Base for starting exposure test (yeah another one)

[Gilligan]

Definitely!  I've done well coating my screens (no big mess or anything) but "even"... ha!  probably not.  I try my best but when you are fumbling through with no real teaching... well, I know I must be doing somethings wrong.

[Denis Kolar]

I do it twice on the shirt side and once on the squeegee side

Emulsion - How to coat your screen!

[Gilligan]

Basically same process.  I do it one handed while manipulating the screen with the other hand.

I'm doing it 3:1  I did the first run 2:1 on the 158's and someone suggested it would need 3:1 to get to the "glisten point".

I'm also using the round edge vs sharp edge.

[Denis Kolar]

2/1 sharp works for me.
Build that little stand, that will free your other hand (that is why I attached that video)

[Gilligan]

Yeah, I was looking at that and trying to figure out how to incorporate that into my setup.

Only issue I have with using a stand is that it's nice to lean the screen forward to help with flow back of emulsion when you get to the top.

[Evo]

I do it twice on the shirt side and once on the squeegee side
Emulsion - How to coat your screen!

Hmm.

I coat once on the print side and twice on the squeegee side. I find this "pushes" the emulsion through to the print side more effectively. I've been using an old Black and Decker Workmate as my coating stand. I clamp a 2x2 in it as a stop block and hold the other end of the frame.

Then of course, I dry it in a de-humidified, filtered room, horizontally, print side down.

If I need a thicker stencil, (for a thicker ink film) I add more coats to the print side, drying in between each coat.



Gilligan, you dry em print side down, right?

[Gilligan]

LOL... umm... my drying method is as you guys can imagine... "unique".

I load them on my press and pull the heads down (platens out of the way) so they are ALMOST horizontal but print side down.  Then I run a big box fan to quickly "dry" them.  Then after they are basically dry (30 mins?) I load them into the cardboard box they came in.  I cover this up to keep it as light tight as possible (I also leave them print side down in there).

The method of coating is the one described by Douglas Grigar though I don't really see the glisten, I just go with a few coats and move on... I THINK it's glistening but it's hard to see it next to my glistening body.

That last squeegee side is apparently the key to all of this coating stuff... it pushes all the emulsion through to the print side.

[Denis Kolar]

LOL... umm... my drying method is as you guys can imagine... "unique".

I load them on my press and pull the heads down (platens out of the way) so they are ALMOST horizontal but print side down.  Then I run a big box fan to quickly "dry" them.  Then after they are basically dry (30 mins?) I load them into the cardboard box they came in.  I cover this up to keep it as light tight as possible (I also leave them print side down in there).

The method of coating is the one described by Douglas Grigar though I don't really see the glisten, I just go with a few coats and move on... I THINK it's glistening but it's hard to see it next to my glistening body.

That last squeegee side is apparently the key to all of this coating stuff... it pushes all the emulsion through to the print side.

You are going to bust your springs, do not keep the print head down for a long time.
Buy a rack, or build a rack.

[Gilligan]

Never thought of that.

It is definitely in the plans...  Just been swamped with everything.

A printer/embroider friend of mine also runs an ice cream truck business and he uses large broken chest freezers (he stands them on end)... he has several broken ones (as you can imagine he probably goes through a few of these in his business... running those compressors on generators is probably bad for them   ).  So he said I could have one.  I'll be building my rack out of one of those.  Just trying to figure out how to circulate some air in and out of it.... I'm guessing some baffles built in or around it.  Maybe cut out some offset holes through the insulation and such.

Don't hate me because I'm an evil thrifty genius.

[Frog]

I dry in my cabinet using furring strip blocks between the screens. I remember years ago, someone said that they use clothes pins as spacers.

At any rate, stack and dry a dozen or so at a time this way.

[Shawn (EIP)]

Never thought of that.

It is definitely in the plans...  Just been swamped with everything.

A printer/embroider friend of mine also runs an ice cream truck business and he uses large broken chest freezers (he stands them on end)... he has several broken ones (as you can imagine he probably goes through a few of these in his business... running those compressors on generators is probably bad for them   ).  So he said I could have one.  I'll be building my rack out of one of those.  Just trying to figure out how to circulate some air in and out of it.... I'm guessing some baffles built in or around it.  Maybe cut out some offset holes through the insulation and such.

Don't hate me because I'm an evil thrifty genius.

Even a bakers rack with a light proof blanket draping over it would work till you have something more effient. The first thing I though of was man this guy must get a lot of pin holes with that method, as presses collect some dust over time. 

[Gilligan]

I only leave them there 15-30 mins... After that they are tucked away.

[Evo]

I load them into the cardboard box they came in.  I cover this up to keep it as light tight as possible (I also leave them print side down in there).

Believe it or not this is the worst part. (maybe even more than a fan blowing lint and dust bunnies onto wet screens...)

Once they are dry to the touch, they are still far from totally dry. Putting them in a box just traps any remaining moisture in a small space. Screens need dry air. Lots of it.


Here's some suggestions:


Small room. Maybe even a closet. Don't worry about light leaks unless you plan on storing dried screens for more than a few days. (which is a bad idea anyway)

Buy some 1x2 wood and screw strips of it to the walls on two sides, making a corner rack. If you use 23x31 screens for example, cut the strips 24" and 32" respectively. You only need support the screen from two edges.

Buy a dehumidifier from Goodwill or some other thrift store. Mine costs a whopping $20.00. You can find them free on Craig's List occasionally.

Buy a small air filter from Goodwill as well. This will be your air circulation. People buy them new them chuck em to Goodwill all the time when they find out how much the replacement filter elements cost. Don't sweat it, you're only trying to get the big dust out of the air, so you can most likely leave any expired filter in there indefinitely.


Now, once all of this is together, DUST, SWEEP AND MOP THE ROOM, then leave the filter and dehumidifier running for a couple hours.

Then go coat and rack some screens.

[Gilligan]

Not possible/practical at this point.  I have a completely open shop 30x30 building.  It is unattached from any other building.

I do have a dehumidifier already from a different project.

[Evo]

Not possible/practical at this point.  I have a completely open shop 30x30 building.  It is unattached from any other building.

I do have a dehumidifier already from a different project.

Do what I did at my last place...pick a corner, build 2 walls with a plywood top.

Throw on a $100 door from home depot. Takes a couple afternoons.