# I can't burn a screen!!! Please Help!!!!!



## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Ok guys i need HELP! I am going to break down my method to coating and burning a screen.... (All new screens and emulsion)

1) Wash and Degrease the Screen (110) and let dry overnight.

2) I coat the screen using Ulano QTX (the pink stuff), start on the 
squeegee side them the shirt side. Then I let them dry in a rack, squeegee side facing up.

3) Burn the image for 4:30. ( I have burned up to 7:00 and still same result)

**Home made exposure table 8 - 48-inch 4o watt fluorescent light bulbs***

4) Wash the screen with garden hose. Rinse both sides, let it sit for 30 seconds, then on the shirt side wash, then the edges of the lettering start to run out. 


I have been doing this different ways now for two weeks, I have increased exposure time as well, my spirits are still high, but I have major jobs already in the works. PLease help!!!!!!


Thank You Guys.....
Sam


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## JimGilbert (Jul 9, 2010)

What happens that is wrong? Does the emulsion wash out of the screen easily (the parts you want to wash out of course)? If you have a hard time getting it out and wash and wash until the stencil starts washing out then you are exposing too long I think. Try much less time and see what happens - like 2 minutes.

If the stencil is washing out along with the letters/pattern then your exposure time is too short. Regular florescent bulbs expose very slowly. Black lights burn fast. Mine is 30 seconds to 1 min 15 sec depending on the screen.

Your film positive might not be black enough. Laser or ink jet? If ink jet do you use the "black" ink cartridge or mix real black (100% CMYK)?


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

When I go to wash out, I can see my image clearly, the more I wash out the more I can see it of course. But then the image itself starts to "blow out". So my letters don't have edges anymore. You get what i mean?

I have a laser printer, black ink...

thanks for your help, i really appreciate it!


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

is there such thing as rinsing too much?


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

That would be under exposed. You would need to increase your burn time. Also, do not use pressure when washing a screen out, you should be able to use normal water flow from a garden hose.


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## Celtic (Feb 19, 2008)

Also, coat the shirt side first, then the squeegee side.
Dry shirt side up.


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## wwpro (Apr 9, 2009)

I think you should dry your screen horizontally and the shirt side down, you want your squeegee side to be as smooth as possible.

And you should up your exposure time to 10-12mins at least.


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Hey guys thanks for the help. 
I tried the coating tip (coating shirt side first) n also I exposed my screens longer. 1 - 10 min n the other 12 min. Still same result. Is 
15-20 min too long for QTX emulsion? I've heard this stuff I pretty fast as far as exposing. 

Once again thank u everyone!!


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## pukingdeserthobo (Jun 3, 2008)

xpressed said:


> **Home made exposure table 8 - 48-inch 4o watt fluorescent light bulbs***


are they unfiltered bulb?


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Awwww man u got me. What is that?


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## jsf (Aug 4, 2009)

What is the distance between light source and glass? Mine is 6-7 inches away and burn my screens about 2 mins.


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## adjuster (Sep 16, 2010)

Some bulbs are "UV filtered", meaning they filter the UV light. It this is the case, they will never work. You must have UV light to set the emulsion.


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## JimGilbert (Jul 9, 2010)

xpressed said:


> Hey guys thanks for the help.
> I tried the coating tip (coating shirt side first) n also I exposed my screens longer. 1 - 10 min n the other 12 min. Still same result. Is
> 15-20 min too long for QTX emulsion? I've heard this stuff I pretty fast as far as exposing.
> 
> Once again thank u everyone!!


Most everyone coats the squeegee side first then the shirt side and dries them shirt side down. The above is the first I have seen saying to do it the other way. I agree with the idea of having the squeegee side as smooth as possible so drying with shirt side down makes more sense.

If your stencil is washing out before you get all of the emulsion out of the pattern then you need to expose longer. I think your problem is the bulbs. As stated above some are UV protected - you don't want UVs when you have tons of florescent lights in an office or whatever so they are made so they don't emit UVs, which you *need* to cure the emulsion. I use unfiltered blacklights to get the most UVs possible and my burn time is from 30 seconds to 90 seconds. The bulbs (24") are about 5" below the glass.

I would try a very long exposure time - say 30 minutes, or get a couple of blacklight bulbs and try those. You shouldn't need 8 of them. I have six 24"ers and I think it is a bit much. Four would probably do fine.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

I do agree on the exposure times. If you coated it more than the first time, because of the increase in emulsion, you will most likely need to increase your times as well.


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Ok, I am goin to Increase my exposure time once again. If it does not work I will be going for the new lightbulbs. Thanks guys. I will keep u posted.


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## pukingdeserthobo (Jun 3, 2008)

JimGilbert said:


> Most everyone coats the squeegee side first then the shirt side and dries them shirt side down. The above is the first I have seen saying to do it the other way. I agree with the idea of having the squeegee side as smooth as possible so drying with shirt side down makes more sense.
> 
> If your stencil is washing out before you get all of the emulsion out of the pattern then you need to expose longer. I think your problem is the bulbs. As stated above some are UV protected - you don't want UVs when you have tons of florescent lights in an office or whatever so they are made so they don't emit UVs, which you *need* to cure the emulsion. I use unfiltered blacklights to get the most UVs possible and my burn time is from 30 seconds to 90 seconds. The bulbs (24") are about 5" below the glass.
> 
> I would try a very long exposure time - say 30 minutes, or get a couple of blacklight bulbs and try those. You shouldn't need 8 of them. I have six 24"ers and I think it is a bit much. Four would probably do fine.


t8 or t12?


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

T12............ And I increased exposure time and now it doesn't wash out. That's overexposed correct?


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

Yes it is. This is why it's important that your films are dense. This way, if you over expose your screen, it won't matter, it will still wash out fine. If you under expose your screen, then you face issues of scum on your screen or the image blowing out.

How long did you expose it for this time?


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

I increased it to 15 minutes.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

I would decrease it then by 2 minutes and see what happens.


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Ok I'll try it. Hopefully this business Is worth all the frustration n hoping. Lol

Thanks for all the help! 

***keeping high hopes***


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## oldbox (Apr 25, 2010)

underexposed maybe, do you dry emulsion properly? some pictures maybe?


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## JimGilbert (Jul 9, 2010)

pukingdeserthobo said:


> t8 or t12?


My blacklights are T12s. I found that the T12 fixtures aren't easy to find anymore. Not at Lowes or Home Depot. Found mine at Ace Hardware.


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## JimGilbert (Jul 9, 2010)

xpressed said:


> T12............ And I increased exposure time and now it doesn't wash out. That's overexposed correct?


Yes. Changing from 12 to 15 minutes shouldn't have made it go from way under-exposed to way over-exposed though.... But like Jerid says, decrease by a minute each time until you get it right.

I hate to mention this now, but are you doing all tests with the same screen mesh and color? If not, you are not going to figure it out because the time is different for each one.


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

@jg, yes all screens I am testing are 110..... Same emulsion (QTX)


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## jsf (Aug 4, 2009)

xpressed said:


> @jg, yes all screens I am testing are 110..... Same emulsion (QTX)


You have not answered my post regarding on distance of light source and glass???


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Oh man sorry. It's 6 inches from the light source to the glass. That help any?


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## jsf (Aug 4, 2009)

xpressed said:


> Oh man sorry. It's 6 inches from the light source to the glass. That help any?


Thank you very much Sir. 

Now considering the overtime you spent for your exposure(20mins considered as over-exposure) and emulsion still washing away from the screens. 2 things to isolate your problem, 1. from the first answers with regards to UV filtered bulbs maybe you can check and replace the bulbs with ordinary ones or bulbs that are not with UV filter, 2. Replace your Photo Emulsion (with other brands if possible, the one you are using maybe expired and unusable).

Goodluck.


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Ok. I don't want to give up but it's driving me crazy!!!! Lol

I dried 1 screen shirt side up and one squeegee side up. Here are the results. 

Dried | Time | Result

Shirt side up | 9 min. |Overxposed

Squeegee " | 8 " " | Under""

So next I will be replacing my light bulbs. This has to work. The last time I exposed to 12 min n it was overexposed so now I do it for 8 and 9 and it's still over?


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

I would agree, if there is inconsistency in the results, it is most likely the lighting or the emulsion. In this case, it sounds like it could be the lighting.


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

So blacklights work well ???


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## JimGilbert (Jul 9, 2010)

Unfiltered black lights are the best. They give off the most UVs and cure the emulsion faster and better.


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Ok I just purchased the black lights. I am goin to keep my same exposure time n go from there. I'm excited!!!!


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## Gilligan (Dec 11, 2009)

I'm totally ignorant on this subject but you should be able to reduce your exposure time with UV (black) lights.


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Man at this point any advise I'll take it. How much should I reduce by?


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## pukingdeserthobo (Jun 3, 2008)

JimGilbert said:


> Unfiltered black lights are the best. They give off the most UVs and cure the emulsion faster and better.


you didnt just get any black light right you got *Unfiltered* right?


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Unfiltered


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## JimGilbert (Jul 9, 2010)

Hard to say how much to cut it down. Depends on how many bulbs you have, distance to the glass, coats of emulsion, and quality of film. I would think that you would want to try only 3-5 minutes maybe...?

The quality of the film seems to me to be the most important thing in exposing screens. I double-print mine and use 'real' black ink, meaning I specify 100% CMY&K instead of the default black cartridge. They are much much better and block the light so well that they wash out easily and the emulsion is exposed well. Before I started doing that the emulsion would not wash out easily after 1 minute, and now I exposed one today for two minutes and it washed out very nicely. The next one of the same mesh will be exposed for 2.5min. . .


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## FactoryDreams (Mar 26, 2010)

I had a similar issue awhile back where my image was starting to wash out. In addition to testing your exposure times try to keep the screen still when washing out. I don't know the science behind it but I read somewhere here on the forums that you should keep your screen steady and I noticed you said you were washing it out from both angles. When I first started I was washing out the screen at every angle possible but now I don't and it has helped a great deal. I'm not sure if this is your problem but at this point I don't think it hurts for you to try.

Good luck!


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## PatFinn (Jan 13, 2010)

look coat your screens t shirt side until it looks like a mirror finish on the squeegee side.. then coat squeegee side, pushing all that emulsion onto the t shirt side. DRY t shirt side down. let dry overnight in a clean dark dehumidified room. or closet. 

get a STEP WEDGE TEST.. follow the instructions and it will give you the proper exposure times for your unit. each mesh count might be different, so test, test adn test some more. 

if your screens are slimy at all.. its under exposed. 
make sure your films are dense. you dont really want to be able to see through it. 

CALL ULANO AND GET A STEP TEST AND THEY CAN WALK YOU THROUGH IT>


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## Gilligan (Dec 11, 2009)

When you finally print that first shirt... KEEP IT... that is gonna be the most expensive shirt you will every make.


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## jsf (Aug 4, 2009)

Gilligan said:


> When you finally print that first shirt... KEEP IT... that is gonna be the most expensive shirt you will every make.


Haha, best so far! LOL


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Ha ha! G, I actually have a frame for it! I'm getting a plaque on it that say
"Dedicated to T-Shirt Forums" I will def post pics!


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## pukingdeserthobo (Jun 3, 2008)

haha thats sounds great i framed my first shirt. took me 4 hours to print a two color job


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Lol I would do the same thing. 4 hours? Wow. Patience pays off


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## deuce (Apr 16, 2008)

Youay want to consider going to home depot or lowes or a hardware store and getting halogen bulbs. I made my own light table and use 4 500 watt halogens and am using duel cure emulsion. Takes about 5 minutes for me. I do have a fan on the bulbs to keep the heat down and the distance of the light to the screen is important too. Hope this helps


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## xpressed (Aug 19, 2010)

Ok guys amazing update!!! I finally got the right steps to burn a screen after 1 month literally!!! Tried the black lights (it burned too fast justy opinion) I say that cuz I did a exposure test and nothing came out. so I went back to what I had. (white bulbs). Did a exposure test and 15 min was the moat clear so I tried it and it worked. Oh and I also installed a vacuum to my exposure table which helped out tremendously! 
But I got the image nice and crisp. Thank u everyone here for every single detail u gave me. For taking time out your day/life to help out someone else. God bless you, hope god brings u more business! Once again thank u. 

P.S. For those that struggled or are struggling like I was. I will post a step by step tutorial on how I burn my screens. Keep on the look out for it. Will be posted the next couple of days. 

Sam 
Xpressed Printing


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## Flatlander24 (Jun 16, 2010)

Here are some video's that may help.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da3jLaF3JgU[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCC656GBPL4&feature=related[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPoIlq2G0C4&feature=related[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9K_7XvqZ-Q&feature=related[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGkJ2KWlgAM&feature=related[/media]

You will see a lot more of them and they can explain the process much better than I can. Hope it helps.


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## jsf (Aug 4, 2009)

xpressed said:


> Ok guys amazing update!!! I finally got the right steps to burn a screen after 1 month literally!!! Tried the black lights (it burned too fast justy opinion) I say that cuz I did a exposure test and nothing came out. so I went back to what I had. (white bulbs). Did a exposure test and 15 min was the moat clear so I tried it and it worked. Oh and I also installed a vacuum to my exposure table which helped out tremendously!
> But I got the image nice and crisp. Thank u everyone here for every single detail u gave me. For taking time out your day/life to help out someone else. God bless you, hope god brings u more business! Once again thank u.
> 
> P.S. For those that struggled or are struggling like I was. I will post a step by step tutorial on how I burn my screens. Keep on the look out for it. Will be posted the next couple of days.
> ...


Congrats Man! So did you also replace your P-Emulsion?  I'd say perfect your use with the black lights,,, it will save you alot of time, 1 minute versus 15 minutes process. 

Goodluck again!


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## Gilligan (Dec 11, 2009)

Black lights are the way to go man... scrap the white fluorescents.


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## sister1 (Jun 16, 2008)

This is kind late in the conversation, but just wanted to add that you should be sure you wash out from the side you exposed to the lights. The reverse side is not fully cured at this point, and will wash away easily. Also, I note the font in your picture appears to be Impact -- a font I have come to hate with a passion. Trying to get the points in the N, M and W not to detach from the screen when washing out, especially on a 110 -- aaargh!


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## PatFinn (Jan 13, 2010)

IF your worried about your stencil washing out than you have problems... none of your stencil should be washing out on either the print or substrate side. 

do a step wedge test for each of your mesh counts and find the one that is properly exposed. if your screen is properly exposed you should have NO slimy residue on the print side.. and none of your letters should fall out or anything..


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