Should/Can we coat out in the open shop or use (dark rm environment)?

[GraphicDisorder]

Hell, technically the "UV safe" bulbs in your dark room aren't 100%.  Do the ol' coin on a screen trick and see for yourself.

So now, you need to coat and preregister in complete blackness to keep your emulsion 100% effective.

Basically LOL

[GraphicDisorder]

Hell, technically the "UV safe" bulbs in your dark room aren't 100%.  Do the ol' coin on a screen trick and see for yourself.

So now, you need to coat and preregister in complete blackness to keep your emulsion 100% effective.

I can tell you that my bulb is 99.99999& uv blocked. The light in our screen room stays on for 12-14 hours a day. I just used a 305 last week for a job that has been sitting in there fo 6+ months and it exposed just fine.

You might want to get a different light source if you are having that problem.

Sarcasm detector my be broken.  LOL.

[Rick Roth]

I'm not understanding something. No dark room? Do you mean no screen room? We don't have that many lights in our screen room and we can see fine, I'm not understanding the person that says they can't train someone properly in their screen room. We are not talking about a traditional dark room, I mean a screen room that has fluorescent bulbs with yellow safelight covers.

While I'm at it, let me mention that you need air flow to get rid of moisture in your dark room.  I can't tell you how many screen rooms I have been in that have exhaust fans and no way for air to get in the room. Air cannot go out of the room unless air comes in. If you are worried about dust, then put cheap (under $2 usually) furnace filters where air comes in the room or else put the filter on either side of the fans you have for air flow that dries your coated screens.

[Prosperi-Tees]

No screen room or dark room and the dust is killing me at times. I can't wait to have enough room for a screen room.

[ScreenFoo]

Very good call--I'd say the furnace filter trick is a good idea by the presses too--although very important around pre-press.

No screen room or dark room and the dust is killing me at times. I can't wait to have enough room for a screen room.

Gerry--you can buy four box fans and a four pack of 20x20 cheapo filters for less than fifty bucks.  You'll get and ROI in no time on kleenex, and shop cleaning.  Not to mention what that ilnt will do to stuff besides your screens.  Put one by each presses load station--you'll be amazed at how much crap ends up on the filters--instead of in and on you and your equipment.

[Prosperi-Tees]

That's probably something I will implement until I can get out of here. Should help with boogers on my screens right where I don't need them.

[JBLUE]

No screen room or dark room and the dust is killing me at times. I can't wait to have enough room for a screen room.

Gerry look at the setup Brandt has. One of those cabinets would be perfect for you. You would recoup the cost in no time if your screens are causing you that much trouble.

[GraphicDisorder]

Sup guys... just breaking all the rules.... lol

[screenxpress]

Honest question, was the screen out in the light that whole time?

The test that I've seen conducted is to leave a coated screen out on a table (completely exposed) with a coin(s) taped on the screen.  Then after X days wash it out and see if the coin spot washes out differently than the rest.

You can take this further and put multiple coins and remove one a day blah blah blah to see the time frame that it took.

If you screens are/were in a cabinet or stacked or anything that would "shade" them, that could be a difference.  Plus, you didn't have the coin on there and getting it to expose fine is relative as Dan has been pointing out.

ME ME ME ME ME  I can answer this one!!!

Before I had a covered rack, I used to coat around 10-12 screens stacked on a table separated by small sticks (for air flow) and a small fan.

One night I forgot and left the lights on all night, so the once-wet screens dried and then were under the florescent lights. 

Next morning, before putting in a box (for static darkness) and thinking no problemo, I needed to expose a screen. 

Taking the one from the top, following normal exposure times.....nothing......all solid.

Thinking - "that's odd" - grabbed another and same thing.

Now thinking emulsion problem and with some frustration and more than a little pissataion,  I went to screen 3.  Hey, I got a little image, but still unusable. 

Finally using screen 4 from the top I got a working image. 

Hypothesis - Yes, I can coat and expose in normal lights.  But, No, I cannot leave the dried screens sitting out under normal lights (for a yet undermined number of HOURS - not days).

I think, for me, I have no problem with wet emulsion (while coating) under normal lights and brief periods (while taping for exposure) under normal lights.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Gilligan]

Hmm... thanks BUT, I was wondering about Mr. 99.999999999% UV proof guy's lights.

We know that all lights have SOME UV, hence why they sell UV blocking sleeves for these.  I've just heard that the clear ones are OK, but don't block all of it (can go a few days like you had) and the amber ones can go a couple weeks as they block more.  I'm sure there are red ones that do even better but I can't say really as I haven't heard anything about them.

I wonder if anyone makes UV blocking sheets (clear) that I can lay in my fluorescent panels vs buying a bazillion little tubes.

[JBLUE]

Hmm... thanks BUT, I was wondering about Mr. 99.999999999% UV proof guy's lights.

We know that all lights have SOME UV, hence why they sell UV blocking sleeves for these.  I've just heard that the clear ones are OK, but don't block all of it (can go a few days like you had) and the amber ones can go a couple weeks as they block more.  I'm sure there are red ones that do even better but I can't say really as I haven't heard anything about them.

I wonder if anyone makes UV blocking sheets (clear) that I can lay in my fluorescent panels vs buying a bazillion little tubes.

What about them? I just told you that I had a screen sitting on top of a rack for 6 months, not a few weeks. I removed the film from the other job and it burned fine no other portion of the image from the other film showed up. So do the math. light on in the screen room for 12+ hours a day within a few feet of said screen for at least 6 months and it burned just fine.

We tested these lights well before using them in the screen room. That 6 mo old screen verifies that there is minimal if any UV light affecting the screens. I had a photographer buddy come over and measure it. Virtually no UV light present. Not bad for a 10 dollar bulb pre-coated with a UV block.

[Rockers]

Hmm... thanks BUT, I was wondering about Mr. 99.999999999% UV proof guy's lights.

We know that all lights have SOME UV, hence why they sell UV blocking sleeves for these.  I've just heard that the clear ones are OK, but don't block all of it (can go a few days like you had) and the amber ones can go a couple weeks as they block more.  I'm sure there are red ones that do even better but I can't say really as I haven't heard anything about them.

I wonder if anyone makes UV blocking sheets (clear) that I can lay in my fluorescent panels vs buying a bazillion little tubes.

Just get a couple of sq. ft of this stuff. Cut it down to size and you are sorted. We have used a similar product which worked just fine.
http://www.snaptint.com/product.php?productid=16192

[Gilligan]

Hmm... thanks BUT, I was wondering about Mr. 99.999999999% UV proof guy's lights.

We know that all lights have SOME UV, hence why they sell UV blocking sleeves for these.  I've just heard that the clear ones are OK, but don't block all of it (can go a few days like you had) and the amber ones can go a couple weeks as they block more.  I'm sure there are red ones that do even better but I can't say really as I haven't heard anything about them.

I wonder if anyone makes UV blocking sheets (clear) that I can lay in my fluorescent panels vs buying a bazillion little tubes.

What about them? I just told you that I had a screen sitting on top of a rack for 6 months, not a few weeks. I removed the film from the other job and it burned fine no other portion of the image from the other film showed up. So do the math. light on in the screen room for 12+ hours a day within a few feet of said screen for at least 6 months and it burned just fine.

We tested these lights well before using them in the screen room. That 6 mo old screen verifies that there is minimal if any UV light affecting the screens. I had a photographer buddy come over and measure it. Virtually no UV light present. Not bad for a 10 dollar bulb pre-coated with a UV block.

For the record... that isn't what you said.

I just used a 305 last week for a job that has been sitting in there fo 6+ months and it exposed just fine.

That could have meant it was at the bottom of a rack of 20 screens for all I know.  I'm not saying I don't believe you, quite contrare.  This whole thread is juxtaposed against all of the variables that make it so hard to test.  I just wanted some clarity on the variables in your case.

I'd like to get a source on those bulbs actually.

[Gilligan]

Hmm... thanks BUT, I was wondering about Mr. 99.999999999% UV proof guy's lights.

We know that all lights have SOME UV, hence why they sell UV blocking sleeves for these.  I've just heard that the clear ones are OK, but don't block all of it (can go a few days like you had) and the amber ones can go a couple weeks as they block more.  I'm sure there are red ones that do even better but I can't say really as I haven't heard anything about them.

I wonder if anyone makes UV blocking sheets (clear) that I can lay in my fluorescent panels vs buying a bazillion little tubes.

Just get a couple of sq. ft of this stuff. Cut it down to size and you are sorted. We have used a similar product which worked just fine.
http://www.snaptint.com/product.php?productid=16192

Thanks!

[GraphicDisorder]

We took note today of the color of emulsion of the old bucket vs the brand new bucket.  Couldn't' notice any real color difference there either.  Food for thought.  The old bucket has been opened several times in direct light to coat new screens.  BTW in both floresnt light and our metal hialide lights in the print section of our shop, I do have high ceilings but still.