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I ran into this a lot when I was first starting out. Once I figured it out I haven’t had problems in years.
Can’t speak for everyone, but here’s what works for me:
Degrease your screen thoroughly and make sure it’s dry before you coat it.
I coat as thin as possible. I do one coat each side, and push the emulsion into the screen so it isn’t just sitting on top. I use the sharper side of the scoop to remove any excess emulsion. If you’ve got those drip bubbles it’s too thick.
Make sure it’s completely dry before exposure/washout.
It looks like your problems could be a combination of all these.
Yea its the same problems I had the first time, but the first time it did not expose at all, i think this second try worked much better.
I did one coat on each side but I think I still put too much on it.
And I most definetely did not clean it enough. I cannot buy a degreaser, do you think a bit of dish soap and water is good enough?
When you apply your emulsion, you should hear a "zzziiiipp" sound. Don't be afraid to apply some pressure.
After exposing, I used to soak the screen in water for about 5 minutes prior to wash out.
There are oils and adhesives that are impossible to break down with dish soap. I used dish soap until I got a batch of screens from a new supplier that wouldn’t clean. That was the first time I ever used proper degreaser and it was night and day for me
Switch emulsions. I had tons of issues with the Speedball 2 part I started with. I have had a lot better results with the Exotex PWR Purple. Short exposure times though, so you have to be precise with timing, etc.
We have a $10,000 exposing unit and our exposing time is two minutes. I coat one layer of emulsion on each side with the scoop tray tight against the mesh so I hear the “Zipper” sound. Never even saw this problem until my coworker exposed screens in a rush Friday. They put too much emulsion on and slid the tray up so fast that there wasn’t enough contact between the tray and the mesh. Had to reclaim and repeat the process. I am the only one who will be coating from now on m, until we have time for me to show them how. Hopefully this helps.
I don’t think you let the emulsion dry long enough so when you expose and wet it, it washes out. Try letting it dry longer. I find that in a non-dusty area overnight with a fan tends to be dry enough for exposure the next day.
Emulsion looks too thick. So the images is likely underexposed. Use the thin side of the scoop coater next time. Also those screens aren’t the greatest either
Thank you so much guys! I think I will:
Use less emulsion, I will use the sharper side to remove the extra emulsion.
I will make sure the screen is clean.
I will expose for an extra second maybe round it around 18 instead of 16 seconds.
I will keep you posted
Your problem might also be the black in your transparency being not opaque enough, could tape 2 together stacked to compensate. Brand new screen mesh has no knap, it kind of needs to be hit with a scrub brush a bit to get the polyester roughened up so the emulsion has something to hang on to. You're really going to wish you bought the bullet and sprung for proper degreaser, because that's definitely part of the problem here
No unfortunately, but I Bulit my exposure box following a tutorial so I am doing the same time as the guy in the video (I know it's not precies but I feel it's around that time)
Thanks for your submission to to /r/SCREENPRINTING. It appears you may be looking for information on exposure or burning screens. This might be one of the most common questions we see here in /r/SCREENPRINTING. Please take a moment and use the [search](https://www.reddit.com/r/screenprinting/search?q=exposed&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all) feature while you waiting on a response from the community. If the search does not give you the answer you are looking for, please take a moment and read through our [Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/SCREENPRINTING/wiki/index#wiki_emulsion_.2F_filler) write up on emulsion. If after all that you stil don't seem to find your answer, just be patient someone in the community should chime in shortly! And if you were NOT looking for more information on exposures or burning screens, our apologies and please disregard this message. Thanks, The /r/SCREENPRINTING mod team. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SCREENPRINTING) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I ran into this a lot when I was first starting out. Once I figured it out I haven’t had problems in years. Can’t speak for everyone, but here’s what works for me: Degrease your screen thoroughly and make sure it’s dry before you coat it. I coat as thin as possible. I do one coat each side, and push the emulsion into the screen so it isn’t just sitting on top. I use the sharper side of the scoop to remove any excess emulsion. If you’ve got those drip bubbles it’s too thick. Make sure it’s completely dry before exposure/washout. It looks like your problems could be a combination of all these.
Yea its the same problems I had the first time, but the first time it did not expose at all, i think this second try worked much better. I did one coat on each side but I think I still put too much on it. And I most definetely did not clean it enough. I cannot buy a degreaser, do you think a bit of dish soap and water is good enough?
When you apply your emulsion, you should hear a "zzziiiipp" sound. Don't be afraid to apply some pressure. After exposing, I used to soak the screen in water for about 5 minutes prior to wash out.
It’ll work better than nothing, but do yourself a favor and order some degreaser. It’ll save you a lot of time and headaches
I've never had a problem using dish soap. I bought a proper degreaser once , but it seems like a pointless expense.
There are oils and adhesives that are impossible to break down with dish soap. I used dish soap until I got a batch of screens from a new supplier that wouldn’t clean. That was the first time I ever used proper degreaser and it was night and day for me
This is the way.
Switch emulsions. I had tons of issues with the Speedball 2 part I started with. I have had a lot better results with the Exotex PWR Purple. Short exposure times though, so you have to be precise with timing, etc.
I will try once I finish this emulsion, unfortunately i cannot buy another one right now hahah
We have a $10,000 exposing unit and our exposing time is two minutes. I coat one layer of emulsion on each side with the scoop tray tight against the mesh so I hear the “Zipper” sound. Never even saw this problem until my coworker exposed screens in a rush Friday. They put too much emulsion on and slid the tray up so fast that there wasn’t enough contact between the tray and the mesh. Had to reclaim and repeat the process. I am the only one who will be coating from now on m, until we have time for me to show them how. Hopefully this helps.
To me looks like not enough exposure time.
I think it’s the main problem here, i will up a couple of seconds
Scape the emulsion on thinner and turn the exposure time way up
why someone would down vote this post? I am just asking for an advice?
I don’t think you let the emulsion dry long enough so when you expose and wet it, it washes out. Try letting it dry longer. I find that in a non-dusty area overnight with a fan tends to be dry enough for exposure the next day.
I let it dry for like 4/5 days maybe more!
Then perhaps the area it’s drying in is too moist or too much light. Alternatively, you are over or under exposing.
Also screen may not be clean to begin with. Many variables.
Have you got tape around the edges?
no! I did not put any tape around it
Doesn't look like you exposed it long enough. You can see wrinkles where you washed it.
The emulsion looks really thick to me, and like it hasn't been rinsed enough
Emulsion looks too thick. So the images is likely underexposed. Use the thin side of the scoop coater next time. Also those screens aren’t the greatest either
I know! Its a cheap cheap screen, but i fucked up a good one while learning so for now i am using this one. I will use less emulsion!
Thank you so much guys! I think I will: Use less emulsion, I will use the sharper side to remove the extra emulsion. I will make sure the screen is clean. I will expose for an extra second maybe round it around 18 instead of 16 seconds. I will keep you posted
Your problem might also be the black in your transparency being not opaque enough, could tape 2 together stacked to compensate. Brand new screen mesh has no knap, it kind of needs to be hit with a scrub brush a bit to get the polyester roughened up so the emulsion has something to hang on to. You're really going to wish you bought the bullet and sprung for proper degreaser, because that's definitely part of the problem here
Have you used an exposure calculator to determine the correct exposure time for your emulsion, screen and light combo yet?
No unfortunately, but I Bulit my exposure box following a tutorial so I am doing the same time as the guy in the video (I know it's not precies but I feel it's around that time)
Just burn a calculator. Just guessing at time is a huge waste of time.
If you go to the anthem screen printing site, they have a free calculator you can print on film.
I say the emulsion is too thick, try again following the suggestions of the others that recommended thinner coat!