Trouble reclaiming screen of emulsion.

2351 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Chongo74, Mar 20, 2014

Chongo74

Discussion Starter · Mar 12, 2014

Hello Everyone,

I am having trouble reclaiming my screen. When I use my emulsion remover only sections of my screen will come clean. I have resorted to a large amount of scrubbing and Simply Green in order to clean these screens out! Please let me know if there are any tricks to making this process faster and easier. Thank you for your time! Below are my specs

I use a blue emulsion from catspit, I expose at (2:15 sec). I expose with a 500w overhead lamp. I use opaque plastisol inks. I wash out with an adjustable garden hose (jet setting). ER/35 is the emulsion remover concentrate.

When I used a diazo red emulsion things worked fine. Not to sure where my issue is. Now I have a ton of clogged screens and orders to fulfill.

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Brandz13

· #2 · Mar 12, 2014

Wet your screen spray the remover and scrub it around your screen both sides..wait a bit longer. If your using a mix make it a bit stronger. Also I would invest in a pressure washer ..this will make the job easier as you asked.

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ClutchInc

· #3 · Mar 12, 2014

Brandz13 said:
Wet your screen spray the remover and scrub it around your screen both sides..wait a bit longer. If your using a mix make it a bit stronger. Also I would invest in a pressure washer ..this will make the job easier as you asked.

Agreed. I bought my pressure washer from Home Depot for $99. Its the best money I've spent to date.

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Chongo74

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 12, 2014

Thanks for taking the time to reply! I had plans to grab a pressure washer today, but we have a Blizzard here in Ohio haha.

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iCreateGraphix

· #5 · Mar 15, 2014

Chongo74 said:
Thanks for taking the time to reply! I had plans to grab a pressure washer today, but we have a Blizzard here in Ohio haha.

We just got a dip tank (used, on craigslist) which was very affordable. This is the best move we ever made. Put 3 screens in and 4 minutes later, the emulsion washes away so easy (we do use a pressure washer though). We were washing about 10 screens an hour, now we can get like double that done. In addition, you use less water, less chemical, and no more annoying scrubbing!
Best wishes!

www.icreatescreenprinting.com

Sent from my iPhone using TShirtForums app

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tpitman

· #6 · Mar 16, 2014

As a rule, dual-cure emulsions will reclaim better than pure photopolymers if there are any issues regarding the use of solvents when cleaning ink out of screens. They have better resistance to solvents which can make reclaim difficult, or even lock-in the emulsions making removal almost impossible.
Are you using a "hot" solvent like mineral spirits or acetone to clean ink out of your screens on the press? That might be part of the problem. A pressure washer as discussed will make reclaim much easier regardless.
Using a popular photopolymer emulsion, I had difficulty reclaiming some screens that I'd used Union's Tru-Tone Process inks in. Go figure, but those are weird inks to begin with. They'll swell your squeegee blades if the ink is left on too long.
I've settled on using a dual-cure graphic emulsion that will keep for 60 to 90 days after mixing and melts off the screen almost as soon as the emulsion remover hits it. It's slower than the photopolymers, but has great detail and reclaim is effortless.

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Chongo74

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 20, 2014

Just an update for everyone, and anyone who comes here looking for answers. I purchased and Snap-on 1650 pressure washer, and I think it is safe to say that my problem has been solved! Thanks again to everyone for the helpful feedback!

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