EZ Film Failure...again

[cory.haynes.54]

So I recently tried the ez30 and ez50 products from ulano and found them to be complete garbage. I was looking into the capillary films as I have just bought an automatic press and it was recommended I switch from liquid emulsion. I tried ez30 about a year, year and a half ago. It grabbed the ink on the film when I burned my screens and tore when I removed it. It sprayed out when I tried the to spray the image out of the screen. It wont stand up to any cleaning chemicals that I have used, meaning I cant wash out ink and resuse the screen later. Fortunately I didnt pay for the product this time around, I was given ez50 and ez30 samples. This stuff has been the biggest aggrevation in my seven year career as a screenprinter. I tried to have these issues addressed by ulano but none of the email addresses on the contact page worked....hmmm. so here I am, asking the true pros, not the ulano guys. What are your experiences with this junk?

[mimosatexas]

Why would you use cap film instead of liquid emulsion just because youre printing on an auto...that doesnt make sense to me.  Cap film is great for HD inks and a few other applications, but standard liquid emulsions are used by auto shops all day everyday.

[Frog]

Why would you use cap film instead of liquid emulsion just because youre printing on an auto...that doesnt make sense to me.  Cap film is great for HD inks and a few other applications, but standard liquid emulsions are used by auto shops all day everyday.

I don't know if this is why someone suggested it to him, but the answer to your question would be consistency. Perfect "coat", same thickness, one less possible variable

[cory.haynes.54]

I get that, but im trying to figure out why this crap wont work. There expensive films work fine. Their easy films are a hot pile of garbage. Im trying to figure out if there is a different process for the ez films.

[prozyan]

No.  EZ film is the low cost version and it behaves like it.1

[Frog]

Not to make light of Cory's plight, but EZ film does not seem like an apt name. It doesn't sound so easy to work with.

[prozyan]

When I was using cap film, I give the EZ film a try.  I have at least a 40% failure rate.  It was a joke.

[Shanarchy]

The EZ film works great.

I do question why you would be suggested to switch to it just because you want automatic, but that is another story.

I switched from liquid emulsion to capillary film about a year in as a small home-base printer. I haven't stopped using it. I justify the added cost for the reason Frog sited, and I like the time savings of having screens go to the dip tank, cleaned and coated, and put in the drying rack all in one step. I'm still a small shop and have my screen guy do all the screen cleaning/coating once a week.

The problem you are having is with waterproof film I would bet. The micro coating is designed to immediately absorb the ink droplet. That's how you get that instantly dry ready for use film. It will do the same thing to any moisture. Especially when it's humid. I pull the carrier sheet off the screen, put a little bit of baby powder in my hand and quickly rub the screen down. This will solve that problem. Or use a non-waterproof film.

Keep in mind capillary film is only stuck to the back of the screen. Unlock emulsion you are not putting a coat on the inside of the screen which kinda locks it together. When you wash it out, wet the outside down, then wet the inside down. Don't power wash it, just wet it. Give it a minute for the water to do it's job. Then hit it from the back (shirt side) only. This way you are not adding pressure to push it off the screen.

I do not degrease or use a wetting agent, or any of that other silly stuff. I just coat a freshly cleaned screen and I'm done with it.

If you are looking to clean the ink out and save the screen for later use, this is probably not the best product. But I learned long ago it's so much easier for me (emphasis on for me) to clean and re-coat every screen, and make a new screen when a re-order comes in.

Of course you have to have your optimal exposure time dialed in and they will be different from your liquid emulsion. If you are using a Nu-Arc MSP3140 I would be more than happy to share my settings.

Again, as much I love using cap film here, I do question why you are being instructed to switch. Were you having an issue with liquid emulsion? Or looking for a certain benefit that only capillary film can offer you?

I would be more than happy to help you in any way I can, but if it's not broke, don't fix it.

[Evo]

it was recommended I switch from liquid emulsion

Were you having issues with liquid emulsion or was this a sales person trying to make some extra commission?

Please let us know what exposure source you are using (and reclaim details, etc) and I'm sure most of the posters here can make some excellent suggestions to remedy any issues you might have.

We do that here.

[cory.haynes.54]

I think what the sales guy was getting at is that maybe its more durable, or maybe an automatic press is more taxing on the screen. My only issue with liquid emulsion has been exposing some fine half tones. Ive been told by more than one printer that cap film is better for that purpose. For now I am sticking with liquid. I just wanted to make sure I was goofing up the process with this stuff.

[Sbrem]

Exposing fine halftones should really not be a problem, but it does require some "dialing" in, which I'm pretty sure you know is a combination of time and distance of the light source. You should be able to make an exposure test with squares that have a fill from 0 - 100%, then you can test each emulsion and mesh count...

Steve

[cory.haynes.54]

Yeah, I did that with accurip. But it seems like sometimes if the emulsion is just a little to thick on the screen it wont spray out.