# New to screen printing. Need help on emulsion process.



## Buntin86 (Dec 1, 2014)

Hello everyone! I have been following this website but decided to login and seek advice! 
We ran our first test through our exposure unit tonight and failed terribly. 

First run I was a great example of a rookie by putting the transfer on the ink side of the screen. Whoops.

2nd screen we exposed with the transfer on the correct side of the screen and could successfully see our image when we started the wash out. Here comes the problem. Everything washed out! I have a blank screen in the exact rectangle of the transfer paper. ... I am at a loss. I am now 2 screens at a loss and am not sure where we went wrong. 

1- I am guessing we didn't get the degreaser completely out of the screen?

2- we didn't let the emolsion dry long enough prior to exposing. 

3- we used too much pressure while washing out the emolsuion? Can you use too much gem-zone?

We purchased our equipment used from a successful shop who had upgraded. They had recommended 2-4 minutes in the exposure unit so we went 4...


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## jimcr (Feb 3, 2009)

little more info would help , what kind of emulsion, what kind of lamp , how long, what distance from the lamp. how old is the emulsion , what type is it . Were you in a light safe room . how long did you let your screen dry after coating it .


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## Buntin86 (Dec 1, 2014)

jimcr said:


> little more info would help , what kind of emulsion, what kind of lamp , how long, what distance from the lamp. how old is the emulsion , what type is it . Were you in a light safe room . how long did you let your screen dry after coating it .


Kiwocol poly-plus er. Highly recommended by our local supply store. 
Our lamp is a very large table top exposure unit. It was homemade however it is similar to what I have researched. A large box with 12 lights. (All labeled from Ryonet) a very heavy lid with locks in place. 
The emolsuion was mixed on thanksgiving and did sit until yesterday to ensure it had settled. 
Now the time we let dry might be where I went wrong. After degreasing I let them sit 2 hours and they felt dry. 
After emolsuion I let them sit for 2 hours and they seemed dry. 

We have turned our garage into a light safe room by a lot of research and I am honestly not sure if it is truly safe or not. We weather stripped the entire garage door, and confirmed it doesn't leak light by sitting there in the dark several minutes. 
We then went to our local hardware store and purchased a yellow light. I believe it was named a bug light. 

Now we are in an area that was going to get to freezing so my husband took the emulsion after mixed and resealed and stored it in the fridge for a few days


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## Jinxplay (May 18, 2014)

it may be a silly cuestion but, did you put the yellow solution in the bottle?? check the emulsion parts are well mixed, also youre doing diazo right?? let the emulsion dry for 20 - 30 min in a dark place before exposing, try to do a sun exposure test by a minute or so, it may be the exposure unit

4 min is too low, i do 4:30 to 5 min, when you do the emulsion right you wont even need to do a presure wash with a soft wash emulsion will fall off quickly, also make sure thath no light is going trough your negative


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