# not sure where i went wrong...



## alleytildeath (Jun 30, 2016)

Hey new to the forum was going through some older posts to see if i got some help but i have no idea where i am going wrong. I started screen printing a while back and the first few images came out pretty good. Now lately every i try to burn a screen the emulsion just washes out of the screen completely. I am using a udc-2 dual cure from chromaline and i coat my screens 1 on 1. in the past i have used direct sunlight to burn my screens with a time of like 5 mins...my screens are coated like two three days before i use them and arent exposed to any sunlight between use... so where am i going wrong?


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## Threds Inc (Jun 29, 2016)

Emulsion only has a shelf life of about 30 days. Longer if you keep it in the fridge. It may be past its date to properly set.


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## Arcayde (Sep 9, 2015)

Usually, with diazo emulsion, I can tell when my is reaching the end of it's shelf life by the emulsion being much HARDER to wash out. What you're describing sounds like it's not exposing at all, or definitely not long enough. 

When you wash it out, is is slimy, or does it just wash completely out?


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## alleytildeath (Jun 30, 2016)

Arcayde said:


> Usually, with diazo emulsion, I can tell when my is reaching the end of it's shelf life by the emulsion being much HARDER to wash out. What you're describing sounds like it's not exposing at all, or definitely not long enough.
> 
> When you wash it out, is is slimy, or does it just wash completely out?


When i do my first rinse with the normal pressure it is slimy to touch but after a few shots with the sprayer on the garden hose.....boom there goes everything. I did one today. Left it in the sunlight for 15 mins and proceeded again, still the screen blew out.


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## alleytildeath (Jun 30, 2016)

Heres the screen after the 15 min exposure.


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## Arcayde (Sep 9, 2015)

try 20 to 30 min. and check your results - that is what I used to get when under-exposing a screen, until I had my exposure times dialed in. 

Sunlight is much more elusive than an exposure unit, or even a 500 watt halogen lamp. Cloudy days, or even time of day can have a distinct effect on how much UV light hits the emulsion, and is often not concentrated enough to get a shorter exposure time. 

The slimy feel to the emulsion is a definite tell-tale sign of under-exposure.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Your emulsion is expired, dead, died, gone to parrot heaven ;-)


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## abchung (Jul 16, 2009)

Yeap old emulsion.
Old emulsion won't expose or won't fully expose.
If your screen is not close to fully expose, the screen would be difficult to reclaim.

Sent from my SM-G900H using Tapatalk


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