Bath Shower Today

January 30th, 2010

Hello Everyone, Just for a heads up, I'm a total Noob.

I decided to try screen printing only as a hobby. I'm going to be using a small bathroom without a shower/tub as my darkroom because it's the only room without a window in the house. However, I can't figure out, after many hours of research, how to store the screens for emulsion drying in the dark room. I've seen many nice drying cabinets but all are too big for the room. I'm looking for something small and portable that will allow me to store the screens in a light safe environment so I can exit the room.

I'm contemplating buying a large plastic storage container (making it light safe) to store the screens flat but the container will not have any air flow to aid in the drying. Will that be an issue if I'm willing to wait 24 hrs?

Pending the successful answer to question #1 my next question is:
If I expose the screen in the dark room can I transport it to a non light safe bathroom for washout (approximately 30-45 secs) or will the emulsion harden before the washout is complete?

Any help is much appreciated!!!

January 30th, 2010

Hey Steve!

I'm new to screenprinting as well...but I have also been using a bathroom as a darkroom. I did all my emulsion coating and exposing at night so I wouldn't run into light issues. I also turn off all the lights in my house as well. I just put a towel on the counter and laid the screen on top with a fan blowing on it to dry. If the lights outside the bathroom are off you should be fine exiting the room.

As for your second question I don't think taking the screen to a non-light safe room to wash it out is a good idea...but I'm sure someone else can give you better insight to this question. The bathroom in the middle of my house doesn't have a window and has a shower so I just do everything in the bathroom.

January 30th, 2010

I used tape rolls (3 inch masking tape, or what ever you use o mask your edges) to hold the screens up face down (One on each corner of the screen) while the emulsion dried with a fan facing them. Just stacked them on the floor. You can even stack multiple screens if you wanted to but have to be extremely careful!

My bathroom is also small bu I do have a shower in it so I didn't have to move the screens out. As long as you keep the emulsion away from direct UV light you should be okay though (complete darkness it not necessary)

Check out youtees if you haven't.

Good luck!

January 30th, 2010

Been screen printing for about 6 years now and I don't have a dark room at all - never have. We use primarily cap film which exposes very quickly. In fact, screens with the Cap film expose in our screen exposer about 5 X faster then DXP coated t-shirt screens.

in either case ... I apply the cap film and the DXP with the lights on in the room. In there is a three 30 watt tube flourescent light.. not sure what type it is, but its the standard "office" type 24" fixture. There are no UV blockers on it. I've never had a problem with washout. While they dry, I do turn the lights off but they may see light for 5 - 10 minutes before that starts (I usually coat 4 - 5 screens at a time so the first one sits in the light while I do the others).

Now ... I'm not recommending that you do this. The point is that emulsion cures from UV light, not visible light. Different lamp types emit different amounts of UV so any given light may be a problem ... or it may not (regular incandescents can be a problem, but yellow bug lights generally are not). Even if you have windows in your house you may be able to carry coated screens around in front of them - most modern windows have UV films on them that keep the UV from the sun from coming into the house. If your windows have that then you're probably fairly well protected - I still wouldn't lean them against the glass to dry, but walking past them with no other protection isn't going to hurt. You can also get sleeves for your flourescent tubes that filter out all UV without blocking the visible. Most flourescents don't put out too much UV in the first place, but these sleeves get rid of all of it so you can leave the lights on all the time.

You'll want to limit exposure to light as much as possible, but generally speaking limited exposure probably won't hurt too much.

January 31st, 2010

Kind of like an earlier post, in a small shop that I worked for we would coat the screens, put childrens blocks on the corners of the screens to keep them off the floor and separate from each other. We stacked them sometimes 8 high, then after they dried, put them in the box they came from for storage until they were used. Simple, cheap, worked just fine.

January 31st, 2010

It's OK to coat your screens in a room with lights on... but away from direct sunlit windows. You do need to allow the emulsion to dry in a dark room. A large box will do the trick in a confined space. For storage after drying, you can use a box or black garbage bag.

If you need to transport exposed screens from exposure area to a washout area, place the screens in a black plastic garbage bag and you should be fine. Again, keep the screens away from any direct sunlight until you have washed them out completely. No better source of UV light than the sun, so you will expose your emulsion by an unshaded window.

February 11th, 2010

I use a closet as my darkroom and take my screens outside to washout. (usualy at night)

If you do have to go outside to coat put the screens in a black trashbag and try to do your washout around dawn or dusk so there is low light.

February 11th, 2010

Been doing this for a while now . . . when I first started and before I built my own drying rack. I got pieces of 1"x2" wood and cut into 2 in. pieces. coated the screens in the garage where with a bug light on. Then laid 1x2 on the floor at the top of screen and the bottom of the screen and repeated the process when I laid the screens on top of eachother. Then when the screens dried I put them in a black trash bag with a blanket over it to make sure of no UV exposure. When I burned the screen I sprayed it real good with water (water bottle) and moved it into a garbage can with a lid on it. Little at a time I lifted the lid and washed out the screen . . . (kind of a cheap way for a washout booth) never had a problem with this way . . . matter of fact when I work out of the home . . . I still wash out this way. Hit me up if you need any help.

One thing to not if you have wet the emulsion after exposure and wait for thirty or so seconds. You can remove the entire screen from the dark and as long you immediately start washing out you should be fine. Key is to make sure the emulsion stays soft when washing.

Hope this helps.

February 13th, 2010

I understand you are starting and don't have the ability to cover any of your windows to make them light safe.

Beware that when drying your screens, water is the enemy. The sink and toilet atomize water when you use them. If you sit on the toilet and flush, you will feel it. Keep an eye on the humidity of the room with with a digital hygrometer.

You might consider putting a dehumidifier in the room to reduce humidity. After a night in your dehumidified room, the hygrometer will read it's lowest.

As the dehumidifier reclaims the moisture the stencils have given up, the room will return to it's lowest Rh% and you will know all the screens are as dry as you can make them.

February 14th, 2010

Follow up on Dark Room Questions:

Maybe I've had some good luck but I've exposed a few screens with out any problems.

I've found that after coating my screens I can exit and enter the bathroom quickly (obviously keeping down to the absolute minimum) without any adverse exposure. After exposing my screens I'll put them in a heavy gauge black trash bag and immediately take them to another bathroom which has been darkened by hanging a towel over the curtains (Not completely dark like a darkroom). I'll wet the screens, being very light conscious while allowing to soak, then using a hand shower head, wash the screens out.

It's obviously not the optimal set up and workflow but it works for now.

I have encountered one problem. The shower head spray nozzle I'm using does not have a lot of pressure therefore puts too much water on the emulsion. I've not had any blowouts yet but I can see it happening. I'm looking for a powerful jet nozzle or some way to attach a hose nozzle to the shower head (Any suggestions?).

Thanks for all the replies!

February 14th, 2010

Remember, sensitizer reacts with invisible UV light, not visible light. Yellow light is safe light for processing screens because it is very low in UV energy and almost as bright as white light. I know it's Valentines Day, but don't go and buy a red safe light for visible light photography, because you will be only a little better than dark.

Developing your stencil
Water isn't your problem. You can never have too much water. You canhave, not enough exposure. This is the #1 screen making problem. #2 is a positive that doesn't stop all UV energy, like a bad raincoat. The perfect positive

The purpose of exposure is to change the stencil from something that will dissolve with water to something that won't dissolve with water. If the stencil breaks down - it's exposure.

The perfect positive stops all UV energy in the image area and lets UV energy harden/cure the stencil tat needs to stay in the mesh.

Today's a good day to try this print

Exposure is easy, if the image area doesn't dissolve, your positive failed to stop invisible UV energy from getting through your positive.

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