Screen Opener - Locking Mesh?

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I swear that I have read in the past that Screen Opener can lock the mesh if overused... did I make that up?

[Colin]

Screen opener is a nasty solvent.

If you have an emulsion that is not solvent resistant - it can make it much more difficult to reclaim in those areas.

If your emulsion is under exposed - it can lock it up.

[Frog]

If by locking the mesh you mean that the emulsion won't reclaim, underexposed emulsion is really succeptible to react with all petrochemical solvents making it tougher to reclaim. Years ago, in fact, a wipe of xylene was even used sometimes to make them tougher for long runs.

Some emulsions, like the early photopolymers I used when this nasty screen opener stuff was still in common use in shops I worked, will soften when the  sprays are used, and can clog open areas, especially fine details.

[Maxie]

If you put emulsion remover on a screen and let it dry its almost impossible to remove.
Gets hard like a rock.

[mk162]

We've had the opposite around here, it killed the emulsion.  We've got a couple screens where we are constantly flipping colors and the emulsion just dissolved over the course of a couple weeks.

And as I type this out I am wondering why we didn't cut an extra set of screens.

[Frog]

We've had the opposite around here, it killed the emulsion.  We've got a couple screens where we are constantly flipping colors and the emulsion just dissolved over the course of a couple weeks.

And as I type this out I am wondering why we didn't cut an extra set of screens.

This is with the spray screen openers? Or press washes?

[mk162]

spray screen opener.  We probably switched colors about 10-15 times.

[Frog]

Brad, you gotta look at some other chemistry. That stuff is bad enough when used for its original use, but total color changes I could not imagine.
And, as I said, i have seen it soften and dissolve photopolymer emulsions, (and it doesn't seem much better with lungs, throats, and brains)

[mk162]

Oh, I have plastiwash back there, but when it's 3 extra steps because it was put in the wrong place and somebody doesn't want to walk over and grab it, it's frustrating.

I actually prefer to do my color changes in the washout booth with ink degrader off press.  It's much easier and to me it's faster with less risk of contamination.

[Prince Art]

Anyone ever read the warnings on the spray tack cans? I always hated the stuff, but after seeing the words "may defat the skin," I soon thereafter tried waterbased tack for the first time. I'm sure the respiratory problems are worse, but that struck me as too weird. I can't imagine screen opener is any better.

[mk162]

we avoid spray cans, but they are a necessary evil.  I will say we've been using real deal TexTac and it's better than any knockoff ever.  We can run 2-3 rounds of sweats with it before we get shrinkage. 

[Sbrem]

I only used screen openers back in the 70's, after a while, I learned to mix the ink so it wouldn't freeze up, (keep it moving, no stopping to ponder life) and clean the screen if I did have to stop, or leaving a heavy flood coat over it for a couple of minutes. I have never used it for plastisol...

Steve

[Frog]

Pretty much the same as me.
I was more than a little surprised to discover, on forums, that some folks thought it was a good way to actually clean screens!

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Thanks everyone for your responses!