# Issues with screen burning



## PURI (Oct 27, 2014)

Can you guys help me with some issues? I've printed some design on transparency (1 pic) and the result on tshirt is (2 pic ). Is it badly burned? How should I burn frame to be able screen print halftones? I'm doing this without any hardware, usually outdoors in the sun. Thanks.

http://s23.postimg.org/40em3hfaz/IMGP5150.jpg
http://s23.postimg.org/a2m8tz3qz/IMGP5152.jpg


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## PhantomPrints (Jan 5, 2015)

I tried using the sun when I first started out. It is great for designs that just have text on it, but for more detailed art it just can't get the detail as great as an exposure unit. All I have for an exposure unit is 2 LED lights that you use in the garage and a piece of glass on top of a cardboard box. The lights are in the box and I put a black shirt on top of the screen with some books to weigh down the screen so the design will lay flat on the screen.


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## TYGERON (Apr 26, 2009)

PURI said:


> Can you guys help me with some issues?


 OK. Looks like the lighter less dense areas on your film aren't blocking UV and your screen is exposing in those areas and not washing out.

Take a look at the areas on the actual print that came out pretty much OK (like the astronaut). Those areas on film are more dense, blocked more UV therefore washed out better.

Sunlight works well and fast. It's pure UV, which is what cures the emulsion. Solid areas as well as pretty fine details and halftones can be burned. There's a pretty good article on Sun exposure I've often posted but can't find it as of late. Very large screens are often done this way and there's a guy who does most of his screens and uses a conventional unit for back-up and cloudy and rainy days. Of course a regular exposure unit is more reliable and consistent.

What you need is a method to produce dense films. 

What are you currently using?


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## TownsendScreen (Jun 3, 2012)

TYGERON is right.
If you don't have a good method for producing film positives I would recommend outsourcing the positives or investing in the hardware / software to do so. If you're in a pinch you can layer them to get better density, but that is a pain in the ***. Andy Mac had a good article on solar exposure in his book "screen printing today". For large format printing, solar seems like the way to go unless you have $$ to blow on a helios. Compensating for rainy / cloudy days seems to be the biggest issue, but perhaps there is some type of UV meter to quantify solar output in order to compensate for such things.


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## TYGERON (Apr 26, 2009)

TownsendScreen said:


> Andy Mac had a good article on solar exposure in his book "screen printing today".


 That's who I was talking about but I couldn't remember his name and couldn't find the article. THANK YOU!


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## parkst23 (Sep 4, 2008)

Buy accurip with the epson printer setup and it will solve all your problems.


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