In this cold weather, how long do you think it will take for Autosol 7000 to dry

[newbiescreenprinter]

I just applied emulsion to my first screen this evening. and it is laying flat on some boxes in my garage. I am using Autosol 7000 dual cure emulsion. It isn't frigid cold out there. But probably in the 50's or something because the snow has changed to rain.

How long do you think it will take to dry? I lightly touched the surface and it kind of is starting to feel dry. There were just a few drippy areas around the sides that are still squishy.
What do you think? 24 hours to dry?

I have red plastic in my garage windows, and some special red lights on the walls. Still pretty dark. Not much light coming in even during the day.

I will also expose my first screen when it is dry in my polycop using my carbon ark lamp. I'll try not to poison myself with that lamp.

[ohdanielsan]

1. Buy a heater, the kind with a fan in it. Don't point it directly at the screen, though. You will literally cook your emulsion.
2. Ditch the Autosol and get something noob-friendly. Ulano 925wr is great. I used to like Autosol until I realized it never dried completely, even in dry summer LA weather, and was destroying my film.
3. Go premium, for fucks sake.
4. Profit.

[squeegeethree]

Don't do what is mentioned above (except the going premium part, I need to renew myself).
Drying a high solid content emulsion this way in the cold may leave you with a "jelly donut" screen. Hard on the outside liquid in the middle.
Instead buy a dehumidifier and place it with your screens in a dark closet or small room (we use a spare bathroom). Turn the dehumidifier on in the morning and shut it off when you leave. This arid room will dry the screens regardless of temperature in 10 - 15 mins. I say this as an avid user of the Autosol 800 series. Autosol is a great emulsion if you are using it stick with it.

[newbiescreenprinter]

Thanks for the advice. I covered up the large frame using two blankets, and quickly carried it into a large dark closet. I don't have a de-humidifier yet, but it should be pretty dry and more of a room temp. Maybe this evening I can pull it out and try exposing it. I am crossing my fingers.

[ohdanielsan]

Don't do what is mentioned above (except the going premium part, I need to renew myself).
Drying a high solid content emulsion this way in the cold may leave you with a "jelly donut" screen. Hard on the outside liquid in the middle.
[...]
I say this as an avid user of the Autosol 800 series. Autosol is a great emulsion if you are using it stick with it.

Odd, never had that jelly donut problem. I do have my heater pretty far away from the screens, though...a good 5-10 feet, because I made the mistake once of putting it within 1-2 feet, and yeah...fucked it up!

I stand by my statement about Autosol, though. Can't get that stuff to get past the tacky point, even after days of drying (with or without heater/fan help). But otherwise I guess it's a good emulsion...I just wish it didn't strip my films of the ink Also, pretty damn expensive for no reason I can tell.