Impressions - September 2013 - (Page 52)

talking SHOP Screen Printing Production Maximizing Costs and Efﬁciency in Screen Cleaning Don’t lose money ﬁxing “bad” screens. Do it right the ﬁrst time. By Greg Kitson, Contributing Writer Dip tanks are easier to use and less messy than wiping a screen with a rag. The tank is ﬁlled with a drain-safe chemical and screens soak in the solution. After the appropriate amount of time, they are lifted out and rinsed with a pressure washer. The chemicals will clean hundreds of screens without being replenished. All photos courtesy of Mind’s Eye Graphics, Decatur, Ind. REMOVING INK i think many screen printers lose proﬁts due to having inefﬁcient screen departments. They either are in a hurry to push out production, so they take shortcuts in hopes of speeding up the screen making or reclaiming processes, or they are inexperienced and don’t realize they are not using proper procedures and techniques. Any time spent ﬁxing a “bad” screen means you are losing money. Once a screen is on press, if the stencil breaks down, you are not being compensated for the time 52 Impressions | September 2013 and materials it takes to reshoot the screen. On-press problems are not only the result of improperly made screens, but also poorly cleaned screens. Your screen reclaiming department is every bit as important as your screen making area. (see “How to Improve Your Screen Making Efﬁciency,” Impressions, August 2013) In this article, I will discuss the proper way to clean screens, and how you can avoid wasting a lot of time and money using the wrong chemicals and techniques. The ﬁrst step of the screen reclaiming process is to get as much ink as possible out of the mesh without damaging it. The biggest mistake many printers make is leaving a large amount of ink in the screen when it goes to the reclaiming area. But if you get too aggressive when scraping out ink, you can weaken the screen. While you don’t want to be too rough, not thoroughly removing excess ink contributes greatly to wasted time, cost and mess. I strongly recommend using the proper chemicals to clean screens. Do not use mineral spirits. Talk to suppliers and peers, do some research, and ﬁnd out the chemicals that are recommended for cleaning screens that will be stored and reused. The reclaiming process consists of three or four steps, depending on how good of a job you do. The ﬁrst screen cleaning chemical you will use is either an ink degrader or ink remover, which works through dilution. You put a lot of cleaner on the screen and it slowly dissolves the ink. As the ink dilutes, rags are used to wipe it out of the screen. This product also is referred to as “spray and wipe.” Proper disposal is necessary for the rags because they are soaked with the solvent. You cannot just toss them in the trash. Most printers use a waste management or disposal company, such as Safety-Kleen. impressionsmag.com http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - September 2013

Impressions - September 2013
Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
Product Gallery
ISS Conferences
Outdoor Outfitting
Beat the Heat
Today’s Textile Ink Options
Shop Spotlight
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Technique
Embroidery Production
Tech Tips Embroidery
Screen Printing Production
Screen Printing Graphics & Design
Screen Printing Technique
Online Directory
Tech Tips Screen Printing
Digital Decorating
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - September 2013