4 Steps to Reclaim Screen Printing Screens the Right Way

You need to remove emulsion and reclaim your screens to get ready for the next print. Here are some basic steps to follow to make reclaiming screens an easy to follow procedure process.

4 Steps to Reclaim Screen Printing Screens the Right Way

1. Remove any excess ink from your screens. Using an ink degradent will help break down all the ink enough to rinse it off the screen.

2. Removing emulsion is the next step. You have two options for this step. The first option is to spray emulsion remover onto the screen and then scrub each side lightly so that the emulsion is agitated and the remover begins to work. After scrubbing each side you spray the emulsion off with a power washer. Begin spraying from the bottom of the screen and work your way up. This is to keep the emulsion from blowing back onto the screen. The other option to remove emulsion is to place the screens in a dip tank filled with "dip tank emulsion remover", after soaking in the dip tank for 2-3 minutes you can take the screen out and use a power washer to spray the emulsion off.  

3. Dehazing the screens is the next step. Spray the dehazer onto both sides of the screen and scrub the mesh. This step is to remove any remaining ghost stain of the old design / print. Now spray the dehazer off the screen mesh.

4. The last step is degreasing your screen mesh. Spray degreaser onto both sides of the screen mesh and use a scrub brush that is dedicated to only degreasing and scrub the mesh. Now water to spray off the degreaser. Degreasing mesh removes and remaining chemicals so emulsion will adhere to the mesh when you recoat your screens. If you do not degrease your mesh your emulsion may have pinholes and premature breakdown. It's a simple easy step that ensures great stencil quality.

And that's it. Set your screens in a dry area so that you may recoat them with emulsion for your next print job.