How to Guide. Choosing the right screen product for second surface printing

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How to Guide. Choosing the right screen product for second surface printing

Synopsis...

This simple How to Guide has been developed to help you select the best screen making products for use when screen printing the graphics layer on MacDermid Autotype Industrial films.

This range of hard coated films includes:                                 

  • Autotex textured Polyester films
  • Autoflex hardcoated Polyester and Polycarbonate films

The Autotype range of screen making products has been specifically formulated to work in conjunction with our hard coated industrial films to give the best possible results. The colour coded tables below will help guide you to select the most appropriate products for each screen making stage.

Key to colour coding
1 - 3 4 - 7 8 - 10
Not recommended/Caution Can be suitable Recommended
Degreasers
  Universal Mesh Prep Auto Degreaser Concentrate 1:10 Auto Degreaser Concentrate 1:25
Format Ready to use Dilute with 10 parts water Dilute with 25 parts water
Degreaser Yes Yes Yes
Wetting Agent Yes No No

A well degreased screen is critical for long print runs. A few minutes spent preparing the screen will dramatically improve the durability of that screen and prevent costly remakes.

Stencils
  Emulsion Capillary Film
  PLUS 1-SR PLUS 7000 Capillex CP Capillex CX
Colour Blue Blue Blue Blue
Chemistry Photopolymer Dual Cure Diazo Diazo
Solids Medium 32% Medium 35% Film Film
Mesh range 43-120/cm 43-120/cm 120-180/cm 55-120/cm
Exposure Fast Medium Medium Medium
Ease of decoating Easy Medium Easy Easy

The stencil is the heart of the process and a good quality stencil can literally make the difference between a profit and a loss. Select the best stencil for your application based on the inks you are using and the type of printing you do.

Solvents
  Screen Opener Press Wash Water Washable Solvent
  Autosolve Press Wash AF Autosolve Press Wash AF40 Autosolve Press Wash AF55 Autosolve Graphics Autosolve Industrial
Solvent ink compatability 10 10 10 10 10
UV ink compatability 10 10 10 10 10
Water dilutable No No No No No
Evaporation rate. Water = 1 5 25 1 <1 1
Odour Low Low Low Low Low
VOC 870g/litre 940g/litre 320g/litre 40g/litre 870g/litre
Flash point 32°C 44°C 57°C >100°C 67°C
Biodegradable Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Using the optimised screen cleaning solvent at each stage of the process can save you time, money and your health. Autosolve screen cleaning solvents are formulated to give the maximum cleaning power, with tailored evaporation rates using as safe a chemistry as possible.

Screen opener solvents will naturally have a faster evaporation rate than a Press Wash or Water Washable solvent as you need them to dissolve the dried-in ink and then dry off quickly, ready to resume printing.

If the stencils need to be reused after archiving, then select a Press Wash as these do not leave a greasy residue on the screens and will have minimal damage to the stencil.

The Water Washable Autosolve solvents are the most powerful cleaners and are used as part of the screen decoating process. They are blended with surfactants to enable them to be rinsed off with water ready to then strip the stencil.

Stencil Strppers
  Autostrip Gel Autostrip Concentrate 1:20
Format Gel Liquid
Processing Ready-to-use Dilute with 20 parts water
Stencils PLUS and Capillex PLUS and Capillex

Remove Capillex films and PLUS emulsion stencils quickly and easily with one of our Autostrip products. Choose a gel or concentrate to meet your needs.

Haze Removers
  Autokleen Plus Quick Clean Autohaze
Format Used with Autosolve Ready-to-use liquid Ready-to-use paste
Ink stains 9 8 10
Stencil stains 8 4 10
Diazo stains 8 4 10
Application Overnight Immediate Immediate

A good haze remover is an essential tool for reusing screens many times and there are not many stains that cannot be removed with one of the Autotype Haze Removers.

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