# Help Cleaning Screen - Ghost Image Left Behind



## djrodimus (Mar 13, 2009)

hey guys, im glad i found this place. im new to screen printing and i just picked up one of those speedball starter kits for home use and the problem im having is that after i apply the ink to my screen even after washing it a ghost image is left behind on the screen by the ink. im using all speedball inks / emultion and even after using the emultion remover the ghosted inked image remains. however all the holes in the screen appear to be opened. 

how do i actually get these ghosts off the screen?


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## Uncle John (Mar 11, 2007)

Until the ghost image effects your other prints, don't worry. There is a chemical that will remove it "Ghost Remover" from your ink supplier but it shortens your screen life. Welcome and I hope this helps, John


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## djrodimus (Mar 13, 2009)

Uncle John said:


> Until the ghost image effects your other prints, don't worry. There is a chemical that will remove it "Ghost Remover" from your ink supplier but it shortens your screen life. Welcome and I hope this helps, John


 
ok great! i was kinda thinking it would be ok but thanks for the conformation. im curious though are certain types of inks more likely to ghost then others?

in all the vids ive seen of ppl going through the process they always are able to clean the screen 100% at the end.


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## Uncle John (Mar 11, 2007)

Lets just say Speedball is not the top of the line.


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## djrodimus (Mar 13, 2009)

i assumed as much, but i got a complete starter kit with screen, emulsion, remover, and 3 inks for $39.99 so i figured what the heck id give it a try. and its working pretty well so far...

what would you suggest as a good entry level brand of emultion / ink?


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Union Aerotex is better than speedball ink if you don't have any real equipment for curing. Their white ink is awful tho and some colors do ghost very badly in my experience. Their bright red is beautiful but ghosts really badly. And their inks are too thin.

I highly recommend matsui and I think you could use the non-opaques without a conveyor drier. That's the only brand I use. westixonline.com sells Matsui inks. Give them a call with any questions you have when you want to buy some ink and tell them Stuart from Philadelphia referred you. Matsui is very good ink. Good luck and welcome to screen printing.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Haze remover (what you'd use to get rid of the ghost images) is nasty stuff. It sounds like you're at a home experimenty sort of stage - if that's the case then I wouldn't recommend dehazer no matter how bad the screen gets. They last long enough that, at that stage, you can afford to replace the mesh.


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## djrodimus (Mar 13, 2009)

thanks guy! i had some real success last night when using a new 500w halogen light i picked up and im totally stoked about this. my screen is lookin nasty though but as far as i can tell all the holes are still open. replacement screens are only 15 bucks so ill probally have to get one soon since ive already reclaimed this one about 10 times...

i will check out those inks too...thanks much


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