#Speedball emulsion drying time how to#

Usually these are the causes (and solutions):.Issue: the water washes the emulsion away during the development process In the summer, you can also leave the frame in sunlight for 20 to 30 minutes and the emulsion will receive enough UV light to harden. expose the frame so that the touch-ups harden.once it’s exposed, check the screen against a light or bright surface and, if you notice any holes, use a small precision brush to fill them with fresh emulsion.Always complete three passes when emulsifying the frame:.The problem is that the layer of emulsion has been applied too thinly. If the layer of emulsion is too thin, micro-holes may appear on the emulsion that allow ink through during printing. Issue: micro-holes that allow the ink to pass through If the emulsion is already dry, the only option is to wash it with water – if it’s not been exposed yet, otherwise it’ll be necessary to use a stripper – allow it to dry and then apply the emulsion again.

It’s a simple process and we recommend that you always check for drops before drying the frame.

If you notice these drops while the emulsion is still wet, you can remove them, and make the layer more even, with the scoop coater.This usually happens if too much emulsion is applied, it’s similar to what happens with paint (although emulsion is applied using a scoop coater and not a brush, of course). This should be apparent immediately after exposure: the emulsion on the frame will remain green, whereas if the exposure process has completed correctly, the emulsion should turn bluish. Issue: something is wrong with the exposure lightĪre you trying to expose a diazo emulsion with white light?ĭiazo emulsions won’t harden when exposed to white (non-UV) light, so they’ll completely wash away under water. – diazo-free and ready-to-use emulsions: can be kept for one and a half years at 20☌ or for three years in a fridge. Once the diazo has been added, they’ll keep for 1 month at 20☌ or for 3 months if kept in a fridge in a well-sealed container. – diazo emulsions: they last forever, until you add diazo to them. Here’s what our experience has taught us:

#Speedball emulsion drying time how to#

The solution is to learn how to store your emulsions properly. Unfortunately, it’s only when you come to expose the frame that you can understand if the emulsion has gone bad: the design’s details will be unclear or the entire layer of emulsion will come away when the screen is rinsed with water. The pot or jar containing your emulsion usually displays the production date, not a use-by date: this is because there’s no legal requirement to provide a use-by date, and because there are many factors that can influence how long screen-printing emulsions last. No matter the problem, there’s always a solution to ensure you don’t ruin the screen and still get great quality prints. How many times have you emulsified a frame absolutely perfectly, let it dry and then, when you go to complete the exposure process by rinsing with water, all the emulsion washes away or, conversely, it doesn’t wash away at all?ĭon’t worry, it happens.

Now the screen printing screen is clean: do you also want to get rid of the emulsion?.

How to clean the screen printing screen if you’re using water-based inks.

Cleaning Plastisol inks from the screen printing screen.

Cleaning solvent-based inks from the screen printing screen.

The first step when cleaning the screen printing screen: remove the ink as follows.

It’s no big deal – with some simple tricks you can still get a frame that’s ready to deliver great quality prints. When preparing a screenprinting frame, the emulsion can sometimes cause some issues.