Good Screen Coating Will Make Your Life a Little Smoother
Print This Post
Here’s how to properly coat your screens so that your stencils adhere well and last a long time.
1. In a dark room mix the sensitizer into the emulsion as per the directions to activate it. Let it sit in a cool dark room for at least two hours with the lid closed.
2. Set up your screen, make sure it’s clean and completely dry.
3. Pour the emulsion into the scoop coater. Fill the scoop coater 3/4 full. 
4. Hold the scoop coater from the bottom centered, making sure that it is level so that the emulsion does not run out from the sides of each end! (tip: use the thin side of the scoop coater)
Firmly push into the screen and angle the scoop flat against the screen, press against the screen and pull upward to the top and end your stroke by quickly angling the scoop coater back to the centered position.
5. Turn the screen to the inside (where the ink goes) and turn it upside down. Repeat coating this side of the screen. (tip: If you coat your screens to thick they may not wash out! This can be tricky because it mimics over exposure, in fact the emulsion is just too thick and is really under exposed, parts of the image may wash out and finer parts may not rinse out altogether. So rule of thumb is one coat for each side.)
6. Lay your screen flat to dry with the ink side of the screen facing up. Put some sort of spacer under each of the corners of the screen to keep the bottom of the screen off the floor if you don’t have a drying rack. (I use bottle caps or slim pieces of wood) Turn off the safety light and let your screen dry in complete darkness.
7. Your screen is dry when the emulsion is no longer tacky.
Happy Printing!
Like this Article? Subscribe free to my rss feed to get more!
{ 1 trackback }
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Similar instructions as Ryonet’s site– but the PHOTOS are better and a HUGE help, so… much much much much more informative in that regard.
Thank you!
What brand of emulsion do you use?
I use a brand called UDC 2 which is a standard emulsion good for water and solvent based work.
why u not remove the ghost image befor coating thx
It doesn’t affect the printing – so why waste using extra chemicals?