# Light safe cover for drying and storage rack



## BenDTease (Nov 10, 2007)

Another newbie question, but the first from me.
I am starting on a shoestring, as are many here. I have the press and have built worktables, and the first few shirt designs I made came out well. With those I used pre-coated screens. I am ready to try emulsion coating my own, and have built a drying rack. 2x2 verticals, 1x2 supports on both sides to hold the screens flat and level during the process.
I do not want solid wood sides, primarily for weight reasons, and was planning to cover the entire thing with a tarp, like for covering a load in a truck, but found it to be translucent.
Can anyone recommend a good, UV light blocking and fairly sturdy material for covering the rack? Right now I am considering covering it with black felt, then covering THAT with the tarp for extra protection from holes, but would really hate going to the expense and effort of doing so only to learn that doesn't work either.
Anyone have suggestions?

Thanks in advance for the help!


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## basement_kid (Dec 9, 2007)

Hey, I am in the same boat. What I have decided 5 minutes ago is to visit my local heating and air company and buy a sheet or two of galvanized sheet metal. its sold by 4 x 8 sections and use it for the sides its pretty light anyways but put it up on some casters to move it around freely. with some tin snips and metal ductwork tape should be simple enough to cut your blow holes and cut and mount your fans, just tape every seam to keep out contaminants and light. make sure to use a filter for your fans these can be purchased around 2dollars.Basically they are air conditioner filter refills on a roll. If im satisfied with my results this weekend I'll repost.

-Jason


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## BenDTease (Nov 10, 2007)

I had almost forgotten I poste this!
I ended up going the lazy man's way: I coated in lightsafe, left the screens in the rach uncovered with all lights off, and went to sleep. Next morning I covered them in the MONDO bags that my pre-coated had been shipped in. seems to be working so far.
So much for going all out! 
Please do let me know about the sheet metal. That would definately be lighter than the wood, and taping the edges should keep there from being sharp corners to cut the screens.


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## Space Ranger (Feb 8, 2010)

Try getting a wardrobe sized uhaul box and slide it over the top. (depending on how big your rack is). 

I can only coat at night right now because my dark room is a closet and there is no way to keep it light safe. so I may try the same.


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## mattgmann (Feb 2, 2010)

If you can sew, go to your local fabric store, i.e. JoAnns and get some blackout cloth. They will have many different styles, but it's basically a vinyl coated canvas for putting behind drapes. It blocks light completely and costs ~$5-10 a yard (generally closer to $5). If you can sew, you could make a nice cover for your rack fairly inexpensively. You could also just use the fabric for soft panels on the exterior of a cabinet, and would be cheaper and lighter than sheet metal.

Aside from screen printing, it makes awesome material for projector screens. I used it to make a 14' screen that goes up in the backyard for football games and neighborhood movie nights.


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## PulseMerch (Oct 31, 2012)

This is really late, but for people still looking for answers to this... watch this, he has an actual rack but since you built yours it will work the same... I have a rack and built it just like this, works great! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1k57f74MaA


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## 2020 PrintWorks (Apr 22, 2011)

I noticed someone said they only coat screens at night to avoid exposure. The emulsion isn't really that sensitive. The time it takes to coat a screen and stick it in the dark room isn't enough to do any damage. I use a closet in my basement and the door isn't even solid. It's made up of slats that slant down. I've never had any trouble with it even after leaving a screen for a week or two. So don't freak out if a little light hits your screens now and then.


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## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

Just staple some black polyethylene plastic sheeting to the framework. A couple of layers will do. I have a drying cabinet in my darkroom built of plywood, but I've just got a couple of black garbage bags stapled over the window.
The reason for building a drying box is to fit a fan in it for filtered air movement, if possible, and keep dust and lint out.


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## jimcr (Feb 3, 2009)

After the screen is dry you could place it in a large thick black trash bag. Or you could build a cabinet.
If weight is an issue your sides could be black chloroplast .

This is my cabinet , has a fan inside to speed up the drying and Just bought a dehumidifier also.


















there was another person here that used a bakery cart for his.

Low humidity is very important to getting good screens , thus the reason for dehumidifier. 
My cabinet serves me as a work table . cost me less than 100.00 including the fan, ans I can dry 20 screens at a time. 
When done drying the screens both ends have latches on them to keep the doors closed.


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