Dammit.

[Blasto]

I've had nothing but bad luck in my screen printing ventures. Finally, tonight, after many many many failed attempts in various stages of the process, lost my shit & started destroying stuff in my work-room.

Is this problem here a symptom of any obvious issue? Screen not degreased enough? Not exposed long enough? Emulsion not dry enough before exposing? Notice that the 8 min exposure is locked in, but the 7 minute washed right off the screen...


I'm not gunna give up trying, but I have never been so frustrated with any other project. Ever.

You guys rock. And also here's my cheese of choice:

[steve w]

are the screens brand new? Looks like it.
You might need to abrade them with sof' scrub (or real abrader) and a nylon brush.
Or, it could be that the emulsion isn't dry enough.
-Hard to believe with how cold and dry it is. I'm assuming DC is comparable to Chicago, humidity-wise right now.
Or, maybe you didn't stir the emulsion before using it.
-Do that
Or, maybe you coated it too thick.
-With QTX, I just coat one side and it works great. Press pretty hard on the scoop-coater. Push it through the mesh.
Or, your cheese of choice sucks.
-Pick another one

[guybur]

Too thick, not dry and underexposed. Even 20 seconds of exposure difference can mean easy success or near failure with QTX.
Dark red is too thick (use the thinner of the two edges of your scoop coat)
Peeling off and bright pink is underexposed (our QTX exposes at 6:25 mins with a 1000 watt metal halide at 36 inches, so if your light is less than that, then...)
and it does look like it's only coated on one side (which doesn't totally matter normally unless you laid it on thick and underexposed it (see above).
Sometimes I wash a new screen and sometimes I have to get to work, and it works fine both ways.
SO
Thinner coat(s) of emulsion
Make a new burn test with nice thin even coat(s) of emulsion, and just start again.
It's all those things at once.

That's my favorite cheese, too!

(That is not anyone's favorite cheese, too. Oof.)

[Thornysarus]

I use QTX:
Abrade the screen really well, both sides.
Degrease the screen really well, both sides.
Coat ONCE on the stencil side. Your emulsion looks too thick. I had the same washout problems and this fixed my problem.
Increase your exposure. I expose 18 minutes on yellow mesh with two 500w Halogens at 24 inches (from screen to bulb).
Get some anger management. Trashing your shit won't help.

Seriously... hang in there. Once you get your rig dialed-in it's all good from there.

[Thornysarus]

Read this thread. You may find it helpful.

burning-washout-problems

[bathroom monkey]

That's my favorite cheese, too!

(That is not anyone's favorite cheese, too. Oof.)

i laughed

[andydiesel]

I bet that cheese is tasty as fuck on some triscuits after a few bong hits.

[phoondaddy]

Are you coating both sides?

All answers should already be in this thread.

Destroying stuff = $$$$$tupid

Take a chill pill, Phil.

[boatdreams]

I second that that coating job looks way thick and possibly not fully dry. What is your light source, and roughly how far away is it?
I use QTX with two 500 watt halogen lamps at roughly two and a half feet away and get great burns every time in the 4: 00 - 4:30 area. I might push it to five minutes in some cases.

[loco]

I'm still laughing at this lost my shit & started destroying stuff in my work-room.
Welcome to screen printing we have all been where you are and believe it or not it will get better. There are plenty of videos out
there that can help you. Slow down and make sure each step is done correct. Making sure your screen is clean and abraded and degreased is a big one.
Getting your exposure down takes a few bad screen. everybodies light source is different due to distance and wgat type of light source your using

Good luck and keep at it

-loco