# How Toxic are these screen printing chemicals really ?



## crimson7 (Jul 20, 2012)

Hi guys ! i am brand spanking new to the printing world and of course i need answers ! thats why i'm here ! so all in all let me give a short description of whats going on with me.

I built my own single color press , works excellent btw . I made up a few screens using 160 mesh. I started with 4 colors ( baby blue..white..scarlet red..black). i have a degreaser/dehazer. Ink remover , emulsion remover and of course the necessary tools to print with. 

I am printing from home , and i am planning on running a small time business . i make my own designs , i already have people waiting to buy from me etc. so all in all things are going in the right path ....here is where my questions begin though.

How Toxic are these chemicals really ? i have gotten these products from ryonet, and i have read the msds sheets and everything but i would still prefer to hear it from people who have experience with this stuff.

I have the citrapaste ink remover ( smells like orange but the smell is really overpowering and i feel like my lungs hurt from it) how harsh is this stuff really ? would it be a good idea to get a respiration mask for vapor ? i'm assuming it would but if its not causing any real problems then a sore throat for a half hour is not TOO bad .

I have the "green stuff" it smells nice , its a good degreaser i assume i don't have much to worry about with this product as long as i use some gloves . What i don't get is what they mean as a dehazer though .. i made a few screens and i made 1 "test" screen just to see how it would work out before i actually started producing shirts. It might have been my fault but when i washed out the ink from my screen the screen seemed hazy so i just left it be.. the next day i went to try another color or the test print and noticed that when i made a print the image was not as crispy looking , so i figured if its a "dehazer" let me use it on my screen and get rid of that bit of left over ink .. so i did .. and the letters in my emulsion practically washed off LOL. where did i go wrong with this ? is it possible that my layer of emulsion was too thin ? or maybe it was slightly under exposed? 

And for the emulsion stripper i have envirostrip , i have not used this yet and haven't opened it yet. So i dont know how it smells etc. if anyone has experience with this How is it ? and even if it says environmentally friendly is it really harsh to the body ? 

Basically i am just concerned about my well being , especially as i am doing this at home. I do notice a lot of people do it at home so i am just assuming its not THAT bad. i am also curing the shirts with a heat gun ( works fine stretch test etc.) im not sure if its the plastisol or the heatgun but .. i at first noticed a really nasty plastic smell but realized that it was actually coming from the heatgun . The plastisol cured kinda smells like nair LOL.


So can i be worry free as long as i use gloves and keep everything clean and sanitary ? Would a respirator be necessary ? any answers and input will be appreciated , i feel like im doing fine for now but a pro's advise is always needed ! so thank you everyone on the forum in advance !


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## crimson7 (Jul 20, 2012)

b u m p . b u m p


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## macmiller (Jul 23, 2007)

Just don't eat any of it and you'll be fine!

Seriously, just use caution, none of it is harmful when used properly. I don't use any chems from Ryonet. The worst thing on your list sounds like the citripaste, if it smells strong, it probably is. Handle it with care and you'll be fine. Emulsion remover can dry your skin out and is an oxidizer, so breathing it straight out of the bottle or inhaling the mist of it from a spray bottle aren't good.

I've been printing shirts at home for about 6 years and have had no ill effects, other than tracking ink in the house accidentally from time to time. I worked at my dad's sign shop for 9 years before I started working at home and I can vouch that air dry solvent inks are a completely different animal and really could do some damage to your body over time. Plastisols and their accompanying chemicals are tame comparatively.

Just be careful and have fun with it!


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## crimson7 (Jul 20, 2012)

Thank u for the awesome post , i'm glad to hear that ! i think its normal to be concerned about your health .. as long as the fumes arent super deadly i think i'm okay with it


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## BnC Custom Ink (Mar 4, 2012)

The dehazer is for removing a "ghost" image from the screen AFTER you have removed the emulsion from it. What u needed was screen opener, but be warned screen opener is the worst chemical you will use. Use it as little as possible and in good ventilation.

Sent from my PC36100 using T-Shirt Forums


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## crimson7 (Jul 20, 2012)

Yeah I gotcha, is it something different then the citrapaste? Because the citrapaste is for removing ink


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## BnC Custom Ink (Mar 4, 2012)

Yes citripaste is for ink, dehazer is for ghost images, which are light remnants of ink in the print area on the clean screen. As a rule these "stains" won't really cause any problems.

Sent from my PC36100 using T-Shirt Forums


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## crimson7 (Jul 20, 2012)

So realistically speaking these stains wont cause A problem when I reprint with say another color after I removed the ink with the citra pSte


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## BnC Custom Ink (Mar 4, 2012)

crimson7 said:


> So realistically speaking these stains wont cause A problem when I reprint with say another color after I removed the ink with the citra pSte



Nope no problem at all with color washes. The stain wont bleed into the next color. Even if its white.


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## Celtic (Feb 19, 2008)

Use good ventilation with any and all of your chemicals as well as wearing chemical resistant gloves. 
Also, I have to chime in about dehazer.........use it.
Yes, so ghosting may not interfere with your future printing, why not keep your screens in the best condition possible? In addition to making it easier to see that you've captured small details easily. Just like some don't degrease their screens everytime....I degrease everytime and I never ever have any pinholes nor any issues with the emulsion resisting adhesion.
Even the natural oils in your skin can form a resist in your screen.


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## crimson7 (Jul 20, 2012)

yeah i will def. use it , i might as well i HAVE it lol . I actually did a few prints today and had an easier time using the citrapaste.. what i did was i diluted it a bit in a seperate spray bottle ...i went outside , sprayed the hell out of it and let it sit for about 6 minutes. came back with a second spray bottle with plain water.. sprayed a few times.. and scrubed it with a brush .. let it sit another 3 min or so . Then i just took a jug of water and rinsed everything out .. and it all came out ...no ghosting even from the ink. so i was surprised that not only did i not need a pressure washer but i didnt even need a hose.. or a sink lol.. As of right now im trying to find the best alternatives without spending too much money as i Dont have it , i'm sure after i make a few sales i will upgrade but till then this is what i need to do


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## Celtic (Feb 19, 2008)

You really want to be sure to thoroughly rinse out any residue, because that could interfere with the next use of the screen. Definitely use at least a hose.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

:: edited thread TITLE to be more descriptive  ::​


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## missswissinc (Feb 21, 2012)

Yeah I'll chime in also. I tried some of the products from franmar and believe me I like the stuff better then the other products I have. the degreaser smells a whole hell of alot better then the other stuff I bought. has a floral smell to it. the other stuff you get a snoot of that and believe me your coughing. has a rubbing alcohal smell to it. granted they say the same thing wear glasses, gloves even if they are soy based products. Not a spokesperson for them and I have only used there stuff for awhile but I'm going to order the bigger jugs since I'm starting to run low with their stuff.


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## beanie357 (Mar 27, 2011)

Ghosting in severe forms presents an area of a different color mesh.
We use different times exposing for white and yellow, same mesh count.
I would hazard a guess it might throw off exposure in that area.

There's enough damm variables, so we get rid of it to avoid weird stuff aggravating us.

But we're anal anyway.


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## superD70 (Dec 22, 2010)

I use citra paste and the green stuff, both great products and fairly safe if used in a well ventilated environment . 
Definatley degrease/dehaze your screens every time you strip them, as someone else mentioned I do and have never had pinholes or other issues


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## Skinbus (Jul 2, 2007)

The MSDS should give you all the info you should need, but just to be sure, avoid vapors whenever possible, especially where solvents are involved. Chemicals can cause any number of issues, not only respiratory. Mixing them can change the characteristics. That's why there are warnings on household cleaners regarding mixing cleaners.


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