emulsions

[virgil427]

I would like to hear everybodies opinions on which emulsions they use and why. In dougs post he talks about diazo emul. holding good halftones, I was steered towards photopolymer for halftone printing and don't have any diazo left to compare, use to use cci dxp dual cure. I'm useing ryonet HI-Fi with 47% solids and am enjoying using this, but always open to new ideas. Bottom line is one better than the other ?

[tonypep]

For the best hi-end process and sim process the diazo will hold more information. Its cheaper but slower and tends to have a more limited shelf life than photopolymers.
So theres the short answer.
best tp

[Northland]

My emulsion of choice is: Chromaline UDC-2
http://chromaline.com/productDetail.aspx?PID=48
-- wide exposure latitude
-- easy reclaim
-- decent water resistant
-- good detail (as far as I can see ??)
-- fair price

I mix a gallon of clear with a pint of dyed to get a "see-through" effect.... it allows me to see through the screen for both registration -AND- I can see if ink is building up on the underside of my auto screens. Yet, it still has enough dye to see pin-holes and to verify the screen is clear after reclaim.
Most of the time I'll sensitize 1/2 a gallon at a time... then shelf life is less of a concern.

[ZooCity]

I've been back in forth a few times but settled, once again, on Aquasol HVP (pink instead of blue).  It's a photopolymer that has excellent water resistance, if you need it, with proper expo and post-exposure and high solids.  You must, must, must, have your exposures and resolution process absolutely dialed to run halftones.  If you're not going higher than 55 lpi it is an excellent singular emulsion. 

Kiwo One Coat is very similar and has more of "soft" feel to it, a bit easier to reclaim and resolve and cleans off a little better from the mesh. 

I love dual cures as well.  Proclaim from Ulano was great, as was Kiwo's Poly Z which had a luxuriously low rz value to the finished stencil, printed so smooth.  But I don't care for the 2.5 ish ltu exposure times and the shelf life, and the mixing of the diazo.  For 90% of what we do, a photopolymer is just dandy.   Dual cure cap film is the bees knees in certain situations requiring very consistent stencil thickness and high detail.   

Any high-end emulsion is really going to perform well compared to a similar spec from mfg to mfg. 

The big difference I see in photopolymer v. dual cure is latitude.  As in, photopoly has very little and dual cure has a lot.   Photopolymers are very "on or off".  You either got it right or you didn't, more or less.  To this end I confidently shoot, soak and resolve with our 3000psi pressure washer.  This goes for high eom, big open area images and thin eom halftones and fine lines. 

In short, I like the workflow you get with photopolymers and I like the crazy resolution dual cures provide. 

[inkman996]

Does anyone here have any experience with Ulano's TLX diazo emulsion?

[blue moon]

I've been back in forth a few times but settled, once again, on Aquasol HVP (pink instead of blue).  It's a photopolymer that has excellent water resistance, if you need it, with proper expo and post-exposure and high solids.  You must, must, must, have your exposures and resolution process absolutely dialed to run halftones.  If you're not going higher than 55 lpi it is an excellent singular emulsion. 

Kiwo One Coat is very similar and has more of "soft" feel to it, a bit easier to reclaim and resolve and cleans off a little better from the mesh. 

I love dual cures as well.  Proclaim from Ulano was great, as was Kiwo's Poly Z which had a luxuriously low rz value to the finished stencil, printed so smooth.  But I don't care for the 2.5 ish ltu exposure times and the shelf life, and the mixing of the diazo.  For 90% of what we do, a photopolymer is just dandy.   Dual cure cap film is the bees knees in certain situations requiring very consistent stencil thickness and high detail.   

Any high-end emulsion is really going to perform well compared to a similar spec from mfg to mfg. 

The big difference I see in photopolymer v. dual cure is latitude.  As in, photopoly has very little and dual cure has a lot.   Photopolymers are very "on or off".  You either got it right or you didn't, more or less.  To this end I confidently shoot, soak and resolve with our 3000psi pressure washer.  This goes for high eom, big open area images and thin eom halftones and fine lines. 

In short, I like the workflow you get with photopolymers and I like the crazy resolution dual cures provide.

I've tried a couple of dual cures, but could not get them to work. Granted, it was not a very serious try, but I am pretty happy with Aquasolv HV and am having a hard time devoting more RnD time to new emulsions. It has been said before that halftones would benefit from a dual cure, but here I am, to lazy to embrace the change.

With Aquasolv HV, I coat 2+2 on 110's 2+1 on rest of the statics. EZ frames with "S" mesh get 1+1 as does the LX. On 330 S mesh we hold a 3% dot at 55, so I cant really complain. We use an Nuarc 3140 to expose, Film Maker for RIP and ALWAYS a pressure washer to wash out.

The reality is, we all have our own opinions as to what emulsion we like, but it would be nice get some answers from the real experts.

[stitches4815]

I am currently using Image Mate 701.  It is an SBQ emulsion with 52% solids, fast exposure times, reclaims well.  I have done a couple of jobs with half tones and it seemed to work really good.  I have no complaints at this time.

[JayzTeez]

I am currently using the Chromaline Blue i was told it had a longer shelf life (I have a small shop). before that i was using the Ulano Proclaim both worked very well but it seemed like if i kept the ulano longer than 2 months i ended up throwing half of it away.

[ebscreen]

For those of you using the Aquasol, keep on eye on the boards. Got a product in from CCI that may give it a run for
it's money.

[Printficient]

Two things.
1. Not so much the emulsion as the exposure unit.
2. Not so much the carrier as getting a firm adhesion to the screen of the art.

With regards to detail and number 1 an expensive exposure unit is not necessarily better. 
With regards to detail and number 2 a Direct to Screen unit would all but eliminate any loss regardless of the light source.

The key to remember here is that there is not a single solution to the problem, but a combination of parameters that must be understood. 
This industry has failed the end user by not educating you on the parameters that affect your day to day operations.
I am thinking of writing a series on these parameters that take into account that no 2 shops are the same, but the desired end result is.

[virgil427]

Sonny i figured this thread would pull you out of the weeds. The shirt is on its way (i remembered) just getting things dailed in, been a little busy with family matters.That was Medium womens right?

[Printficient]

Sonny i figured this thread would pull you out of the weeds. The shirt is on its way (i remembered) just getting things dailed in, been a little busy with family matters.That was Medium womens right?

Uh Yes I Think.  Shirt?  Getting senile in my old age. 

[DouglasGrigar]

Does anyone here have any experience with Ulano's TLX diazo emulsion?

It is a Diazo “Dual Cure” emulsion with a light green tint, relatively fast exposure for a dual cure, easy to see for production needs and user friendly.

Similar with other features is KIWO Quantum.

[Denis Kolar]

I tried Ulano Proclaim, great detail but takes forever and ever to expose (100 light units on 40-1K Mercury). I tried a couple of different ones recently because I want to settle on the one I will be using constantly and I think I have found it..... Chromablue from Chromaline.

It looks pretty good on a detail and it takes 30 light units to expose (110-155 white screens, 37 for dyed 230's).

[tonypep]

Two things.
1. Not so much the emulsion as the exposure unit.
2. Not so much the carrier as getting a firm adhesion to the screen of the art.

With regards to detail and number 1 an expensive exposure unit is not necessarily better. 
With regards to detail and number 2 a Direct to Screen unit would all but eliminate any loss regardless of the light source.

The key to remember here is that there is not a single solution to the problem, but a combination of parameters that must be understood. 
This industry has failed the end user by not educating you on the parameters that affect your day to day operations.
I am thinking of writing a series on these parameters that take into account that no 2 shops are the same, but the desired end result is.

True and yet not true. This thread could go on forever and I'm sure Richard and Doug and others will chime in however........assuming equal and optimum exposure calculation, vacum PSI, coating technique, etc  the emulsion has very much a lot to do with the final stencil outcome. Then again we all have different standards.
tp