How To Screen Print: Screen Exposure Tips For The Home Printer

[harpo103]

Hi.

In an effort to reclaim a screen, can you just recoat the screen with new emulsion and reburn it? Would that work?

[CatspitProductions]

@harpo103 No because the old emulsion is cured and will no longer react to light at all. You have to fully remove the old emulsion and stencil form the mesh, degrease the mesh and let it dry then re coat with emulsion. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! ☠

[MonKeywithAGun420]

HAHA. yea i had purchased a few black lights from home depot...

[CatspitProductions]

@MonKeywithAGun420 Can you get the right ones at Home Depot? If so that’s good info, thanks. Thanks for watching & commenting! ☠

[MonKeywithAGun420]

How well do black lights work to expose a screen?

[CatspitProductions]

@MonKeywithAGun420 Industrial black lamps work great. Novelty black lamps from the store at the mall will not work. These are two very different types of bulbs. It’s important to use the industrial black lamps with the high UV output to cure the emulsion. Do not use the black lamps people like to dance under...LOL. Thanks for watching & commenting! ☠

[c0kar7]

i have a 4 ft x 4ft screen, i want to burn using the sun...how long should i leave it out?

[CatspitProductions]

@c0kar7 That will depend on the day, your location, your emulsion, your film and how thickly you coated your screen. I use an exposure unit so I can only guess: 15 minutes or so for a dual cure and maybe 5 minutes for a photopolymer emulsion. I’m really not sure; could take longer depending on circumstances. There are a lot of people on YouTube who do use the sun to expose screens. Do a search for it. Thanks for watching & commenting!

[tedmatas]

Thank you for sharing. You've been a great help.

[CatspitProductions]

@tedmatas You are welcome. It is my pleasure to help out. Thanks for watching & commenting!

[Antmanpictures]

the video you suggested helped but I am a college student with really no money and I just want to make some cool shirts for myself and maybe some friends. Do you think it will work if I put the sirts in the oven or something like that.

[CatspitProductions]

@Antmanpictures I have seen people use their oven but that looks like an awkward, time consuming and hazardous endeavor. Using a space heater would be better than an oven I suppose. Watch the video again and use your creativity. I’m sure you can come up with something. Thanks for watching & commenting!

[Antmanpictures]

What is the best way for me to cure the plastisol inks so I can cure at home and make tshirts at home.

[CatspitProductions]

@Antmanpictures I would at least use a flash cure unit if not a small belt dryer. Check out my videos about the dryer and flash curing tips for the home printer. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[alexfoster14]

Hey your videos are really helpful cheers!

just ordered everything I need to print from home and I wasjust wondering how good a UV light would be to cure the emulsion? its like a crappy little one so I dunno how good that would be.

If not il have to try using one of those lights from the videos

Cheers!

[CatspitProductions]

@alexfoster14 Thank you! Emulsions are most sensitive to UV light so as long as your light source is outputting a decent amount of UV, then it should work. The UV or black lights you can buy at Spencers or novelty gift shops are not true UV lamps and probably won’t work. You will need industrial black lamps or some kind of bulb that puts out some UV light. Thanks for watching & commenting!

[alexfoster14]

@CatspitProductions nice one cheers for the help. I have been using a 500w one, it works pretty good at about 12 minutes from 20 inches

[CatspitProductions]

@alexfoster14 Cool, thanks for sharing with us all. You are welcome. It is my pleasure to help out. Thanks for watching & commenting!

[swaggyblue]

hi ive been watching your videos and wondering what other ink can i use (that u recommend) besides that ink that needs to be cured with the oven. i dont have the money to buy it but still want prety decent ink that wont ware of after some washes

[CatspitProductions]

@swaggyblue Check out the article called, Introduction To Ink; Water Based & Plastisol Screen Printing Inks which is on the Article Archive page of the Catspit website. This should help you with choosing your inks. Website link is on the channel page. Thanks for watching & commenting!

[CatspitProductions]

@morales833 - Unfortunately, I do not believe that such a thing exists. The least expensive RIP that I know of that works well is AccuRIP. There may be some cheaper ones but I dont think you will be able to find one for free that is specifically designed for making film positives. If you find one, please let us know where to get it! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[Svvifty]

do you think i can jus leave it in the sun?

[CatspitProductions]

Yes, many people use the sun to expose screens but it is a very inconsistent endeavor. The suns UV intensity will vary depending on the time of day, year and weather conditions. It is much easier to use a fixed light source that is stable and consistent. That way all of your exposure times will be the same only depending on film and mesh count. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[MarioCaps1]

FYI , possible future vid could be how to do a step wedge test properly (for determining exposure time) only seen a couple available on youtube .....

Just a thaught.

Thanks Again !!

[CatspitProductions]

Personally, I do not use such a system. But I know many people find it useful. Ill put it on the video production list. Please be patient as it takes some time to make and post these videos. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[MarioCaps1]

Hey John, Thanks again for your video's ! Awesome! I will be using a 400w mercury vapor light and I am trying to find a way to make a shutter, or figure out how to properly use it .The questions I have are I Know I have to wait for the lamp to warm up before it becomes "fully bright" .. so looking for idea's,could cover the screen with some kind of box , remove it once lamp is warmed up, or make a wooden shutter over the lamp ? Kind of at a loss of the best way to do this, Help apreciated!!

[CatspitProductions]

I have to say I have never built a shutter apparatus for an exposure unit. This is something you will have to research. I would use metal to build the shutter box because those lamps run hot and wood could be a fire hazard. Good luck with that and if you are successful, let us know what you did. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[UKCheeseFarmer]

Thanks for another great video!

[CatspitProductions]

You are welcome; it is my pleasure to help out! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[chrama1]

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH! My only regret is I can only rate 5 stars!

[CatspitProductions]

Well then, make sure to rate 5 stars on my other videos too! :) Thanks a lot for commenting and watching!

[imnotsickimjustaboy]

aha.. perfect video man 5*

UK fan

[CatspitProductions]

Thank you very much! Thanks for watching!

[tran4of3]

Beginner here: I use a 500w Halogen for exposure and flash cures. Exposure takes 6-7 minutes, using a fan nearby to keep the heat in check, glass to hold the image down flat, and a black cloth underneath to keep the light from reflecting back up. Cost is about $10 for the halogen and $5 for the glass, so it's quite cost effective!

I'm now curious about point-source exposure units without the heat and proper UV - sounds like the best possible method, if moneys no object. Maybe one of these days!

[imnotsickimjustaboy]

@tran4of3 what kind of mesh are you using?

[tran4of3]

Still using standard 110, and using Speedball Diazo dual-cure Emulsion.

[CatspitProductions]

Very nice! Seems like you have it down to a science. The black cloth is a good idea to reduce the light bounce. Eliminate all variables is what I always say! The point source exposure units do produce some heat but the screen is about 3 feet or so away from the light source so there is some air space to act as a cooling area. Plus there is an exhaust fan inside pulling the heated air out of the insides. Thanks for watching and sharing your methods!

[daniellacatton]

Great Video Jon, As Always.

I use a 1000watt lamp for 16 ½ minuets, It always washes out fine.

Keep posting the videos, The best on YouTube.

From Daniella, - The UK Fan Club.

[CatspitProductions]

1000 watts! Pretty long exposure for you too. But that is typical for home applications. Sounds like you are getting good, consistent results. Nice! Thanks for sharing the info!

[saattchi]

i just use 2 20 watts fluorescent lights and that's it . . expose for 12 mins .. .

yah , , , iiiiiiii know. . time consuming . . hahaha . .but i get used to it. . .

super garage DIY. . .

thanks jon. . . .

[CatspitProductions]

Excellent! Thanks for sharing! Simple yet effective. Nice! Thanks for watching!

[saattchi]

the type of emulsion im using is the one where you mix a sensitizer. . . I just ratioed it to like it will be more sensitive to light so that I can shorten the time and I can use less wattage. .. .the light's about 1.5 ft from the screen hanging above (2 20 watts fluorescent light, that's it). . I also use black cloth underneath. . . .I sort of read / watch it somewhere. . haha. .

[CatspitProductions]

Very cool, sounds like you are having a lot of fun with screen printing. Thanks again for sharing, watching & commenting.

[Topdoginuk]

Hey J, good video as usual.

5 *

[Tolrias]

+1 :D on 5 stars and +fav

[CatspitProductions]

Thanks so much. I appreciate your support! Thanks for actively commenting!

[CatspitProductions]

Thanks for watching and commenting! And thanks much for rating 5 stars!