cleaning problems at 2 stages
Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 6:30 pm
I used to screen print shirts for my old band when i was a teenager, just simple stencils made with screen filler. i never had any problems cleaning up. recently, i decided to start screening again and i wanted to try photo emulsion. i am very happy with the level of detail i'm able to achieve, but i'm running into some difficulties.
1) after doing a run of a few shirts, i wanted to rinse out the ink but LEAVE THE EMULSION so i could use the same image later. i was unable to get all of the ink out, and to my dismay, portions of the emulsion washed out, rendering the image useless for further printing. what's more, i was under the impression that plastisol ink would not dry in my screen. i was horribly wrong, and now i'm left with portions of the screen blocked that definitely aren't supposed to be.
2) after all of the above, i figured i would just completely reclaim the screen and start over. i've got it much cleaner than it was, but there are still fine areas of dried ink and large patches of emulsion blocking the screen.
i've tried speedball screen cleaning solution, yudu emulsion remover, easiway 701 screenwash/stain remover, easiway supra ink cleaner & emulsion remover, soap, bleach, and mineral spirits, all with much more elbow grease than it seems they should require. so far, the easiway 701 screenwash/stain remover has been the most effective, but the screen is still far from being usable again.
i've heard that the emulsion might be so hard to wash out because i used too much of it, or because of a reaction to the chemicals i used to try to rinse the ink out. but that doesn't explain why the ink won't come out, or why it dried in the first place (i've read countless times that plastisol inks WILL NOT dry on the screen, at least not in a short period of time).
at this point i've been cleaning my screen for a total of about 7 hours. i know it is not supposed to be this hard.
can anyone please offer advice?
1) after doing a run of a few shirts, i wanted to rinse out the ink but LEAVE THE EMULSION so i could use the same image later. i was unable to get all of the ink out, and to my dismay, portions of the emulsion washed out, rendering the image useless for further printing. what's more, i was under the impression that plastisol ink would not dry in my screen. i was horribly wrong, and now i'm left with portions of the screen blocked that definitely aren't supposed to be.
2) after all of the above, i figured i would just completely reclaim the screen and start over. i've got it much cleaner than it was, but there are still fine areas of dried ink and large patches of emulsion blocking the screen.
i've tried speedball screen cleaning solution, yudu emulsion remover, easiway 701 screenwash/stain remover, easiway supra ink cleaner & emulsion remover, soap, bleach, and mineral spirits, all with much more elbow grease than it seems they should require. so far, the easiway 701 screenwash/stain remover has been the most effective, but the screen is still far from being usable again.
i've heard that the emulsion might be so hard to wash out because i used too much of it, or because of a reaction to the chemicals i used to try to rinse the ink out. but that doesn't explain why the ink won't come out, or why it dried in the first place (i've read countless times that plastisol inks WILL NOT dry on the screen, at least not in a short period of time).
at this point i've been cleaning my screen for a total of about 7 hours. i know it is not supposed to be this hard.
can anyone please offer advice?