Best Way to Create Screens?

[Superdak 2]

Can anyone tell me a good way to start creating screens for screen printing? Been looking at a few ways of doing it, some films require the whole emulsion and exposure route and others don't. Is one way better than the other? Can anyone recommend one film over another??

[screenprintr 319]

Super Dak,

I use Performance Screen's Sexy Emulsion. No mixing required. Simply spread it on both sides once with a Scoup Coater without touching the frame of the screen.

Let it dry, put your Transparency or Film on the flat or the side that touches the t-shirt (known as t-shirt side) and expose for whatever time is recommended by your Exposure light source. Put some water on both sides for a few minutes.

Wash out with an inexpensive power washer. Let it dry, tape up the open areas, and you're ready to screen print.

Need more help let me know.

Paul

[Superdak 2]

Thanks for the info! I'll be looking into it.

Would the same process apply to printing on coloplast??

[screenprintr 319]

Super Dak, do you mean the Yard signs? You can make the screens and screen print you just need a Vinyl ink.

Also you can use a Cutter/plotter and use vinyl instead of ink.

[bizzytop 1]

i tried emulsion and could never get it right. went through 2 cans of emulsion and was never able to get the burn process right, switched over to capillary film and have burned lots of screen with no issues AT ALL.... glad i found the capillary film it has worked wonders for me. A little more expensive but you can do a screen for about $2.00 or so.

[Forum Studio 0]

Please post more details about capillary film.This could be perfect alternative to photo emulsion.

Thanks.

[screenprintr 319]

Photo Emulsion is very simple. You can get one that's premixed to save on headaches. Also, use a Scoup Coater. Lastly, when coating the screen make sure the Scoup Coater doesn't touch the Frame. You only coat the screen once then turn it over and coat the other side once.

Again, don't coat the frame.

[bizzytop 1]

i only coat one side, the shirt side and my screens work just fine. with capillary films you can do both sides but that gets to expensive so i just coat one side and it works just fine. I also since have moved over to emulsion once again i only coat one side and it works just fine as well.

[freezermink 3]

i only coat one side, the shirt side and my screens work just fine. with capillary films you can do both sides but that gets to expensive so i just coat one side and it works just fine. I also since have moved over to emulsion once again i only coat one side and it works just fine as well.

only coating one side? i've never had good luck with that. applying the emulsion to the shirt side first, THEN applying it to the ink side pushes the first application back through the screen to the shirt side and allows the depth to be enough to get a good covering of ink on the shirt. i guess it depends on how thick the ink needs to be on the shirt. for a thinner water-based ink the emulsion probably wouldn't need to be too thick. for some of the super thick marshmallow-fluff-like plastisol white inks, the emulsion needs to be thicker, sometimes requiring a few layers of emulsion to get good coverage.

[screenprintr 319]

Very good point Freeze.

[forsalevinylsigns 1]

only coating one side? i've never had good luck with that. applying the emulsion to the shirt side first, THEN applying it to the ink side pushes the first application back through the screen to the shirt side and allows the depth to be enough to get a good covering of ink on the shirt. i guess it depends on how thick the ink needs to be on the shirt. for a thinner water-based ink the emulsion probably wouldn't need to be too thick. for some of the super thick marshmallow-fluff-like plastisol white inks, the emulsion needs to be thicker, sometimes requiring a few layers of emulsion to get good coverage.

Just like freezer said!! Appyling it that way gives it a more thick type of gasket and allows more inks in trhough the mech, especially if you're printing white on dark shirts. If you're going to be printing on corplast signs, correct me if im wrong, but make sure you get an emulsion thats compatible with the inks you're going to be using because it migh break down.

Another thing,if you have a vinyl cutter, lets say you want to do a quick screen print. Instead of using emulsion to coat the frame. You can cut a vinyl stencil out in a reverse and stick it to the outside of a clean screen and just tape up the parts that are not covered. This is best when its a one color type of job and you dont have to coat a screen, wait for it to dry, expose it, then wash it out, etc.

[freezermink 3]

Another thing,if you have a vinyl cutter, lets say you want to do a quick screen print. Instead of using emulsion to coat the frame. You can cut a vinyl stencil out in a reverse and stick it to the outside of a clean screen and just tape up the parts that are not covered. This is best when its a one color type of job and you dont have to coat a screen, wait for it to dry, expose it, then wash it out, etc.

OH MY GOD WHY DID I NOT THINK OF THAT SOONER.

damnit now my morning is going to be spent trying that out.

[latitude42 5]

Ulano EZ Film is a good alterative to scoop coating with emulsion... with scoop coating there are too many variables, thickness, human error etc... with this stuff just wet the screen, put in on, let dry and expose, you have VERY consistant screens, I get 99 out of 100 now...

Latitude42

[stokedgraphics 1]

I've already been using adhesive vinyl for screen printing for about a year now. That was one of the main reasons for buying a cutter at all. One limitation is half-tones or fades. Can't do that with vinyl, so in that situation, you have very little choice but use an emulsion or capillary film. The vinyl is fine for short runs, but after about 30 to 40 prints, depending on the ink, the adhesive begins to break down and let go at the edges of the graphic. If you're doing coroplast signs that don't have to last forever, you can get by with an acrylic ink or even reduced acrylic paint, but be sure to hit it with a clear coat afterward to protect the the ink/paint. Also, be sure to use a high mesh count screens. Most of the acrylics that I've used tend to be kinda thin, so the higher the mesh count the finer the detail without excess buildup. Where exposure is concerned for screen emulsions or films, there are several exposure calculators and test strips that can get you dialed in on times.

As and also ran, When I first started screen printing in high school twenty-something years ago, a buddy used to use the same type of silicone coated backing paper for one-of-a kind prints and he did multiple colors with no screen press at all. When he did half-tones, he would print spot colors (solid colors) then go back and airbrush the substrate color back in to get the fade effects or add additional details as well. Lots of work to it that way, but just goes to show that you have to think outside the box when you don't have the high dollar equipment to get the job done. He also helped me build my exposing unit/light table many years ago, but it's still the same one I use today. I contract out the big jobs to a local screen printer that gives me a great price, so we do mainly the design work and the color separations for those jobs. Small jobs, I tend to get the customer to go with heat-press vinyl for shirts up to about 20 pieces or adhesive vinyl for things like yard signs up to 50 pieces. Lately, I've been doing some etching with an air eraser and etching cream using... yep, adhesive vinyl stencils...

WE'RE STOKED! On Graphics!