Screen Printers: Lacquer Durability - Over a Year of Abuse (Photos)

[Earthscum]

First, the printing...
Not the cleanest registering, but meh... it's for me. Forgot to wipe the register blocks off, and just leave them on to see how they wear.





The finished pedal, lookin' all shiny and school nurse-like, just as mean as it sounds:





...and over a year of abuse, getting beer spilled on it, kicked around dirty stages, and thrown in a bag with about half a dozen or more other pedals and cables and what-nots. I think my DS-1 has shown more wear than this thing has in that time!



Here's the (relevant) products I use:

NAZDAR 7200 Series Lacquer Screen Ink

NAZDAR RE181 Retarder for Nazdar Screen Inks

NAZDAR SW37 Screen Wash

Screen printing mesh – SEFAR PET 1500

Autosol 5000

Not quite as relevant, but I gotta link them because these frames are the BOMB!
Newman Roller Frames

[NazzTazz]

Seems to be kinda bulletproof.

How much would I have to invest to get a basic screenprinting kit ? I'd print a bunch of Hammond boxes, and some larger boxes (19" enclosures, footcontrollers...).

[John Lyons]

Thanks for posting that, very nice looking print there!
The bare box saved you a bit as that's the main chip area, but still.
Virtually unscathed...right on!

[Earthscum]

Seems to be kinda bulletproof.

How much would I have to invest to get a basic screenprinting kit ? I'd print a bunch of Hammond boxes, and some larger boxes (19" enclosures, footcontrollers...).

http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/

Hard to put a specific price on one. Screening boxes is a little different than the common flat printing, so your typical "Kits" won't apply. I'll see if I can give a basic breakdown of supplies, though.

If you can build your own table, you can get these hinge clamps (style I use, different brand): http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/product/HC-101 They will allow you to raise the screen plenty enough to get possibly a BB tall underneath.

If you're planning on ruining a couple screens, the roller frames are the way to go. You just need wrenches to stretch it. Otherwise, they make screen frames that accept pre-stretched (and some pre-coated) screens, similar to the hobby printer kits like the Yudu stuff
Yudu® Aftermarket Supplies, Yudu® Screen Printing Supplies
.

From this site: http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/page/469489580 I'd use the 230 or 280 yellow mesh. One thing it does is reduces light bleed through the material, giving you a sharper edge. It is similar, in a way, to undercutting a PCB etch. The 230 mesh will give you a fairly clean edge, good graphic screen. 280 is better for finer-line stuff. If you want to get REALLY technical (print PCB mask... lacquer holds up to FeCl really well) go with the 305, lol. Note, though, that your final coat is partially determined by the thickness of the screen, thus finer fibers for the 305 mesh will make a thinner coat than the 230 mesh will. 230/280 is a good balance between good detail and good coating.

If you are going to burn one set of art per screen and call it permanent, see if you can find the insert frames and pre-coat screen (PCF) prestretch inserts. This will save you stencil reclamation materials. Just take good care of your screen, and get a can of screen opener:  http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/product/CCSCSO as well as the screen wash.

Translucencies: If you have a lithography machine, you are set! (bad joke). I've never tried any of the overhead stuff, but whatever you use, it needs to be clear, and the artwork solid black. I use transparency film from Casey's Page Mill for Laser Printer, If you want to give it a shot they sell a trial pack of 25 sheets for $5. http://www.caseyspm.com/cgi-bin/casey/translucency Also need exposure lamp of some sort, high UV. All coatings will have data sheets about exposure times under certain conditions, just like digging for electronic data.

Finally, you need a squeegee. Don't chince on the handle... believe me, a crappy handle will just be a pain and you'll never know why until you get a good one in hand. It is a huge difference between what the "hobbyist" gets and what pros use. I've been digging on the 80 durometer. It keeps a nice sharp edge for a very long time, and doesn't bloat or swell much at all with Lacquers (for comparison, polyester screen wash will make it bloat up and unusable for about half hour).

This is for handle AND blade, ~$1.50 per inch. http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/product/SQ80 Figure the size you'll be printing, and add half an inch to either side. If you get in to it, you'll probably end up with a 3", 4", 5"... lol. For a starter, I'd say 6" should cover almost all pedal needs, allow a person to get the feel and control of ink flow, but not be entirely too large for smaller boxes. If you want to swing for a second, go with a 2.5" (if they allow the cut) or 3".

There's quite a bit of other stuff involved, but this is the most basic I can think of.

[chromesphere]

Hey earthscum, thanks for the info.  just wanted to ask, with a simple one color transfer, with, i guess its photo emulsion (?), how do you burn the image onto the mesh?  Do you need a lightbox?  if yes, does that pretty much rule out screenprinting for anyone that doesnt have a lightbox?  Thanks again,
Paul

[Earthscum]

You can use a lightbox with UV fluorescents, pretty easy to make. We use a big (halogen?) light. Put the screen face down on a properly sized support, put your "positive" against the back of the screen, and place a piece of glass over the top to keep it as flat against the emulsion as possible. Then you expose it to UV light. With the bulb we use (I'll check what it is tomorrow) I only need a 4.5 minute burn time. With tube lighting, you'll probably increase that to 7 or 10 minutes. Then just use a gentle spray of water to wash out the un-exposed emulsion. Let it dry, block out any pinholes, you have a screen.

[chromesphere]

Hey earthscum thanks for the info again.  As easy as your method sounds, it seems like alot of trouble for 1, 2 or even 5 pedal runs.  I wish it was easier cause i'd LOVE to be able to do a single color screen print in white on colored boxes. Still im not quite giving up yet Might go to the art supplier and see what they have, thanks again!
Paul

[Earthscum]

Light I have in now is 400W Sylvania Metalarc metal halide lamp. I have a full series of pictures to make a thread on the printing process. I figure it will give some an idea of what they pay for, discourage overambitious from jumping in head first and wasting lots of money or time and give others an idea of just what is involved start to finish. Once you have a setup, you are set for doing anything you want. It is mainly initial cost. Lacquer is holding up really well and I think is a good way to go for the DIYer. Less chems than most other inks. Enviro inks might be better, but no experience with them yet.

[chromesphere]

I have a full series of pictures to make a thread on the printing process.

I for one would like to see this Earthscum, if you get time please do, it would be great!
Paul

[newperson]

would also like to bump this thread to see your setup.

I have a full series of pictures to make a thread on the printing process.

I for one would like to see this Earthscum, if you get time please do, it would be great!
Paul

[chromesphere]

Amazing coincidence newperson.  Im just starting to look into screen printing again!! 

I didnt get anywhere with it last time unfortunately...It's difficult to get start with....

Paul