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Blew out my first screen after 14 prints, rookie mistake
Was doing a small batch of tote bags for a market stall this weekend. Everything was going smooth, 14 prints in and the design looked crisp. Then I pushed too hard on the squeegee and the emulsion just gave up in the middle of the lettering. No warning, just a chunk of it floating in the ink.
Had to stop, tape off the damaged area, and shave the design down to a simpler version just to finish the last 6 bags. Lesson learned about pressure control. Anyone else wreck a screen mid-run and have to improvise on the fly?
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holly_foster7d ago
Wait, did you check if your screen was actually tensioned right before you started? That tension thing is the real culprit a lot of times, I've had it happen where the mesh gets loose and the emulsion cracks from the flex, not the pressure alone. Taping off and shaving the design is a smart save though, I once had to turn an intricate sunburst into a plain circle just to get through a craft fair. Might be worth picking up a cheap tension meter if you're doing this regularly, it catches the problem before it ruins your whole run.
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joseph4557d ago
Did you actually blow out the emulsion, or did the screen just lose tension? Usually when the mesh goes slack mid-run it looks like the emulsion fell apart but it's really the screen stretching from too much pressure. I've had that fake-out happen before, where I'm blaming the emulsion but the screen was just tired. Either way, taping it down and simplifying the design is a solid move for finishing a market order. But you might want to check your screen tension before your next run, pushing hard on a loose screen can wreck a good design real fast. That pressure lesson is real though, I've been there too.
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