to assist you. You endeavor is rather technical in nature too so textile printers may not be of much help.
Jonathan Monaco
Catspit Productions, LLC
Learn how to screen print tee shirts!

http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/CatspitProductions
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