[drivernumberone]

I am printing some white on black today so I put an extra thick coat of emulsion down for such a job. Last time i washed out the screens i almost lost them because i was using my garden hose to wash them out and the squeegee side of the screen almost washed out (i assume because it was taking so long).

My question is, is it safe for the design to wash it out with my pressure washer? I figured i would put it on the low pressure setting and try it but it's for a job that i'm trying to get done today (only a dozen shirts).

Let me know! Thanks

 

[ffokazak]

It sounds like the screen was Under-exposed. If it starts to deteriorate with only hose pressure, I think even a light pressure washer rinse would damage the graphic.

 

[drivernumberone]

i expose the hell out of it. Like 15+ min. on a Silkscreeningsupplies light box... It normally works fine with everything else but only when i print whites does this tend to happen...hence the extreme exposure time. What seems to happen is because all the emulsion on the t-shirt side is more fully exposed it stays intact but when any water starts to get onto the squeegee side, after a couple minutes of washing the emulsion starts to wrinkle around the edges of the design and peel off in large peices.

i feel like if i washed it out faster then it wouldn't have a chance to break down due to water exposure... this is why i ask if using the pressure washer would be a better idea...

 

[ffokazak]

Yeah, I understand.
I think your issue may be with the thickness of the emulsion. Even though you feel like you have exposed it, when emulsion is thick for "Athletic" prints, it takes more time to cure it all the way through.

Since your not making very many shirts, on this job, I would suggest a thinner coat of emulsion. That way yeah, you will have to flash the print, but at least you will keep a nice amount of detail, I used to have a halogen light like that one you use, and Im not sure how long it would take to expose thicker emulsion.

Good [email protected]!