[20vK]

Hi Guys,

I mixed up a quart of diaz emulsion with the right amount of distilled water on 7th April 2012.

I left it overnight then used it to coat a couple of screens. All good so far and the screens washed out beautifully.

The emulsion has been kept in the dark room with the lid on all this time and I only use yellow bulbs. It has not been opened since I sucessfully coated and used the last 2 screens.

So why has my emulsion turned to gloop? I tried to pour it into my coater and it all plopped out the container. Kinda like stretchy gooey silicone. Totally unusable.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Richie

 

[ScreenFoo]

Never run into that one... when it's super hot here (90-95 during the day, sometimes over 100 in the shop), it seems to slowly get thicker, but we're usually getting whooped on, and go through it faster.

How hot is it where you store it?

 

[20vK]

not too warm. hard to say as I don't have a thermometer yet!

I am in the caribbean, but I've had different pots of the same emulsion sit there for much longer with no issues at all.

I've not read about this before

 

[20vK]

Anyone else had this happen to them before?

The distilled water was a new bottle, too

 

[lben]

I've never had that happen to me before. I keep my mixed emulsion in a cool closet in my basement or in the fridge. I have emulsion that is almost 2 years old that is still liquidy, though I wouldn't use it for emulsion, it works fine for red out. I'm thinking it's the heat. It needs to stay cool and dark.

 

[ScreenFoo]

I've never had that happen to me before. I keep my mixed emulsion in a cool closet in my basement or in the fridge. I have emulsion that is almost 2 years old that is still liquidy, though I wouldn't use it for emulsion, it works fine for red out. I'm thinking it's the heat. It needs to stay cool and dark.

It makes great wood glue too.

 

[TYGERON]

Anyone else had this happen to them before?

The distilled water was a new bottle, too

I atually had this happen last year. Perfectly good emulsion. It was about half way through. Coated screens one day. Couple days later it was thick and lumpy. I stirred it. Didn't help much but I was able to coat a few screens and it actually burned.

Have no idea what happend. It was kept cool, dark and closed tightly.

 

[20vK]

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh SOMEONE PLEASE STAB ME IN THE EYE WITH A WOODEN MIXING STICK - A second pot of emulsion just glooped on me again!

Mixed on 30th April. Just checked it today - 19th May - I'm sure it's evolution in progress. If I left it any longer, I'd have mini Pterodactyls flying out the pot when I took the lid off and the emulsion would surely have grown legs and walked out the dark room.

It only happens once it has been activated. I just opened my last unmixed pot on the shelf and it looks like normal.

I mixed the last pot I have today for 2 rush jobs - not going to risk it, I'm coating every degreased screen I have tonight!

I'm going to re-stock with dual diaz, but also buy a quart of pre-mixed QT and see how that goes on the exposure and storage front.

I'm also going to take the emulsion home and store it in the fridge - We have a storm system coming in over the next 4 days or so, so the humidity may go a bit ballistic. I guess I'll have to take the emulsion to work like a packed lunch!

Hoping for a break in the rain, so at least I get to go kiteboarding to relieve some stress and get the adrenaline pumping Epic conditions here when it blows

Richie

 

[lben]

Unmixed, it can only sit on the shelf for a few months, I think 3 - 6 months. Mixed maybe 3 months if it is kept cold and dark. I have emulsion that I mixed back in 2010 that is still liquid. Can't be used as emulsion any more but it still works as a red out substitute.

 

[WHCustomRainMan]

i hear about this periodically but have never had it happen to me...the only thing that i can conclude is that either the emulsion was not chemically mixed properly from the factory or something accidentally got into it...either when it was made by the manufacturer or being mixed by us...although the manufacturer will place all the blame on the way it was mixed by the purchaser...i have never had any problems with saatichem...that is the brand of emulsion that we use. later dude

 

[20vK]

i hear about this periodically but have never had it happen to me...the only thing that i can conclude is that either the emulsion was not chemically mixed properly from the factory or something accidentally got into it...either when it was made by the manufacturer or being mixed by us...although the manufacturer will place all the blame on the way it was mixed by the purchaser...i have never had any problems with saatichem...that is the brand of emulsion that we use. later dude

huh - interesting. I only ever use a brand new bottle of distilled water to mix each quart with. I'm kinda known for my ridiculous attention to detail round here. Sometimes it feels like a curse

Of the 4 quarts I bought, 2 went bad. The first was absolutely fine. Waiting on the fourth.......


Coated a bunch of pre-degreased screens this evening, so at least I should have enough to keep me going until the next order arrives

I plan on getting a temp/humidity data logger installed at some point too. Figured it will probably come in handy as I get busier and need more control!

Richie

 

[foot print]

I use textilPV It's already pre-mixed..I buy it by the gallon.. 1 year later it was still good..


Sent from my iPhone using TShirtForums app

 

[Naptime]

where in the Caribbean?

i would definitely store in in the fridge if it takes 30 days to go through a batch.

 

[20vK]

where in the Caribbean?

i would definitely store in in the fridge if it takes 30 days to go through a batch.

I live in The Cayman Islands

We are just coming into hurricane season, so things start to get humid from now through to october

The first pot of emulsion was absolutely fine.......my last pot is now chilling in the fridge

Richie

 

[Naptime]

i do a lot of work in the Dominican Republic. I've setup a friend down there to do some work for me, as it's cheaper than shipping.

the first two gallons of emulsion he mixed, solidified in only a few weeks.

and i knew everything was setup properly, because i did it.

i took the emulsion there myself, mixed it myself and showed him how. same emulsion as i use.

he stored his on the shelf. only a few weeks and it was trash. (i did not not know about fridge storage yet)

when i learned about it, i suggested the fridge..

now we both store in the fridge. and have no problems. up here i go through a gallon fairly quickly. but down there, not so fast. so it stays rather well in the fridge.

in both locations, i have a smaller pint sized black container. i'll pour from the cooled gallon, into the smaller container.

let it sit and come to room temperature before coating the screen.

don't coat a screen when the emulsion is cold.

takes about an hour to get to room temp. probably less for you during the warmer season.

 

[Naptime]

if you are fairly new.. i will tell ya.. as you are getting into humid season now, GET A DEHUMIDIFIER and build a drying box for your screens, if you don't already have one.

worst case, get a space heater WITHOUT A FAN.

once you coat your screens, the act of them "drying" is the water evaporating from the emulsion.

if it's humid, the screens will never properly dry, because the air around them is wet.

they may feel dry to the touch, but the center won't be.

this will create problems with washout.

i know we all hate spending money. but trust me. in your environment, you NEED a dehumidifier for those screens.

 

[ScreenFoo]

Unmixed, it can only sit on the shelf for a few months, I think 3 - 6 months. Mixed maybe 3 months if it is kept cold and dark. I have emulsion that I mixed back in 2010 that is still liquid. Can't be used as emulsion any more but it still works as a red out substitute.

I've always heard a little over a year, but they like to make date codes pretty archaic so we don't know what's up without calling them. Which, speaking of, have you tried calling the manufacturer Richie? I know Kiwo and Ulano have knowledgeable reps who are ready to help you out, and can only hope any other manufacturer is willing and able to do the same.

I get the feeling your place is getting too warm. I've never seen huge changes in emulsion because of humidity--I've printed in 10% RH, and 90% RH. (Not to say they can't happen )
Huge changes in burn time, stencil detail, and durability, yes, but huge changes in the consistency of the emulsion, no.

 

[Naptime]

I've always heard a little over a year...

I get the feeling your place is getting too warm. I've never seen huge changes in emulsion because of humidity....Huge changes in burn time, stencil detail, and durability, yes, but huge changes in the consistency of the emulsion, no.

100% agree.

i think the HEAT is affecting the emulsion sitting on the shelf.

HUMIDITY will affect the drying of the coated screens. and possibly burn the stencil detail, burn time, washout, etc... due to improperly dried screens.

 

[Fenrir]

Also, refrigerators tend to be pretty humid inside, especially right after a defrost cycle.

 

[20vK]

if you are fairly new.. i will tell ya.. as you are getting into humid season now, GET A DEHUMIDIFIER and build a drying box for your screens, if you don't already have one.

worst case, get a space heater WITHOUT A FAN.

once you coat your screens, the act of them "drying" is the water evaporating from the emulsion.

if it's humid, the screens will never properly dry, because the air around them is wet.

they may feel dry to the touch, but the center won't be.

this will create problems with washout.

i know we all hate spending money. but trust me. in your environment, you NEED a dehumidifier for those screens.

Thanks for the input, Jay. That kinda reassures me - DR is pretty local on our global weather scale. Nice idea to warm up the emulsion first. Guess I need a yellow filter on my fridge light at home now!

One of the reasons I boxed in my drying rack was incase I needed to control the humidity.

Thanks to everyone else too. The pot of emulsion is now chilling in the fridge, next to the eggs!

Will update this post with the results.

It's now raining sideways - probably will do for another day or so!

Richie