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reclaiming screens

Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 7:44 pm
by hawric
We are currently using a 3 step process to reclaim our screens. Do the dip tanks and one step chemical that takes off the ink and emulsion in 3 to 4 minutes work as good as they claim? Will it work on white ink also? Thanks for any feedback.

Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:44 pm
by Jeremy
I would be interested in knowing, as well. I've often looked into them, but could never talk myself into it. I just think... "Too good to be true?" I hope not.

Works great and less filling

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 6:23 pm
by JESSUPINC
The dip tanks and solutions work great for plastisol inks. However, they are only good for higher volume shops due to the fact that time will expire the chemicals. If you do several screens a day or more, it's good.
To extend the life of the chemical ink/emulsion stripper, you need to scrape off as much ink as possible first.

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:35 am
by Jmastro
I don't know how you reclaim screens without using a pressure washer, no matter how powerful your chemicals are. Plus the stronger the chemicals the quicker they will wear down your mesh. I never recommend dip tanks solely because they do nothing but dilute the emulsion remover with the water, which will double the amount of time you need to leave emusion remover or haze on, and because they hold the waste as opposed to removing it, so it's like 5 kids reusing old bath water... Nothing really gets clean. It must cause a lot of pinholes... all i see when i think of this is pinholes. Screen making is such a sensitive process, and it will affect your print quality and color matching dramatically.

Good luck-

Jennifer Mastro

Re: reclaiming screens

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 5:25 pm
by printzombie
I was thinking a process like this would require a pressure washer; after the screens soak in the chemical bath they would either drip dry before or go straight to the power washer to get the rest of the gunk out. Our shop just lost our screen cleaner so now the three of us printers are trying to come up with a way to clean the screens without hiring a full-time screen cleaning guy. right now we manage cleaning the screens the long way ourselves, but our busy season is in the spring, and if we don't have a viable solution by then, we're gonna have to take a hit by hiring someone.

Does anyone actually have first hand experience with this process and can they provide specific positive and negative aspects to it (including the product you are using)? so far everyone's posts are completely reasonable and make sense... even the conflicting ones >.<

Re: reclaiming screens

Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:09 pm
by d fleming
Ever thought about getting an intern from the local highschool/vocational programs? Theyare part time, come and go and cheap. Use them only when needed.

Re: reclaiming screens

Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:44 am
by stray51
Dip tanks are the way to go. We've had no problem with pinholes whatsoever, on any mesh from 83s to 355. Two steps as oppsed to 4 save loads of time! You'll have to watch your chemicals a bit, addding to the tank from time to time, when they start to get a little weak and take longer to dissolve the emulsion. Its a good way to go, I'd suggest giving it a shot!

Re: reclaiming screens

Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:02 am
by ROADSIDE
I also agree that dip tanks are a great investment.

You still have to scrub them and pressure wash them but it does take a lot less time.
My shop is fairly small. We use about 8 screens a day on average and we reclaim them every few days.

Pin Holes are cause primarily when chemicals are allowed to DRY on the screen.

#1 Dip
#2 Scrub (no abrasive scrubber)
#3 Pressure Rinse
#4 Degrease (includes scrubbing both sides in a circular motion)
#5 Pressure Rinse
#6 DRY THE SCREEN (if you see water drips or have mist get it off)
#7 Let dry in the rack for a few hours
Then its ready for emulsion.

Re: reclaiming screens

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:41 am
by taglessthreads.com
I highly recommend a dip tank. We let the screens sit for 5 to 6 minutes, spray a little dehazer, use pressure washer, and let dry. They say it last 6 months but I think it's more like 4. I guess it depends on how often you use it.