Tip of the Week: Degreasing

How important is it to degrease a screen prior to coating it with emulsion?  Here is Kieth Stevens with a tip recently published in Impressions:

Always degrease a new screen before coating it with emulsion.  Why do I recommend this extra step?  To ensure that no grease or dirt, dust or other foreign matter is left on the screen.  Grease spots on the screen will repel emulsion (which contains water) and create a spot with a halo around it, often referred to as a “fish eye.”  These fish eyes can create pin holes in the screen or compromise the overall integrity of the coated screen.  Dust particles and dirt may also cause pinholes or unevenness in the coating.

So get some degreaser from your local print supply store and clean your screen with it before coating.  It’ll save you time and money later.

Kieth Stevens is the Western regional sales manager for International Coatings. He has been teaching screen printing for more than 10 years and is a regular contributor to International Coatings’ blogs. For more information, visit iccink.com and read the company’s blog at internationalcoatingsblog.com.

International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers.  For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.

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