At Chromaline, we are invested in your screen printing success. We pride ourselves on producing premium screen printing emulsions and screen printing chemicals that will set you apart from your competition. Chromaline offers imaging solutions and screen printing products based in photochemistry, chemical etching and other new imaging technologies. Chromaline Screen Print Products has evolved in its 65-plus year history to take advantage of an ever-changing competitive environment.
We share our best tips and trips for making and using screens for screen printing on this channel.
I put up a very bright LED work light (suspended) over my quilting machine / frame. It was not expensive and was from Home Depot. I prefer using the sun, however living in Oregon sometimes precludes that method. I discovered that the bright light over my quilting frame works very well. I don't believe a "box" is a useful investment, as it is easy to place the screen to be exposed with the image and glass on a black piece of felt in a box lid (like a paper or bankers box for portability) and with a piece of thick cardboard "lid" or cover to protect it from light except when exposing. I place the box lid / exposure "sandwich" on the quilt or whatever I happen to have mounted on the quilting frame (a table would do) and sometimes elevate it a little more with a portable footstool or box. With my iphone timer running, I uncover the glass/emulsion/black felt sandwich for the needed time, then quickly re-cover it with the cardboard sheet, then pick up the whole thing and take it to the kitchen to rinse. It works great and is very affordable.
Right ta, so curious about this. I just want to set up a couple of screens to print on my own clothes, I'm not starting a business, looking at people calculate exposure times etc I just thought it was too hard especially as I have a brain injury and my maths not there anymore. My question is if using the sun is there a way to tell by looking at the screen or how it feels to know if it's been exposed long enough or is it the case you just have to trial and error it to find the right time?
Thank you for the very helpful video! I have a few questions that I hope can be answered. 1) When washing out emulsion on a screen after exposing it, can the screen be exposed to UV light in a non-light safe room? The only place I can put my washout booth is in my backyard under a shaded patio area. It is by no means light-safe, but it is very well shaded with shade tarps on all sides. 2) What is the name/brand of the screen holder equipment at 5:06?
If you have a fast-exposing emulsion, this will most likely be a problem. If you have an emulsion with wide exposure latitude you may be okay depending on how long washout is taking you. We definitely don't recommend it, but it may work. We built this screen coating holder ages ago, but if you search for "wall mounted screen coating rack" or something similar, there are options available online to purchase.
Should be able to expose the screen for 45 seconds - 1 minute if it is a dual cure emulsion! Also helps if you put more pressure on the glass thats over the film. Have to think more like how a vacuum system works with adding pressure.
I am working at the screen department and I am responsible for making screens. I am trying to master applying capillary films to the screen. Our capillary films are different and what is that tool you are using to apply on the screen? I need that lol
Do you mean the scoop coater? Or which tool are you referring to? We also have some videos dedicated to applying capillary film, so check out those as well!
Great information. Can you do videos on the full line of products? As a customer, I noticed that rebranding and/or replacement of a lot of products we used from you chemical line.
I'm using a cheap growllight for a certain emulsion and it works perfectly. It also shortens expo time compared to my old expo unit with fluorescent on it.
A couple of years ago, I had an emulsion rep tell me I should be using the sharp side of the coating trough for 195 mesh screens and higher. This is because those are typically the screens we use for gradients and thinner/dark inks. His argument was you don't necessarily want to lay down as much of an ink deposit for a gradient, or even a dark ink (like black) as you would say, with white ink on a 110 or 156 mesh that was coated with the smooth side of the though. We use a dual cure emulsion. Did that rep send me down the wrong path? We fortunately haven't had any issues using the smooth side for 156 and lower mesh screens and the sharp side for 195 and higher mesh screens.
15 second looks best. Look not only at image itself but the background area around it. 5 seconds dissolves in water jet, 25 seconds has blocked overexposed thin lines, 20 is way too close for comfort, that's why 15 seconds is the best overall compromise. 10 is too close to underexposure. May work at the beginning but won't last.
Many of the ones mentioned will work, it just depends on what wavelength the light source is and what emulsion you are exposing. If you want a specific light source, we recommend the Quick Image exposure table top unit, or the LTS laser-to-screen auto exposure for larger shops.
so is a metal hallide bulb out of something like a Douthit exposure unit compatible with Chrmoalime. What type of emulsion is Chromalime, we just switched to it
Chromaline is a pure photopolymer emulsion designed for humidity resistance and plastisol ink. Yes you can use the Douthitt unit to expose. Just do an exposure test to find out your exposure time 👍🏼
@@chromalinescreenprintproducts Why don't the mesh tore apart.. What is different in xtool screen printing laser and your laser.. For comparison please explain
@@niteshkumar-qc8nq I am super new to lasers but I am going to guess the power settings and or frequency of the laser will play a huge part. I have seen a gay laser on to his hand with the right settings
@@niteshkumar-qc8nq our laser is not removing anything, we are just using the light to expose our image onto our screen, then we still take the screen to a washout booth to finish the screen
We’ve only tested our own emulsions, but it should work. You may need to play around with exposure time depending on how wide the exposure latitude is on that emulsion.
@@chromalinescreenprintproductsDo you think the XTool will be able to expose a normal mesh screen? I believe they are advertising a metal mesh on a precoated screen.
Thank you very much for your video and clear explanation👌! I have a question, what does the time we give to development depend on? And does the screen number have anything to do with the time? I'm planning to reveal a small logo with thin letters to use with water based ink. Thank you!!!
The time to develop in the sun will be dependent on which emulsion you are using, so you will need to do your own exposure testing to see what works best for your set up
@@chromalinescreenprintproducts es correcto, hoy en día el led uv se puede fabricar en la longitud de onda que necesitemos @chromalinescreenprintproducts is correct, today UV LED can be manufactured in the wavelength we need
I have NEVER had a positive stick like that. I have had my business for 35 years. Seems like you didn't let that emulsion dry long enough at all! Weak...
Are you sure this has to be done *every* time? We use a high-pressure jet which seems to work fine. Maybe we need a lower pressure jet like the one you have, and use some of this stuff. also - what screen types is this stuff suitable for? thanks.
Some photoemulsions require the addition of a catalyst to initiate curing of the stencil during UV exposure. This curing (aka, crosslinking) is what makes areas of the stencil resistant to water for image development. If a diazo sensitizer is included with your emulsion, be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions and use the sensitized emulsion within 4 weeks for optimal performance.
Hi @Nixon Design 509. Thanks for following our channel! To help answer your question, ChromaLime is a pre-sensitized emulsion, which means no additional sensitizer is included in the box and also means no additional mixing! 🙌
Hi Stuart! Great question! Unfortunately, Epson has discontinued the P400 printer and I'm not sure you can get a new print head for discontinued products....but just to be sure, I would suggest checking in with Epson, otherwise you may be able to find an aftermarket print head.
