Please find some links and notes from the 2 Regular Guys Podcast. The screen making room is often where screen printers send employees who are not doing their job well, and this can cause big problems. We brought in Alan Howe from SAATICHEM to give us the rundown on why the screen making room should be one of the most important parts of your screen printing production facility. He will give us insight on what problem you can fix, just by making some minor changes to your screen making room.

Sponsored by: SGIA.org | 2017 SGIA Expo in New Orleans - Oct 10-12

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Screen Making Room

What do you think Are the biggest challenge screen printers face on a daily basis in their screen making room? A basic understanding of fundamentals of Screenprinting and how they affect their bottom line. Fundamentals: proper tension, coating, exposing/developing, curing, proper use if flood bar/squeegee.

What are some areas that some screen printers miss in their screen making room? It starts with screens... it's most overlooked. Screens are equipment, not a commodity.

Standardizing - To do that you have to have a process set up

-how we coat on each mesh count

-why we do it

-check and control it

-start with screens

What are the tensions? Are you holding them? What is your tap-out? get them restretched, retensioned or replaced

When tension is controlled a lot of other print issues go away.

Should the worst employees be is in the screen room? It all starts with screens, it should be the best employee. They make the printers look good.

Poor tension causes print problems

-bad underbases

-halo, blurred images

-registration issues

Talk about what tools every shop should have for their screen room.

-Hygrometer

-Exposure calculator / 21 step

-Tension meter

-Laser Temperature Guns

And know how to use them, have a process for them to be used. It goes to repeatability, consistency and profit.

Humidity has an impact in technologies such as DTG, but does it impact screen printing? Controlling humidity is major and first. By not you are fighting a battle all the time. Keep it below 32% humidity in your screen room. Solid content. 40% solids = 60% water in the air, per screen.

Heater .... Create a tropical rain forest

Fan ..... breeze in the rain forest

(soon there will be vines and toucans)

Dehumidifier... knowing the relative humidity tells you how big or how many dehumidifiers you need. How often they need to be emptied ( if no drain in the floor)?

Screen guy - "they feel dry". Reality is. Guessing "dry like a tomato. It feels dry on the outside, but in reality,