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Emulsion & exposure · 6 of 7 · 1 min read

Washout and blockout

A pressure washer opens finer halftone dots than a garden-hose sprayer; one test held 3% highlight dots versus 7% (Screen Printing Magazine). Fix pinholes with blockout, but note that some blockouts aren’t water-resistant. For water-based ink, fill pinholes with the same emulsion (Chromaline).

Sources for this guide (22)
  1. Davis International, Emulsions
  2. Vastex, Emulsion information
  3. Dalesway, Screen printing emulsion
  4. Murakami, Emulsion coating tips (PDF)
  5. Murakami, Successful emulsion coating
  6. Ulano, QT-750 tech data sheet
  7. Screen Printing Magazine, Stencilmaking in the age of CTS
  8. Screen Printing Magazine, An update on UV LED screen exposure (2014)
  9. ScreenPrinting.com, Compression vs. vacuum exposure units
  10. Printavo, Exposure calculator
  11. ScreenPrintingNow, How to use an exposure calculator
  12. ScreenPrinting.com, 4 steps to consistently reclaim screens
  13. Chromaline, Causes of pinholes during screen making
  14. Chromaline, Underexposed screen tech tip (PDF)
  15. Chromaline, 10 common reasons for stencil breakdown on press
  16. ScreenPrinting.com Help, How do I figure out exposure times?
  17. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Over- vs. under-exposure
  18. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Which emulsion should I use?
  19. ScreenPrinting.com Help, How long do screens need to dry?
  20. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Making a darkroom at home
  21. ScreenPrinting.com Help, Do I need a pressure washer?
  22. ScreenPrinting.com Help, How do you reclaim screens?

Ranges are starting points from these sources. When a source and your ink’s tech data sheet disagree, follow the tech data sheet.