We have found the number one obstacle to good screens
is choosing the correct emulsion. The correct emulsion depends on
many variables, such as; type of ink (water base or plastisol), screen
cleaner (water or solvent), number of prints expected from a screen,
color of screen mesh (white, yellow or orange), and the light source
(point, diffusion, metal halide, mercury vapor, fluorescent, etc.).
How expensive an emulsion does the job require, is this going to be
a spot color job for the little league or thousands of process color
prints? There are hundreds of emulsions available, and the expert
who can help you choose the correct one is just a phone call away:
| Chromaline |
Majestech |
Sericol |
Ulano |
| (800)328-4261 |
(800)431-2200 |
(800)225-4562 |
(800)221-0616 |
| (218)628-2217 |
(914)232-7781 |
(913)342-4060 |
(718)622-5200 |
| fax (218)628-3245 |
fax (914)232-4004 |
fax (913)342-4752 |
fax (718)797-1380 |
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Make sure your emulsion is bone dry before exposing.
If your screens are:
| Under Exposed |
The emulsion does not completely harden in the
unprinted areas of the Translucency and will partially wash out.
Under exposure is also evident by sliminess on the squeegee side
in the exposed area. |
| Over Exposed |
Areas of the screen corresponding to the printed
area of the Translucency won't completely wash out, and will appear
to break up. This will be especially noticeable in large solid areas. |
| Properly Exposed |
You should not be able to see the edges of the
Translucency on the exposed screen, and the printed area should
completely wash out. |
|
Ultra Violet (UV) Light Sources |
Type |
| Best |
Metal Halide |
Point |
|
Mercury Vapor |
Point |
|
Pulsed Xenon |
Point |
|
Quartz with blacklight back-up |
Diffusion |
|
Fluorescent |
Diffusion |
| Worst |
Halogen
Note: Halogen makes a great reading lamp.
If halogen was a good UV light source, it would be a health hazard and probably illegal to use it indoors. |
Point |
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If your printer doesn't print dark enough for quality
screens, try lightly spraying the printed page with the clear fixative
Caseys' Ultra Black This will dissolve the toner allowing it to flow and fill the pin holes. If you are now using clear Krylon try a can of Ultra Black, it is far superior for this application and costs just $13 per can.
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A. Pre-shrink
If you are using regular drafting vellum (not
designed to withstand the heat of the laser printer) you may need
to pre-shrink it by running it through a dryer. However, this isn't
recommended nor required with Caseys' Translucency. Caseys' Translucency
is shipped preshrunk and coated for stability.
B. Pre-warm printer
To eliminate variations in separations, try warming
your printer by sending two sheets of paper through before using the
Translucency.
C. Vacuum
If the Translucency is in registration but your screens
are out of registration, try reducing the vacuum on your exposure
table. Too much vacuum can stretch the Translucency.
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Moiré patterns may be caused by interference between the halftone dots and the screen fabric. A Moiré Test Sheet (MTS) is shipped with our Translucency. Use the MTS to burn a screen, then select the frequency and angle of halftone which eliminates the moiré pattern. Our Moiré test sheet is an Adobe Illustrator document which can be downloaded here. Moiré Test Sheet 766KB
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Caseys' Translucency is designed for use with Laser Printers which use dry toner. However, ink-jet printers using Photographic Dye-Based ink can get good results by printing onto Caseys' Clear InkJet Film.
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Many of our customers are using Caseys' Translucency
for:
| |
 Screen
printing process colors on textiles |
| | Screen
printing 100 line halftones on plastic |
| | Screen
printing 9 spot colors on glass |
| | Etching
wine bottles |
| | Pad
printing |
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Read what
our customers have to say!
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