About the "thick edges" when coating emulsion

[kulakula]

Hi guys, refering to the red circles in the photo, everytime when i coat a screen i got the "thick edges". Which is not a critical problem but quite annoying to me. Anyone got ideas of why this is happening and how to prevent?

Thanks guys.

[drew]

I usually don't worry about them but if they get to thick it makes reclaiming more difficult. If I get one that's real bad, I will go over them with an ink card or piece of paper just to spread it out. Its out on the edge so it won't affect the print area at all.

[ApeShirt]

Sometimes emulsion simply leaks from the ends of the scoop coater. Make sure the end caps are on tight. But sometimes it just happens. If it happens all the time, check the end caps.

[Catspit Productions]

Yes, just a little excess from the sides of the scoop coater. Try filling the coater with a little less emulsion when you coat.

This very recent video also coincidentally addresses this in a normal production run.

[Saati]

One of the main causes of this is not using the coater properly. if you notice the encaps have a angled edge. this needs to be in contact with the mesh. if you have it tilted away from the mesh it will cause the heavy beads. A secont purpose of the edge is to ensure you are using the same angle against the screen every time you coat.

With that being said I see this more time than not. People tend to scrape the emulsion on instead of letting the trough do the work. when you do this the easiest remidy is to use a scraper and smooth out the bead (kind of like applying the blockout).

[Catspit Productions]

Excelelnt point Saati, thanks again for the awesome details.

I think sometimes even I may tilt away from the mesh and I get the excess emulsion on the edges and even dwelling once and a while. But it also occurs when my scoop coater is too full with emulsion. When I coat 12 to 17 screens at once I always have a couple with minor imperfections like this.... LOL. I never bothered to smooth it out with a scraper since it is out of the stencil area. So lazy

This is a great reminder on proper scoop coater usage. Thank you!