Emulsion Breakdown issues - Help!

[Outdoorgangster]

Hey, we've been looking through other peoples posts and trying all the suggestions we could find with no luck. When we started our business, about 8 months ago, we didn't have this issue. Emulsion was working perfectly (during summer)- we are in Utah so now it's winter. We are getting bubbling. Water starts to seep inbetween the two layers of emulsion and causes it to lift. Sometimes it is salvagable sometimes not. We've wasted a lot of time, emulsion and sanity changing and doing things differently with the same results. We are basically at the point where we might just give up. The last 7 screens we've made have been wasted. I have attached a photo of what is happening. Here is what we are doing/using:

Emulsion: We used Dual Cure Ryonet Emulsion (Pink) which worked many times and suddenly no longer so we switched emulsions to the Blue Dual Cure Ryonet, and are still having the same issues. We even switched types of distilled water we were using to mix it. We put one coat on each side of the screen. Because we read that drying time could be an issue, we've been letting them dry between 2-8 days......doesn't seem to fix the issue.

Mesh: We have two kinds that we order from ryonet as well. This are the basic mesh - can't remember the count off the top of my head.

Degreaser: We use the ryonet degreaser. We have been extra careful with this as we've read it can cause problems. We've degreased screen several times over several minutes and rinse it well. We let it dry before we emulsion with a fan blowing on it.

Exposure: Our exposure Unit is the basic two bulb unit that comes with ryonet starter packs. It is open and does not close over the screen. We've gone from 7-11 minutes of exposure time to try and figure this out. There is no pattern, it happens no matter the exposure time. (Could this crappy unit be the issue?)

Designs: We get our transparencies printed at Fedex copy store, we use between 2-3 transparencies for each design as the printer ink isn't completely opague but after we double them it is ok. We also did this at the beginning with zero issues.

Any help or ideas would be great. We are beyond frustrated and our company is small. We are wasting too much money on these screens and then we can't get them to function. Thanks!

[ApeShirt]

How old is the emulsion after adding the diazo? It has a shelf life of around 3 months after mixing it.

[Catspit Productions]

This appears to me to be an emulsion to mesh adhesion issue. If these were new screens then you may need to abrade the mesh some so the emulsion can have something to bite on. I see you say you are degreasing but it does look like some areas are adhering and others are not. That again leads me to suspect emulsion to mesh adhesion. So a serious mesh prep where you dry them in a very clean room with no fan or breeze. They will dry quickly enough just like that. Make sure you super rinse the mesh and frame edges after degreasing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6rK44a9Xu0

Also the emulsion looks supersaturated with water. It looks like maybe the screen spent too much time in the water. It should rinse out in 3 minutes or less. 5 minutes would be pushing the time you should be spending in the washout booth.

If the emulsion was bad it would simply not work. The dual cure would not expose and I think the Ryonet crap, I mean stuff, has a long shelf life like Greg said

Also excessive heat, cold or humidity in the screen making area may affect or disrupt emulsion performance. Carefully examine what variables have changed since the process last worked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRIFnYUucr0

[Outdoorgangster]

Thanks for the help guys. The emulsion is definitely not yet 3 months old.

We do a lot of prep in our house so maybe we'll try something different on that, maybe dust is blowing on them before we emulsion and after we degrease.

As far as using to much water on the screen, we think you're right. But unless we do that, our screens never wash out correctly. Is that underexposure? That is what we can't figure out. We've upped exposure time, added more stencils so the ink is darker and lets in less light etc. but it still takes a long time for the stencil to wash out. Then we end up with too much water - seems like a vicious cycle. That is why we thought maybe our exposure unit was really crappy......

Don't worry, we will no longer be using Ryonet. Not after finding Catspit.

[Catspit Productions]

Yes, I think what is happening is the transparencies even though they are doubled or tripled they are letting light through to semi cure the emulsion. A better film positive would solve this or perhaps you can lessen your exposure time.

So this could be the issue. The added exposure time is semi curing the emulsion where you do not want it to leading you to spend more time in the washout booth which leads to the emulsion getting saturated and peeling or bubbling off the mesh.

The film positives can make or break you when making screens. Try to get some water proof inkjet film positives and use an inkjet printer. You can use a color rich black to make some killer spot color films.

http://howtoscreenprintshirts.com/2011/ ... -software/

I’m glad you found me and let me know if I can help out anytime. I appreciate an opportunity to do business with you. I may not have everything Ryonet has but I only sell products that I actually use. And I will be adding products as I go forward.