[kittycat]

I'm pretty new to screen printing on t-shirts so apologies if this is a stupid question.

I created my first screen with photo emulsion. It came out fantastic, super sharp and all. It was immensely popular so I made quite a few t-shirts with this screen, always washing it thoroughly after use.

I have now used the photo emulsion removing liquid which also worked great and removed all of the emulsion.

The problem I have is that the screen is stained with a positive (where the actual design was) imprint. If the screen is otherwise white, the positive is darker gray-ish colour. I presume this is from the ink, maybe I didn't wash it off properly after printing. The screen isn't actually clogged in those areas, just stained. I spent about 2 hours scrubbing the screen to no avail.

Any ideas on how to clean/remove the stain?

 

[jkewl99]

Hi,

Sounds like what you are experiencing is hazing, almost every vendor has a dehazing solution, this has worked well for me.

Good Luck!!!!

 

[PhilR]

You don't really need to worry about it unless the staining becomes bad enough to interfere with registering new designs. Most of my screens are pretty heavily hazed but they print just fine.

 

[ScreenFoo]

I'm with Phil--unless you're doing crazy photo work with fine halftones, and running into exposure problems, or having issues registering screens, ink haze shouldn't be too big a deal.

The best ink haze remover is the best ink remover you can get, although walk away haze remover may work, and certainly caustic haze remover will take out the stain, but it will also beat up your mesh.

Make sure you watch the ventilation and safety issues if you get into 'hot' solvents or caustic.

 

[tpitman]

So far the best stain/haze remover I've used is called Renu-it from Chemical Consultants. They say use it on wet or dry screens, but I find it works best on a screen that's as clean as you can get it, and dry. Brush it on and leave it for awhile. Hit it with your pressure washer, and it'll take out most, if not all of the stain, depending on how old it is. Use a respirator, though. That stuff gets in the air when you pressure wash it out, and it's irritating on your lungs.

Here's the link: http://www.ccidom.com/products.php?product=LIQUID-RENU%2dIT®-LIQUID-STAIN-REMOVER