Screenprint emulsion advice + Bay Area xTool attachment offer

[C Mytko]

Hi all - 

I hope your school years are wrapping up with as little chaos as possible. Like many of you, I do some screen printing, and have had good luck with laser cutting stencils from transparency sheets. However, I wanted to up our game. 

QUESTION: I've tried Speedball Diazo Sensitizer & Emulsion and failed miserably TWICE. The first time, I thought maybe the student just didn't do all the steps correctly, but then I did it with new materials and got the same result. I watched videos and followed the instructions, but still ended up with streaks of undissolved sensitizer (see pic - don't judge). :)  Does anyone have any advice / suggestions?

OFFER: This all started because I purchased an xTool "Screen Printing Solution with laser" at some point without realizing that it was supposed to be used with an existing P2, S1, F1, M1, or D1 Pro (embarrassing). I tried to use it with my Glowforge, but my Glowforge was not happy with that level of experimentation. The xTool kit is basically brand-new -- is there anyone in the Bay Area with an xTool who could use the set-up and is willing to drive to Berkeley to pick it up? I'm happy to give it away to a community or school space working with kids. 

Christine Mytko

tinkercoop.org

[Clara Ngo]

I use the Cricut and vinyl cut stickers and put on the silkscreen. It has worked pretty well. 

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[Jean Kaneko]

Hi. I have gone down the rabbit hole into screenprinting in the last 6 months. I would recommend screenprinting.com. Ryonet is a great company with amazing quality machines and supplies. They also have a ton of videos and in person workshops. Emulsion is a practiced art form. I ran through a few pints of emulsion messing up. Using an emulsion that is forgiving is also key. I would pre emulsion screens for students. 

I too purchased the xtools and used with a glowforge. While it’s really nice to make preemulsioned screens that I can buy fairly cheap, I gave it up because of the time it takes to burn the screen. And the limited size.  

Ryonet has a great new beginner press from pigscreen and pigtails that allows for quick easy multicolor switch out of screens under 300. She also has a great YouTube channel for using it and using vinyl as stencils. 

For a classroom, I would do the vinyl route. No emulsion, waiting for drying, burning, washing out etc. Especially since, you r unlikely to need to screens hundreds of one design. So much less messy ! 

Also, I started with water based thinking that it would be easier to use and cleanup but it turns out that plastisol is easier because it doesn’t dry without heat and therefore allows for multi use of design. It can get really messy. 

If u have other questions, let me know. 

[Rachel Okazaki]

We just got a MiScreen Digital screen maker for our makerspace and I'm in the process of setting it up. We saw a live demo at Spring CUE and loved it. No emulsion or mess to make the screen and you can use standard screen printing ink. I love it because it's compact, quick set up, and great for prototyping!  I'm hoping to give it a go today!

https://www.riso.co.jp/english/product/digitalscreenmaker/miscreen/a4/

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[Rob van Nood]

HI Rachel,

This looks like an amazing tool so we don’t need to deal with emulsion.  Where did you purchase this?

Rob

 

Rob van Nood 
Educational Technology Specialist
Catlin Gabel School
8825 SW Barnes Rd
Portland, OR 97225

Office: 503-297-1894 x5520
vann...@catlin.edu
catlin.edu

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/k-12-fablabs/CAFqYMAVkzAmVZF%2BpiyeypoFcbHrLV7p8zha5PwhL0-XZwK4%2BuQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Rachel Okazaki]

https://store.risostudioarts.com/product/miscreen-A4-starter-kit/9?cs=true&cst=custom

They're still running the starter pack discounted special (which is what we purchased). We also added a roll of screen and an extra frame.

If you have specific questions here's their contact info: in...@risostudioarts.com

It's a small team but they've been supportive, helpful, and responsive. 

Definitely worth checking out if you want in include screen printing into your space (or for yourself) without the emulsion mess.

[C Mytko]

This is all super helpful -- thank you so much. I learned so much reading your responses. 

I think my first two attempts were foiled by emulsion or sensitizer that had sat too long on the shelf. I tried a third time with "sensitizer [the store] just got it" and saw the clear change from baby blue to bright green which we hadn't seen before (the previous tries were more like bluish-green to greenish-blue.) Got a great screen and am using it to print shirts for the kids with our new logo on them. The remover worked mostly OK on the initial disaster screens and I think I will use those screens for kids who are just learning. I will likely try the vinyl route as well. 

I also tried Ecotex® PWR Water Resistant Screen Printing Emulsion as suggested somewhere online. We *really* liked not having to mix anything, but obviously put it under the UV light for too long. I was pretty proud of a 6th grader who helped with our calibration test. 

Thanks for the tips -- I'm enjoying this foray into new maker territory (for me). 

C. Mytko

On Wed, May 22, 2024 at 7:10 AM Jean Kaneko <jean....@gmail.com> wrote:

[Rob van Nood]

Wow.  That is really pricy.  I might need to wait a bit for the price to come down.

Rob

 

Rob van Nood 
Educational Technology Specialist
Catlin Gabel School
8825 SW Barnes Rd
Portland, OR 97225

Office: 503-297-1894 x5520
vann...@catlin.edu
catlin.edu