[michael lambert]

Hey guys,

So for the last while i have been pretty successful with doing what i do with my VS-540, till now i have been doing shirts via Sublimation, Cut vinyl and printed vinyl.. however i have had alot of work with a few customers looking for screen printing and going to it was my best bet as doing a hundred shirts out of cut vinyl is just killing my production times i can give away the screen cost for free and still make money on what time i am currently losing.. lol

So i picked up a 3 colour single shirt unit for now, it has the ability to go to 4 by adding the additional hardware just don't have it at the moment. It also has a Dryer unit attached, so really two colour.. which is more than enough for me at the moment as i do have a guy who will do the work for me beyond the two colours.

I also picked up a Lancer vacuum florescent tube exposure unit.

Now the question is i just started, have a decent base knowledge, in the past i have had my contact do up work for me and then buy his screen off him to keep it and use it of other work for the clients ( screening the logo on to bags and coffee cup sleeves )

My question is exposing, i have been messing with two different films for making the art work one is more of a tracing paper the other a clear film... both of which i don't get clean images, my inkjet kind of bleeds a bit and the laser printer is giving some ghosting.. just inconsistent.

So, having my 540VS am i wrong in thinking i can just print my art work on to my clear vinyl i can even do multiple passes to get a nice thick layer to ensure total blockage of light and it will also stick to the screen nice.

So my questions, Will i be able to do that for making my screens.

And second being new to making the screens, I was told to used "Yellow" light in my room and leave my florescents off till the emulsion is applied and the screen put away in my dark box.

and third, I was told to let it air dry over night, so the one i did today as a trial sat in my dark box for about 16 hours after applying 2 coats basically ran the front then rotated the screen 180 degrees and repeated then did the same for the other side, Using Saatigraf Graphic HU RED and after 16 hours of sitting it was still tacky to the touch


Hopefully some can help or point me into the right direction, i am new but willing to learn!

Regards,
Michael

 

[BogginOnaBudget]

Put a fan in your box to get some air circulating. We have drying boxes that have fans and heaters blowing into them. The warm air moving around will dry screens in 45 mins or less.

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[DenJohn]

You should be able to print on clear and use it to burn to the screen I've done it with a VP 540 and it worked great and as long as there is no UV block on the clear it will work...They also make rolls of clear that are made to print your seps on get one of those when you use sticky clear you run the risk of the adhesive being to aggressive and pealing your emulsion...but in a pinch
I use a radiant heater in my box set it to 65 ready in 30-45 minutes

 

[jeron]

As far as the inkjet bleeding, you need to make sure you're using waterproof film. It has a layer on one side that the ink sticks to, otherwise it will just run off... make sure you put the film in the printer correctly, cause the layer is only on one side and if you put it in upside down it will run also.

Yes you should use the emulsion in a yellow safe light situation from the time you open your emulation jar to the time you wash out your screen. I've always heard people say different things about this, but if you can set it up to use a safe light throughout this process it will be better imo.

As far as the emulsion not drying. It sounds like you have to much emulsion on the screen. The first time I coated screens it did the same thing as you described, it never really dried. I called my supplier and he said more than likely I wasn't pushing hard enough when I was coating with the scoop coater. So I tried it again with more pressure. Few hours later the outside edges were dry but the middle was still wet and ended up never really drying. So I tried it again and I pushed really hard. Came back few hours later and it was completely dry and looked awesome. That was a few years ago, but basically you need to push pretty hard against the mesh as you coat the screen. It may feel to hard like your going to bust through the back side but it will work in the long run.

As far as a fan I wouldn't unless your area is super clean. Fans just stir up dust and make pin holes. If you are going to use anything use a dehumidifier. You need to remove the moisture in the air to make the screen dry faster not circulate wet air around the room.

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