[trulee]

i have 5 days to turn my husband's rock/fossil prep room into a dark room, or at least half of it. i am just starting screen printing and have ordered all the equip i need (i think), there is only one room that i can use and it is full of dirt, rock dust, my husbands equipment. can i clean most of it and cover his stuff with sheets, or do i need to deep clean the whole room?

 

[PrintMonkey]

Yes the room needs to dust free if you are coating, drying and storing screens in the room.
Dust is a enemy to your screens.

M

 

[trulee]

thanks! i guess i will have to figure something else out, i dont think i can get all of that rock dust out of there. you guys are great! all of my questions have already been answered! thanks again.

 

[Spot_Worker]

....HHMMMMmmm You can use the spare bathroom to coat the screens. Just put a towel at the bottom of the door. After they are coated and dry, you can move to the rock place to burn. Move them in a heavy black bag till they are to be burned.

 

[KaceMN]

I've been printing for 3 years now...and in that time I've figured out that dark rooms are entirely overrated. Yes, emulsion reacts to light...but you really don't have to go to the extreme and prevent all light from entering your coating, drying, and storage area. You don't need to have a completely separate, highly restricted area in order to handle screens.

I do all of my coating right in my shop...I just shut the lights off. Sometimes there's sunlight pouring in the windows while I do it. Ambient light for a few minutes really does nothing. It's all good as long as you coat them quickly, don't let any DIRECT sunlight hit them, and get them into a fairly protected place for drying and storage (I just use a single storage shelf in my shop that has a piece fabric draped over and around it to block any direct exposure to light). After they dry, I just keep them on that shelf until I use them.

So...in summary...your options for coating and storing screens are likely much more abundant that you initially planned. Put forth reasonable effort in keeping them away from direct exposure to light sources for extended lengths of time and you'll be 100% fine!

 

[Olivers Designs]

KaceMN, I am with you on this. I have noticed in a couple videos that I have watched they are basically doing the same thing that you are.

 

[trulee]

....HHMMMMmmm You can use the spare bathroom to coat the screens. Just put a towel at the bottom of the door. After they are coated and dry, you can move to the rock place to burn. Move them in a heavy black bag till they are to be burned.

if i had a spare bathroom i live in a tiny trailerhouse.
im gonna build a shelf for the screens to dry and for storage of them and then just cover them with a black sheet to keep the light and dust away? will i need to put a fan on them or will they dry overnight? im afraid a fan would blow dust into them.

also i dont have a printer at home, only at work, i need to keep that away from light til its burned, correct?

 

[jasonsc310]

As long as you keep your emulsion out of direct sunlight then you should be fine. You can coat your screens in a bath room or a closet just leave the door open and the lights off. Make sure that when you degrease your screen and prepare them for new emulsion keep them clean other wise you will experience pin hole in your emulsion. You could even build you a wood box to store them in. Just line it with maybe plastic or some thing easy to clean and keep it shut as much as possible. Hope this helps a little

 

[trulee]

thanks! im gonna have to watch the youtube video again, for some reason i thought you had to print your transparencies in a light safe environment too maybe i should just wait til i get my kit and watch the dvd. sorry for sounding so dumb.

 

[Viper Graphics]

You can print your transparencies anywhere, that is not an issue. As for coating and burning screens I use a large closet and just replaced the light bulb with a yellow bug light. Works great and can see everything plain as day!

 

[JAF]

It is my understanding that florescent bulbs are the bad for films. I’ve covered all my florescent tubes with a UV blocking, clear tube. All my other light bulbs are incandescent and I was told not to worry about them because they won’t damage the film.
Have I been misinformed? I've never had a problem.