my first shirt attempt

[Lottie05]

So last night I attempted to print my first shirt. However it didn't turn out to be perfect. When I used my exposure kit to burn the screen and I could see the design perfectly when I started the washout some of the design messed up. Not sure if I let it sit enough before trying to washout the design. Any suggestions for my next attempt I know it has to improve.

[Shamax]

So when you hold your screen up to a light, I assume you still see bits of emulsion in what should be open areas of the design? That indicates that either you overexposed your screen or you didn't wash it out completely enough and got emulsion locked/dried in the mesh. What kind of emulsion are you using with your kit and what does your washout process look like? I'm currently using a photopolymer emulsion, and once-exposed I usually just get the stencil damp, let it sit and develop for about 20 seconds or so, then wash it out. When I was using Ryonet's WBP dual-cure emulsion, it didn't matter how long I let it sit and devlop, I has to wash and wash and wash for what seemed like ages to get a decent stencil.

Good to see you're not getting discouraged though - it's all a learning process, especially in the beginning

[Lottie05]

Thanks Shamax, I realized where I went wrong when I was washing out the design I was scared I was losing my image but what really was happening was the emulsion was actually suppose to leave from the screen in the areas that were to be open. I was focusing on the wrong thing trying to remove the emulsion from around the image and not spraying the actual image. I tried it again and the image burned and washed out the correct way. Now my next learning curve is to get the right amount of ink on the screen and print without to much pressure causing the ink to be to heavy on the shirt.

[Leadfoot]

What mesh count is the screen you are using? That can have some to do with the amount of ink being laid down...