"He who marches out of step hears another drum." ~ Ken Kesey
you went from a 15 second burn to a 90 second burn correct? That's a 500% increase in exposure time. If you were to see it just double... something would be wrong. This is much more than that.Emulsion is the same?Screen mesh the same?Screen mesh COLOR the same?Emulsion thickness the same?Dry box the same? Dry box HUMIDITY the same?Environment the same? Environmental Humidity the same?Films the same?Film density the same?Exposure unit glass the same?SOMETHING changed. You were getting amazing screens in 15 seconds. Now you are not, at 500% more time. What changed in your processes? What changed in your equipment?Now, are the cold nights, DRY nights? or Moist nights? If you don't already, get a hygrometer so you can check your relative humidity. Screens (well) above 40% moisture will never be as good as screens below 40% moisture. You will experience breakdown because a screen was not properly dry enough.Before switching emulsions (to an emulsion that I love btw) make sure your screen room is following proper procedures and steps to make sure you have an optimal screen for exposure I made an assumption earlier that your screens were properly dried and in optimal condition to be exposed for waterbase. Lets make sure they are and then work backwards to fix the problem.
Yea, S mesh definitely holds more emulsion.Do you have fans set up to help circulate the dry air better? If not, I would look at a way to set that up.And always have your dehumidifier on - just in case.
Yes. The stickiness when the exposure unit gets warm is normal with many emulsions, including Murakami. It is suggested to use a very fine layer of talc/baby powder to help with that.Part of why I used PHU for 4 years until I got my starlight unit without glass.
baby powder is a band aid. I haven’t tried baby powder and really want to solve the issue without a band aid.
Quote from: Colin on May 14, 2018, 08:50:55 PMYes. The stickiness when the exposure unit gets warm is normal with many emulsions, including Murakami. It is suggested to use a very fine layer of talc/baby powder to help with that.Part of why I used PHU for 4 years until I got my starlight unit without glass.I have LED.. didn’t think it got that hot? I don’t even need tape to hold the film on so I’m thinking my humidity levels are still to high. They’re sticking before burning. Update: Got the humidity level down to 35% (according to my dehumidifier) and film only stuck post-exposure. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: lancasterprinthouse on May 14, 2018, 10:35:31 PMQuote from: Colin on May 14, 2018, 08:50:55 PMYes. The stickiness when the exposure unit gets warm is normal with many emulsions, including Murakami. It is suggested to use a very fine layer of talc/baby powder to help with that.Part of why I used PHU for 4 years until I got my starlight unit without glass.I have LED.. didn’t think it got that hot? I don’t even need tape to hold the film on so I’m thinking my humidity levels are still to high. They’re sticking before burning. Update: Got the humidity level down to 35% (according to my dehumidifier) and film only stuck post-exposure. Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkMy starlight will get warm.... on a 10 second exposure. So yea, those LED's can put out some heat.How are you doing your post exposures? I am confused about how your film would stick during a post expose? A "post" expose is after you expose/rinse/fully dry an image. Its best when the screen is turned over in your unit so the light hits the squeegee side of your screen - cross linking any residual polymers left in the emulsion.