Ok I have a few Q's that hopefully someone can help me with

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evilcowstare
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Ok I have a few Q's that hopefully someone can help me with

Post by evilcowstare »

Hi everyone this is my 1st post :o)

So to kick start me off here are all my problem whcih I'm hoping someone can shed some light on.....

I am completely new to screen printing and never tried it so decided to start my own t shirt print design company ( hmmm when i put it like that sounds stupid lol)
Anyway I have purchased all of my stuff from a site called www.screenprintsuppliesuk.com
Mainly as they are the cheapest I found and also had everything I needed without having to go to different shops. Although their support is completely rubbish and they never come back to any mails

1. I got an exposure unit off them, which basically has a 1000w halogen light which I know is the poorest of the UV lights you can get but it was cheap and I didnt know it wasnt the best til after getting it.
I am using yellow 110 screens and for the life of me cant work out what exposure time i need!! Im having a nightmare and its really getting me down. When I mixed the emulsion, despite shaking it like mad the sensitizer wasnt completely mixed which after washing out the lil tube it came in saw the remnants wash down the drain :o/ . Anyway I mixed in what I had and kept it all in the dark. I degreased the screen and let dry then applied the emulsion with a trough on both sides. I let dry for about 2 hrs. I then laid it onto some black foam and 17" from the light with the film and then a sheet of glass on top. I had no way to work out the time to expose it for so guessed, I tried 6 mins as I read it somewhere else. When washing afterwards the image was there but then almost as soon as it was through the rest of the emusion came with it. The next day I tried again, this time for 12mins, on this occasion the image lasted longer in cleaning but then again the emulsion ran away. Then lastly i tried 30 mins just to see what would happen, the image was there for quite a while but again then started to wash away, the emulsion felt slimey to touch. The image is being kept just doesnt seem to stay :o(

Also after the 30 mins the screen was really REALLY REALLY hard to clean, the bloody emulsion just wouldnt come off with stencil stripper or a high pressure wash, I think I got most of it off now but not 100% sure, why was it so hard?

How do I work out the exposure time? Why wouldnt it come straight off? I feel so sniff !


2. While using the pressure washer to clean the screen it seems it was too powerful and has now made loose some of the glue that held the mesh in place is there anything I can do to fix it or did i kill the screen?

3. Can you use white water-based ink on black tshirts? I know it seeps into the material so will that make it white or just mix with the black?

4. Anyone got any tips?

It would just be nice to at least make one screen that works !
Does anyone know anybody in London, UK that could teach me or help me out?

Thank You everyone
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d fleming
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Post by d fleming »

Get rid of the halogen. Get some unfiltered uv flourescents. Keep them about 3 or 4" away from screen to expose. Run a step wedge test. Expose the screen in increments using a piece of carboard to gradually pull away and expose more of the screen. Run from 8 to 20 minutes. During washout see which section of screen exposes best. You should have info on a step wedge test from manufacturer in box your emulsion came in. What kind of emulsion are you using? You may want to try some ulano rlx considering your exposure system. It is very forgiving and their is much useful info in the box with msds sheet. Use remover and cleaner recommended by ulano or maybe Naz-Dar. You can get in touch with them @ nazdar.com. Just one of many useful outlets. Been using them for over 20 years myself, reputable company. You should be able to wash your image using water hose with maybe a spray nozzle on it. 2 hours seems a bit fast to dry freshly coated screens. Let them sit for 24 and see if that helps. I don't use water base inks so can't help there. Keep strokin
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ROADSIDE
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Post by ROADSIDE »

man... my nuarc has me spoiled.... burning screens in less then 3 minutes.
.... I can give you my opinion but I can't tell you if it's right or not.
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d fleming
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Post by d fleming »

Yeah Yeah. Used to do it outside with glass in the pre-oldfart era. 3 minutes in summer, 5 in winter.
ftembroidery
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Post by ftembroidery »

I'm nearly finished building my metal-halide unit. It's 1000 watts. What is interesting to me is, I have a 4-tube flourescent unit that exposes my screens in 18 seconds. I sure hope my metal-halide unit doesn't take 3 minutes to do the same thing.
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