CCI HXT emulsion

[screenprintguy]

the 8 color all discharge sim process job we did last week, no hardner, but, it was 600 pieces not close to 3,000. I think 123 is right Alan, until you are settled in with the HXT, wipe some harder, but if you are truly in testing confidence like I've been, I'm just pushing to see where the breaking point is. Thankfully, we havn't hit it. Tomorrow I'll be loading up a screen that we've already done about 2,500 impressions with as a discharge base screen. It looks brand new as if it was just burned. HXT, no hardener, I'll let you know how it holds up, but I am pretty sure from the way it looks, it will be fine for the next run. One thing that is cool, because so little pre-printing steps go into the use of this emulsion, if you have a bad screen, pop one, ect, it's a quick fix in down time. We ripped a screen last week in that sim pro discharge job, loaded in the cts, re printed it, burned, rinsed, blew out with air, put in the dehumidifier room with a fan on it and had it back on press back up and running in around 30 mins. If you are using Kiwo wr blue block out, it bonds really nice to the hxt as well, it peels off of the hvp and ulano, just a lil extra bonus, we love the Kiwo wr blue block out.

[Parker 1]

Mike, thank you for the input and sharing you results.  Will test it when I order next.  We only use 2gals/month in emulsion. 

[alan802]

I was going to start a new topic but it won't hurt to bring this one back up to the top.  I had some observations and a few questions about the HXT and WB/DC emulsions in general. 

I know there has been a good bit of discussion on the different emulsions we are all using with discharge printing but doing a search I noticed there are bits and pieces scattered about and this thread for the HXT.  There is the Aquasol HV/P, Xenon Nova and the CCI HXT for starters, along with the WR-25 and WR-14 so there is lot's of posts about them holding up for long DC runs.  I don't mind doing the extra work to get an HVP screen ready for a DC run, but lately I'm not available every time there is a question out back and I'd love to move to something that takes very little thought and it's just coat and burn and use.  I got a crew now that is just about incapable of their own thoughts and decision making and although I should probably not work around my guys being, for a lack of a better term, "slow" but I know from experience that making things as simple as possible is never a bad thing as long as things work right.  I want an emulsion that is as simple as opening up, pooring in the scoop coater, and going to press like it's a plastisol job.  It needs to work on plastisol and DC without the extra steps that my two screen guys can't seem to remember since we only do a DC run every 2-3 weeks.  So this is squeezing the HVP out of the discussion and leads me to the HXT.

I noticed something when I started looking at the HXT spec sheet.  CCI doesn't say anything about the HXT being for waterbased or discharge inks, only UV, solvent and plastisol.  Most of us on this forum know it's held up better for DC than any of the other emulsions I listed above since Mike has pretty much done that research and has given his thoughts on it.  I don't feel like I need to do any comparison testing because I trust those that do more DC than we do. 

So that leads me to this:  Should we be looking for emulsions that are made for UV & solvent based inks?  The emulsions that we've all tried that "say" they are for WB and DC don't hold up as well as the one that doesn't say it's for those applications.  I've used 4 different emulsions that were specifically made for WB/DC that do hold up for a while, but break down too quickly for my needs.  The HXT doesn't need anything mixed in, it's cheap, it holds up to everything very well without hardener or post exposure, yet the company who makes it doesn't tell us it should even be used by us textile guys.  Is that an overlook on their part or what?  Is there something in it's makeup that makes it risky for DC inks on paper so they don't think it's a good fit for it?  If we know the emulsion holds up great for WB/DC inks, shouldn't the experts know it too?

[Homer]

Al, try this stuff..... we have two gallons in use at all times. one gal sensitized, one non sensitized...when we coat screens, we will load a rack with dc screens, load another rack for plastisol...54.00/gal......

http://www.ccidom.com/products.php?product=TX%252dDISCHARGE-WATER-RESIST-EMULSION

[alan802]

Al, try this stuff..... we have two gallons in use at all times. one gal sensitized, one non sensitized...when we coat screens, we will load a rack with dc screens, load another rack for plastisol...54.00/gal......

http://www.ccidom.com/products.php?product=TX%252dDISCHARGE-WATER-RESIST-EMULSION

Do you do any extra steps with it for DC runs or just like plastisol?  Have you done any long runs with it?

[Homer]

Al, try this stuff..... we have two gallons in use at all times. one gal sensitized, one non sensitized...when we coat screens, we will load a rack with dc screens, load another rack for plastisol...54.00/gal......

http://www.ccidom.com/products.php?product=TX%252dDISCHARGE-WATER-RESIST-EMULSION

Do you do any extra steps with it for DC runs or just like plastisol?  Have you done any long runs with it?

 only thing we do is add the diazo for use with dc,wb and we leave the other gallon alone. open and pour...the most we have run was 1k pieces and from memory we added hardener after washout for insurance, rinse out the screen, squirt on some hardener and let it dry, print. no need for post exposure, we don't use emulsion for blockout.

[dirkdiggler]

the problem Alan will have with the TX-discharge is that the screens you coat will go bad if not used in 2 weeks.  That's because of the diazo.  If you use the HXT the shelf life is like 2 months or more on a coated screen.  I spoke in depth with Mike on this Monday afternoon.  Sounds like HXT is your best bet since its a hybrid emulsion.  I will be talking to Gary Fox from CCI today and will further discuss this issue.

[screenprintguy]

I'm telling you guys, I wouldn't make it up. This stuff is pretty friggin awesome. I was telling Dirk the other day about a job that has been re-run a few times, these screens have been printed with 40-50 psi double strokes, been scrubbed re-tapped a few times and after the last run, wet on wet discharge, they still look like new. The trick is in the prep and not trying to rush your exposure with HXT. Clean clean screens, dry as a bone, I give them 24 hours in the dehumidified room. Coated slow 2 over 2 or 3 over 1 if you prefer. Give them a full exposure, don't try to speed things up and break records only to have to burn new screens if they break down. My settings on a 3k tri-light are 300-400 LU depending on mesh count, that ranges between 5 and 6 minutes. Alans 10k will probably hit half of that. Wash out, dry, tape and go. Our only 2 broke down screens have been from having the flood bar set too deep and scraping on the second stroke. that will kill any emulsion. Use what you are happy with, but I've used all the others everyone talks about and none of them with the exception of Nova with diazo did what this did. HXT is cheaper, and didn't need the diazo to perform. There are quite a few shops now using it. I get emails all the time from my CCI rep saying thanks for spreading the word. I know how bad it sucks when screens break down in a  run and ruin shirts, paying that extra time to the reclaim guy to beat the crap out of mesh to get hardened emulsion of ect. HXT will give you what you want and in the end give you zero head aches. Just don't expect some 20 second freak time exposure. I'd rather invest a few extra minutes exposing a screen that I'm confident in, rather than rush it and not achieve the full cross link and watch it break down and ruin shirts and set our production back waiting on a new screen.

[mimosatexas]

I am a big fan of the Aquasol HV (and just picked up the HVP to see if the lighter emulsion helps speed up setups due to visibility), but our exposure process is just taking too long when we are swamped with work.  I have limited space and made a drying cabinet that can hold 27 23x31 screens, but I am burning through those in 4 or 5 days now and just don't have the time to clean and coat more mid-week AND wait for burning, washout, dry, post expose, pressure wash out, dry, harden, dry.  The main reason for the double washout is I am using a homemade flou-tube exposure unit and compensating for undercutting with two exposures.

How does the Aquasol compare to the HXT when it comes to burn times and overall durability/flexibility?  Almost half our jobs are discharge, typically 50-250 shirts.

[screenprintguy]

I know that there are some HVP fans here, but out of all the emulsions we tried, it was theeeeeeee worst one. I was told you have to have a really heavy exposure unit to really achieve the proper cross link, but a shop I know near me that used HVP for the last couple years and does mostly water based printing has switched to HXT, no more hardening needed, little longer on exposure, but it's worth it to have screens that never break down and don't need hardener sprayed on them. Exposure speed will really depend on the unit you have obviously.

[Homer]

what color are you using in the hxt? how is reclaim? we've gone through about 50 gallons of the tx and we really like it...but I may give a gallon a shot.

[IntegrityShirts]

I used to read these new emulsion threads and get excited to give a new emulsion a try.  And every time I come crawling back to HVP with open arms crying lol. I'm really hesitant these days! Must be getting old and stubborn.

[screenprintguy]

HXT blue. Because you don't need to use hardener, it reclaims like a dream. We use the KorChem ink/emulsion remover in the dip tank and with that, screens may be in the tank from 20-45 seconds and ready to be blown off. It's awesome stuff. CCI is very cool about samples. Robert Luca from CCI is who gave me a gallon to test last  year and I'm glad I took the time, I woudn't use any other emulsion for water based printing, except Nova with diazo from Xenon, only issue with that was, once we found HXT and that it's half the price it didn't make sense to use Nova. Call your local CCI Rep and ask for a sample of HXT blue you won't regret it.

[mimosatexas]

Where can I buy a gallon of this stuff, and which version are you using.  I looked around a bit and it seems there are a few versions of the HXT and all were a lot more expensive than $54 for a gallon.

[screenprintguy]

you can order direct from CCI, or as we do, we order through Nazdar, it's $47 a gal through Nazdar, I do order at least 4 gal at a time, so that may be a case price not sure. Here is a link to the actual emulsion, it's in the Prochem Line  http://www.ccidom.com/products.php?product=HXT-PRE%252dSENSITIZED-EMULSION