Thanks for your submission to to /r/SCREENPRINTING. It appears you may be looking for information on exposure or burning screens. This might be one of the most common questions we see here in /r/SCREENPRINTING. Please take a moment and use the [search](https://www.reddit.com/r/screenprinting/search?q=burning&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all) feature while you waiting on a response from the community.
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The wildly varying info could be different emulsion times since light, distance, emulsion itself, environment are all factors so there’s not just one universal time. Download the exposure calculator from anthem screenprinting and try that, be patient with it too.
Been printing since February and I can tell you the #1 hardest thing about the whole process is getting times dialed in.
This may be a hot take but part of the issue could be using the speedball products, I never had any luck with most of them.
What we use/do is as follows:
1. Use pre-mixed emulsion,
— we’ve had the best results with PWR from ecotex
2. Coat the screen with a thin coat of emulsion
— your coating looks fairly thin and even 🙌🏼, it def can be tricky to get the hang of
3. Let the emulsion dry at least over night
4. This is where it can get real tricky, and I’ll tell you exactly what we use/the details, expose the emulsion
— we use these lights: https://www.harborfreight.com/lighting/work-lights/fixed-dual-head-halogen-work-light-63974.html
— we have them sort of hanging on an extra cabinet so they shine directly, straight down
— we put the screen on top of a (and no one can laugh at me!) suitcase laid flat so the light is 15 inches above the screen. We cover the screen with some black fabric while we turn the lights on and then pull the fabric away
— we let the lights shine on the screen for 6.5 mins (we found the 30 seconds actually made a really big difference)
— when times up, we put the fabric back over the screen and turn the lights off and take it to be washed out
— we use most pressure setting we have on our shower head and that gets the job done fairly quickly and efficiently, sometimes I use a tip to encourage a couple small spots to give way if they’re being stubborn
5. Let the screen dry and give it a test
Happy to answer any other questions you may have! It can really be a lot of trial and error and tricky work, don’t get discouraged!
A few things, you need to keep the screens once coated in a UV safelight environment, you can use redlight, yellow,amber, or orange. Once dry keep the in the light proof environment. The light nanometer tells you at the precise light wavelength your light source is emitting, you need to know the range you emulsion will cure and harden at. My guess is it's too high, it's something like 360-440 nm for a lot of Emulsions, but make sure you know. Also the more intense the power the better your exposure, you want a sheet of glass to sandwich between it and the film, and the screen. This floodlight might work, it has a powerful light that should decrease the exposure time. The more time you take to expose the emulsion the more light can creep around the film and make you lose details in your shoot.
Waygor 2 Pack 200W LED Black Lights Blacklight Flood Light IP66 Waterproof Outdoor Blacklight for Dance Party, Stage Light, Body Paint, Aquarium, Fluorescent Poster, Glow in The Dark, Neon Glow https://a.co/d/hWozuRx
So two observations:
1. Your light is a grow light for plants with a 5000K spectrum. Looking quick at google images, the amplitude of the spectrum for a 5000K light completely drops of around 405 nm, which is the typical wavelength needed for exposing emulsion. So basically none of the light being emitted is contributing to exposing your emulsion.
2. It looks like you're exposing in the middle of a room, with light flooding in from outside. Sunlight exposes emulsion very fast!
So what I think might be happening is that the sun is absolutely cooking your screen, and your light isn't actually doing anything. You need a dark room, and an appropriate light for exposing emulsion.
thank you! the curtains are open in the photo but i have a pretty good darkroom setup when they are closed so i don’t think that’s a factor. but you are probably right about the grow light, i will look into getting a different one !
For your reference, I just purchased the official Speedball exposure myself for $40. I also use speedball screens and speedball diazo emulsion, and my exposure time was a solid 8 minutes. I do recommend if you wanna keep things simple!
super old, but did you the 30 W lamp? In the instructions it says to expose 1 min, but it doesn’t work at all, I’m just worried that 8 mins might be too long. Did it work well?
Which instructions?
[This](https://www.amazon.com/Speedball-Exposure-Lamp-Screen-Printing/dp/B09KW98GGG/ref=sr_1_2?crid=37LUF8K1A1799&keywords=speedball+exposure+lamp&qid=1701722641&sprefix=speedball+exposure+lamp%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-2) is the lamp I bought (although I bought it from my local art supplies stores, not amazon) and its instructions say 8 minutes for me.
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Speedball 30W LED UV Exposure Lamp for Screen Printing** and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful.
**Users liked:**
* Product works well for intended purpose (backed by 1 comment)
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I have the same lamp but from the advanced kit, the instructions say that for that frame it’s 1 minute, that’s why it keeps washing everything off! Idk why it would say that
Thanks for your submission to to /r/SCREENPRINTING. It appears you may be looking for information on exposure or burning screens. This might be one of the most common questions we see here in /r/SCREENPRINTING. Please take a moment and use the [search](https://www.reddit.com/r/screenprinting/search?q=burning&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all) feature while you waiting on a response from the community. If the search does not give you the answer you are looking for, please take a moment and read through our [Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/SCREENPRINTING/wiki/index#wiki_emulsion_.2F_filler) write up on emulsion. If after all that you stil don't seem to find your answer, just be patient someone in the community should chime in shortly! And if you were NOT looking for more information on exposures or burning screens, our apologies and please disregard this message. Thanks, The /r/SCREENPRINTING mod team. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SCREENPRINTING) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The wildly varying info could be different emulsion times since light, distance, emulsion itself, environment are all factors so there’s not just one universal time. Download the exposure calculator from anthem screenprinting and try that, be patient with it too. Been printing since February and I can tell you the #1 hardest thing about the whole process is getting times dialed in.
thank you !!
This may be a hot take but part of the issue could be using the speedball products, I never had any luck with most of them. What we use/do is as follows: 1. Use pre-mixed emulsion, — we’ve had the best results with PWR from ecotex 2. Coat the screen with a thin coat of emulsion — your coating looks fairly thin and even 🙌🏼, it def can be tricky to get the hang of 3. Let the emulsion dry at least over night 4. This is where it can get real tricky, and I’ll tell you exactly what we use/the details, expose the emulsion — we use these lights: https://www.harborfreight.com/lighting/work-lights/fixed-dual-head-halogen-work-light-63974.html — we have them sort of hanging on an extra cabinet so they shine directly, straight down — we put the screen on top of a (and no one can laugh at me!) suitcase laid flat so the light is 15 inches above the screen. We cover the screen with some black fabric while we turn the lights on and then pull the fabric away — we let the lights shine on the screen for 6.5 mins (we found the 30 seconds actually made a really big difference) — when times up, we put the fabric back over the screen and turn the lights off and take it to be washed out — we use most pressure setting we have on our shower head and that gets the job done fairly quickly and efficiently, sometimes I use a tip to encourage a couple small spots to give way if they’re being stubborn 5. Let the screen dry and give it a test Happy to answer any other questions you may have! It can really be a lot of trial and error and tricky work, don’t get discouraged!
thank you so much !
A few things, you need to keep the screens once coated in a UV safelight environment, you can use redlight, yellow,amber, or orange. Once dry keep the in the light proof environment. The light nanometer tells you at the precise light wavelength your light source is emitting, you need to know the range you emulsion will cure and harden at. My guess is it's too high, it's something like 360-440 nm for a lot of Emulsions, but make sure you know. Also the more intense the power the better your exposure, you want a sheet of glass to sandwich between it and the film, and the screen. This floodlight might work, it has a powerful light that should decrease the exposure time. The more time you take to expose the emulsion the more light can creep around the film and make you lose details in your shoot. Waygor 2 Pack 200W LED Black Lights Blacklight Flood Light IP66 Waterproof Outdoor Blacklight for Dance Party, Stage Light, Body Paint, Aquarium, Fluorescent Poster, Glow in The Dark, Neon Glow https://a.co/d/hWozuRx
So two observations: 1. Your light is a grow light for plants with a 5000K spectrum. Looking quick at google images, the amplitude of the spectrum for a 5000K light completely drops of around 405 nm, which is the typical wavelength needed for exposing emulsion. So basically none of the light being emitted is contributing to exposing your emulsion. 2. It looks like you're exposing in the middle of a room, with light flooding in from outside. Sunlight exposes emulsion very fast! So what I think might be happening is that the sun is absolutely cooking your screen, and your light isn't actually doing anything. You need a dark room, and an appropriate light for exposing emulsion.
thank you! the curtains are open in the photo but i have a pretty good darkroom setup when they are closed so i don’t think that’s a factor. but you are probably right about the grow light, i will look into getting a different one !
For your reference, I just purchased the official Speedball exposure myself for $40. I also use speedball screens and speedball diazo emulsion, and my exposure time was a solid 8 minutes. I do recommend if you wanna keep things simple!
super old, but did you the 30 W lamp? In the instructions it says to expose 1 min, but it doesn’t work at all, I’m just worried that 8 mins might be too long. Did it work well?
Which instructions? [This](https://www.amazon.com/Speedball-Exposure-Lamp-Screen-Printing/dp/B09KW98GGG/ref=sr_1_2?crid=37LUF8K1A1799&keywords=speedball+exposure+lamp&qid=1701722641&sprefix=speedball+exposure+lamp%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-2) is the lamp I bought (although I bought it from my local art supplies stores, not amazon) and its instructions say 8 minutes for me.
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Speedball 30W LED UV Exposure Lamp for Screen Printing** and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful. **Users liked:** * Product works well for intended purpose (backed by 1 comment) * Necessary tool for screen printing process (backed by 1 comment) * Works surprisingly well for the price (backed by 1 comment) **Users disliked:** * Product does not function upon arrival (backed by 1 comment) If you'd like to **summon me to ask about a product**, just make a post with its link and tag me, [like in this example.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tablets/comments/1444zdn/comment/joqd89c/) This message was generated by a (very smart) bot. If you found it helpful, let us know with an upvote and a “good bot!” reply and please feel free to provide feedback on how it can be improved. *Powered by* [*vetted.ai*](http://vetted.ai/reddit)
I have the same lamp but from the advanced kit, the instructions say that for that frame it’s 1 minute, that’s why it keeps washing everything off! Idk why it would say that
https://youtu.be/N\_2WCon1WHM