Mold in emulsion

[stitches4815]

Has anyone ever seen this before?  I coated a bunch of screens about 2 weeks ago and re-sealed my emulsion.  When I opened it this morning I found mold in it.  I use Imagemate PC701.

[Gilligan]

Hmmm, mine had some discoloration the other day and the smell had got a little funky.  We used it once or twice more (stirred it up) and had good results (no half tone jobs) but last time I opened it (almost empty) I just said "F' that, I'm tossing it".  Basically my bucket was almost empty and probably over a year old at this point (yeah, I'm that busy.   ).

[Denis Kolar]

Nope. I pour mine in a quart bucket and keep the rest in dry and dark area (Drying cabinet)
I'm small shop and I do not use that much emulsion. I believe I ordered this one in early Spring and it is still good.

[Frog]

Yep, I've had it in the past. Scooped out the bad part, and went back to coating and burning with no problems that I noticed. I believe that my mold was in some Chromatech PL, another blue one.

[stitches4815]

This is what received from Chromaline.

Hello Wade, I’m sorry to hear that you have mold in your emulsion. It is possible to remove the mold by carefully removing probably the top inch of emulsion and throwing it away. Because emulsion is a water based product mold can occur. Mold spores are everywhere especially in a moist, warm environment. The moment the lid is removed from the bucket a spore or more can enter. When the lid is put back on it becomes a perfect spawning ground for mold. If you notice a strong “rotten egg” smell the emulsion will not perform very well and should be replaced. Mick   

Mick Orr
Applications Specialist

[tonypep]

I know most WB inks incorporate an antifungicide to combat this . At least when I made mine it was an ingredient. I'm checking with my CCI buddy on this.

[blue moon]

I hear that pharmaceutical business is far more lucrative than the screenprinting. It looks like you are lamost ready to get going with the first batch of penicillin!   
 
pierre

[mk162]

actually, the base for emulsion is milk, he looks a lot closer to making blue cheese.

[ebscreen]

I know most WB inks incorporate an antifungicide to combat this . At least when I made mine it was an ingredient. I'm checking with my CCI buddy on this.

Rutland WB black pigment will grow some hairy stuff and smell something horrible.
Pretty quickly too in the right conditions.

[stitches4815]

actually, the base for emulsion is milk, he looks a lot closer to making blue cheese.

Mmmmm........ blue cheese!

[Socalfmf]

man..mine never sits long enough...right now we are coating about 35-45 screens a day....dang...we be busy

sam

[mk162]

sam, how many screens do you get from a gallon?

[Sbrem]

For you guys that don't go through so much, maybe buying quarts is a better idea... We go through a lot, I've never had a gallon long enough to have one go bad, though once we found one that had fallen and gotten lost, it was a lot like cottage cheese.

Steve

[Frog]

The alternative is repacking into quart containers.
When I use Diazo, I do this, though weighing out the powder is a little bit of a pain.

As the Chromaline folks said though, any container can capture the mold spores. Then. it's just a matter of how long the particular variety takes to grow.

[Sbrem]

Hey, what if they shine some UV light on it to kill the mold?

Steve