# I need to wash 200 screens a day!



## Ringerguy (May 7, 2019)

Hi all. I am new to the forums, but have been screen printing for a little over a decade. I have a few questions about how larger shops reclaim screens. 

First a little info about how we do it: I have er2 and ir26 hooked up to sprayers. We spray ir26 onto a batch of 10 screens(in the booth) to loosen up the ink. Then we spray that same batch with er2 and scrub each screen. Next we pressure wash the stencil and dehaze any screen that needs it with a little more ir26. Last step is a final rinse in a separate booth with a non power washer. 

Using this method we can knock out 150 screens a day, cleaned and coated. One person cleaning and a few others taking turns coating as the screens dry. 

The good news is that our shop is expanding and taking on more contract work. The bad news is that I will have to get more out of the screen and ink department. 

At my old shop I used a dip tank. It worked well for about 30-40 screens a day and lasted maybe 2 months. At my new shop, the dip tank just did not cut it. I can't have the inconsistent stencil breakdown as the chemical weakens. I also don't want to put more chemical into the tank everyday or deal with the mess inside the tank.

So, is the answer an automatic screen cleaning machine? Or, is there a better way to get them clean that doesn't involve beating my screen room employees into the dust?


----------



## biglar (Dec 27, 2010)

I would think that if you are needing to do at least 200 screens a day and looking at expanding I would agree that the best option is an automatic screen cleaner. If I was doing it, I would talk with several companies that have automatic equipment and have them do the calculations on their equipment and see what the numbers are for different company equipment. You might find out that it would allow you to free up some people in your cleaning room to do other things. You might also find that you could purchase additional screens and clean some overnight and have a crew come in early and coat clean screens. Just my 2 cents. Great problem to have. Congratulations on have such a successful operation. It would be interesting to know what direction you choose and the equipment you go with. It might help others in moving forward.


----------



## PatWibble (Mar 7, 2014)

There is a large UK screen printer who sells all their used screens on ebay, unreclaimed but cleaned of ink. 

They import their own screens by the container, charge enough screen making fees to cover their costs, and sell the 'used once' screen for half of retail in packs of 5 or 10.


They save on staff, equipment, water, chemicals etc and pass the environmental headache to someone else.


Don't know if you could dispose of 200 a day like this, but there is some logic in their approach.


----------



## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

Automatic is nice if you can afford it. They are extremely expensive. With dip tank evidently didn’t have right chemicals. Large operations mostly use dip tanks. You aren’t suppose to let the screens in tank longer enough for emulsion to fall off so maybe why didn’t last. I put 6 screens in at once and if emulsion starts to come off carefully lift them out as the more emulsion and ink ends up in tank the faster it will go bad. I do freshen up every month of so with a small amount new chemical. I’m willing to bet with right chemicals, the dip tank would be cheaper, faster then the IR26 and ER2. Also much better for the environment. 

Are you already using a DTS or CTS. Also expensive put if still using film cuts time and money in the long run.


----------



## PatWibble (Mar 7, 2014)

Can you look into subbing out the cleaning - like when an Hotel sends their linen to a laundry? 

Anyone local with a garage or small unit wanting to earn a fixed price per screen? Might sound expensive, but fluctuations in staff/demand are their problem not yours, as are the environmental problems.


----------



## Ringerguy (May 7, 2019)

PatWibble said:


> Can you look into subbing out the cleaning - like when an Hotel sends their linen to a laundry?
> 
> Anyone local with a garage or small unit wanting to earn a fixed price per screen? Might sound expensive, but fluctuations in staff/demand are their problem not yours, as are the environmental problems.



I like the idea...but I have a hard time trusting someone offsite.


----------



## Ringerguy (May 7, 2019)

biglar said:


> I would think that if you are needing to do at least 200 screens a day and looking at expanding I would agree that the best option is an automatic screen cleaner. If I was doing it, I would talk with several companies that have automatic equipment and have them do the calculations on their equipment and see what the numbers are for different company equipment. You might find out that it would allow you to free up some people in your cleaning room to do other things. You might also find that you could purchase additional screens and clean some overnight and have a crew come in early and coat clean screens. Just my 2 cents. Great problem to have. Congratulations on have such a successful operation. It would be interesting to know what direction you choose and the equipment you go with. It might help others in moving forward.


Thanks! I have been getting quotes for auto systems for a couple of weeks now. It seems like the logical step to me. It saves on labor costs, chemical costs, and is more consistent. And faster. I will keep up with this thread and let you know which way we go.


----------



## Ringerguy (May 7, 2019)

sben763 said:


> Automatic is nice if you can afford it. They are extremely expensive. With dip tank evidently didn’t have right chemicals. Large operations mostly use dip tanks. You aren’t suppose to let the screens in tank longer enough for emulsion to fall off so maybe why didn’t last. I put 6 screens in at once and if emulsion starts to come off carefully lift them out as the more emulsion and ink ends up in tank the faster it will go bad. I do freshen up every month of so with a small amount new chemical. I’m willing to bet with right chemicals, the dip tank would be cheaper, faster then the IR26 and ER2. Also much better for the environment.
> 
> Are you already using a DTS or CTS. Also expensive put if still using film cuts time and money in the long run.



I will look into more chemicals for a dip tank. We had a sales rep come in and give me 5 gallons of concentrate to fill a tank, that he also gave us, that holds 8 screens. So I just kind of went with using the free stuff for a while. Maybe that's why it was not so great, lol.

I would drop the screens in, let sit for 3 mintutes, and pull the first one out. Put a new one in the back and rock and roll. It worked really well for a few days, but slowly started becoming a real task to take off the emulsion. By the 8th day(about 1000 screens) the stuff may as well have been water. 

The bottom of the tank was not really filthy, only a little residue that came off with one rag. I was underwhelmed.

But I have heard a lot of shops use the dip tank. And I used one in the past. Thanks for the reply!


----------



## ssrr (Mar 2, 2012)

Ringerguy said:


> Thanks! I have been getting quotes for auto systems for a couple of weeks now. It seems like the logical step to me. It saves on labor costs, chemical costs, and is more consistent. And faster. I will keep up with this thread and let you know which way we go.


Hi not sure if this is still alive, but would love to know any progress or if/what automatic reclaim machine is purchased or any review etc? We are thinking of getting into that now... 

Thanks


----------

