HELP!

[tyang94]

I have a silkscreen that i just recently bought and burned to screen printing an image but after burning it and trying to print nothing came out. Also when i cleaned the paint and emulsion off the design was still on the screen. i have an attached photo of how the screen looks now. if someone could help me it would me much appreciated.

thank you

[Shamax]

Hey, and welcome to the forum!

It looks as though your screen didn't expose and washout properly - in fact, I'd say it's probably overexposed. You say you "burned and tried printing" - did you washout your screen after exposing/burning the image? When you wash-out, the areas of the emulsion that are blocked by the lines on your artwork should wash away, leaving open mesh for ink to pass through. Let us know what steps you went through to burn the screen / make your stencil, and we should be able to help steer you in the right direction.

[tyang94]

i started with covering the screen with emulsion that i sensitized. Then i let it dry and then burned an image on with transparency. Then i washed it out and let it dry. After that i tried to press the design onto a shirt but ink couldnt pass through. So i just washed out the ink first then used the emulsion cleaner after and thats how it turned out in the photo. hopefully this is alittle bit more detail

[Shamax]

Hmm.. so when you initially washed it out after exposing, did it wash the emulsion out completely? Could you see open areas of mesh where your design was? If the ink wouldn't pass through, that sounds like the emulsion didn't wash out completely.

How long did you let the image expose, and under what kind of light?
How did you wash the screen out? Under a sink faucet or using a hose/power-washer? and for how long?

Also, it sounds like you tried to "reclaim" the screen, meaning you wanted to wash the emulsion completely off and start over, but it didn't work. If so, you either didn't use enough water pressure when trying to wash it, or you may have used the wrong (or an outdated) chemical to clean it off.

[tyang94]

Yes i was able to see the open areas of mesh where the design was.
It was exposed for about an hour with a 57watt bulb about 6inches away
i washed it out with a sink faucet for about 15 minutes

yes i tried to reclaim it. the chemical that i bought came with the silkscreen and colors

[Catspit Productions]

I’ll give this a go...

I think this exposure set up is the culprit here. A 57 watt bulb sounds like a 60 watt house lamp. Very low UV but lots of heat.

Try a 500 watt work lamp about 2 feet away from the screen. Also the image you posted here looks like there never was a stencil. Did I talk to you by phone because I say this sounds like something I spoke with a lady about recently?

I’m not sure if you understand what you are looking for when you make a stencil. When the design is exposed correctly on the emulsion it will washout where the design was on the film positive. The mesh should look exactly like it did before you coated the screen with emulsion ONLY in the design areas.

If you can upload a closer shot of this “stencil” I could determine that positively. But I Am pretty sure that is the case. Your design is obviously not entirely there and it looks like a latent image. It does not look at all like the design washed out.

This playlist should solve all your problems if you take the time to watch some if not all of these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6CF8C2BE4D37F563

[tyang94]

heres alittle bit close

[tyang94]

.

[tyang94]

what would i use to clean the ink/ relcaim the screen now?

[Shamax]

Ok, I couldn't tell from the earlier pictures, but it looks like *most* of the emulsion washed out, and now you've got a ghost image left on your screen. Ghost images are usually the result of ink staining the open areas of the mesh. If that's that color of the ink you were using, you may want to try using some "dehazer" /haze remover to get out what you can. If what I'm seeing in those pics is leftover emulsion, then you'll want to try using some more reclaimer on it and a bit of water pressure (maybe take your screen to a coin-op car wash and use their hose?). I've heard you can use bleach as well, but you'll want to be careful and not do that very often, as it will weaken the mesh over time and cause your screen to wear out faster.