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Exposure,washout, emolsion problems

Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2013 10:17 pm
by DDclothing
Ok so i have a company named DIRT DYNASTY its based on street clothe but also we have a separate line just for sports and here is where my trouble starts, im very familiar with vinil heat transfers but its just far too expensive so i decided to start silkscreen prints, i have a pretty standard kit cost me about 3,000 bfs ( 500 us dolars legal price ) it includes a Lightbox, (5 long 110w lights), emulsion inks ect.
Exposing problems, i have watched most of your videos on exposing and putting the emulsion on the screens , i let it dry with a fan and then put my design and trying to expose my screen but they say it needs just 3 minutes to expose but it didnt work, the i left it for 10 and i ended up leaving it for an hour and it was still under exposed, i put my other screen for 1.30 and it didnt even expose right neither.
Ghost problems, i used a screen that my friend exposed and gave to me, i printed the shirts i wanted and when i went to the wash out booth to clear my emulsion to make a new design a red ghost from the ink didnt wash out.
Emulsion problems, same as ghost but this time is my emulsion that didnt wash out entirely, please help im getting so frustrated.
P.s i use waterbased ink

Re: Exposure,washout, emolsion problems

Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 5:58 am
by ApeShirt
What leads you to say it is underexposed? What kind of emulsion are you using? How old is it? As far as an image left in the screen when reclaiming it, use a dehazer/stain remover. Sometimes the image doesn't come out completely but it usually doesn't interfere with functionality.

Re: Exposure,washout, emolsion problems

Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 6:04 am
by drew
Your transparencies need to be Very dark or it can cause a lot of problems. You may need to double them if they aren't dark enough. It has to have even pressure on the transparency and I use around 40 pounds of pressure when exposing my screens. I set it for 4min 20 sec with a 500 watt UV exposure unit. You may want to check if the emulsion is rated for water base ink and if its duel cure emulsion. I'm sure the more experienced guys can help a lot more but its a starting point. Lol.

Re: Exposure,washout, emolsion problems

Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 11:24 am
by DDclothing
ApeShirt wrote:What leads you to say it is underexposed? What kind of emulsion are you using? How old is it? As far as an image left in the screen when reclaiming it, use a dehazer/stain remover. Sometimes the image doesn't come out completely but it usually doesn't interfere with functionality.
its new emulsion, and its from the only store i know of that sells screenprinting items called "Brillo Urbano"
i think its under exposed cause ive been watching and reading alot about emulsion exposure and it leads me to say that it is under exposed

Re: Exposure,washout, emolsion problems

Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 7:08 pm
by Catspit Productions
Thanks for watching my videos.

I think you’ll need to explain more about what is happening when you washout the screen. You can upload a photo of the resulting screen if you like. That would help out greatly.

The staining of the ink in the mesh after reclaiming is common. You can use a haze remover to reduce or eliminate the stain. It’s good to haze and stain removing now and then when you recycle screens.

http://www.catspitproductionsllc.com/fo ... ?f=12&t=12

Re: Exposure,washout, emolsion problems

Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:12 am
by DDclothing
It does not burn right, like lets say i have a circle "O" i burn it and it only burns halfway. "C" or it doesnt burn at all
Catspit Productions wrote:Thanks for watching my videos.

I think you’ll need to explain more about what is happening when you washout the screen. You can upload a photo of the resulting screen if you like. That would help out greatly.

The staining of the ink in the mesh after reclaiming is common. You can use a haze remover to reduce or eliminate the stain. It’s good to haze and stain removing now and then when you recycle screens.

http://www.catspitproductionsllc.com/fo ... ?f=12&t=12

Re: Exposure,washout, emolsion problems

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 4:33 pm
by Catspit Productions
Maybe the film positive is poor combined with a poor exposure due to the light source or the emulsion. I can only guess really but I might try using water proof inkjet film positives and maybe a better emulsion. I think I may have heard here on the forum that that emulsion is a little difficult to work with requiring longer than usual times in the washout booth.

Try some Saati emulsion:

http://www.catspitproductionsllc.com/sa ... icals.html

I use their emulsions a lot. It’s good stuff baby ;)

Re: Exposure,washout, emolsion problems

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 5:30 pm
by DDclothing
DDclothing wrote:It does not burn right, like lets say i have a circle "O" i burn it and it only burns halfway. "C" or it doesnt burn at all
Catspit Productions wrote:Thanks for watching my videos.

I think you’ll need to explain more about what is happening when you washout the screen. You can upload a photo of the resulting screen if you like. That would help out greatly.

The staining of the ink in the mesh after reclaiming is common. You can use a haze remover to reduce or eliminate the stain. It’s good to haze and stain removing now and then when you recycle screens.

http://www.catspitproductionsllc.com/fo ... ?f=12&t=12
Its pretty hard for me to order since i live in venezuela haha! But ill see what i can do for now ! Any tips for screen printing ? Like ive been having trouble flooding the screen as smoothly as you

Re: Exposure,washout, emolsion problems

Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 7:28 pm
by Catspit Productions
I know that sucks. A lot of people I help are in other countries and have difficulty getting good supplies.

Flooding just takes some time to get used to. You’ll become an ink slinger after some time. It’s about getting used to handling the ink.

There’s not much I can tell you unless I were there to give you some hands on instruction. You have to use the right amount of pressure to fully pull the ink up over the stencil. Unless you push flood: