After coating, can see through mesh still?

[BigmanJames]

Hello!

Very cool to find this site. Trying to make some art screen prints.

Using 300 yellow mesh with blue photo emulsion. When I apply the emulsion I use pressure to put a thin coat on both side. The only thing is after applying the emulsion I can still see through the mesh. Is this common for such a high mesh count or am I not applying enough? I havent burned this baby yet so if there needs to be more applied please let me know.


Thanks.!

[boatdreams]

Hi. Welcome!
You should definitely be able to see through dried emulsion. At least with every emulsion I've ever seen.
You don't mean you're seeing actual holes in the surface of the coat, though, do you?

[BigmanJames]

Hi. Welcome!
You should definitely be able to see through dried emulsion. At least with every emulsion I've ever seen.
You don't mean you're seeing actual holes in the surface of the coat, though, do you?

Thanks! Glad to be here!

Yes, I mean right after coating both sides, while still wet, I can see through the screens.
This is before spraying out the screen, which will do tomorrow after it dries.

Thanks.

[eyepeace]

Pictures if you can. That'll help. And going premium always helps with some response.

[k8bit]

You should be able to see light through it at least. Just burn it and see if it works, worst thing that can happen is you'll have to washout and retry.

[paul204]

Emulsions are designed to show through for registration purposes. Once you get to printing you'll discover if you are looking through pinholes or if it's just the transparency of the emulsion.

[BigmanJames]

Thanks.

Yeah when it was wet the emulsion was very transparent, when dried, it was still showing light through but no longer transparent.

Unfortunately, I wasted 4 screens trying to find an optimal exposure time. 500 watts, 26 inches away, so far up to 26 min exposure time(will be greater, but have to wait for the screens to dry).

Just hoping I put on thick enough coats(doing both sides for posterity).

A good day to all,

James

[gozo]

If you have the good old sun, you can cancel the distance measurment, or the wattage.
Thanks to the advise I got here I,ve managed to reduce my exposurers from 70 seconds to 35 seconds flat, with very good results.

[BigmanJames]

Yeah, I wish we had sun here! Im in Ohio and it's like the Artic out here right now.

If you wouldnt mind I have one more questions(I'll go premium here next week bc Ive learned alot as a lurker)

Im printing some art on a carousel 4 color printer without a vacuum table. I know that table tops are preferred.

Is it possible(if there is such inks) to print wet on wet for all four colors? From what ive read, it is better to
print each color, let the posters dry and then run the next color. It just seems like alot of work than just
going screen to screen while the same paper is on the press. Thanks all for your help.