After a print job is finished there is one major task left for a screen printer; reclaiming the screens. The screens are used as stencils for the print job, and the stencil itself is created by emulsion, which is essentially glue. Once a screen printer is done with the print job, he can remove that emulsion and then continue to use the screens for many future prints. This process is essential to screen printing, not only saving money but also ensuring high future print quality when done properly.
The first step in reclaiming a screen is to spray the screen with the reclaiming chemical. It is important to coat the entire screen completely to ensure that all the emulsion will be removed. Once the reclaiming chemical has rested on the screen for at least one minute, the emulsion will have broken down. The screen printer will then use a power washer to remove the emulsion methodically from the screen. This can be a laborious process, but every last bit of emulsion must be removed.
After the emulsion has been cleared from the screen, the printer will degrease the screen. A degreaser will remove the remaining chemicals from the screen completely. Once the screen has been degreased, the screen is rinsed and dried. The screen must dry completely before it can be coated with emulsion again.
Emulsion is applied to a screen in one of two ways: by using either a scoop coater, which looks somewhat like a small trough, or by a capillary film laid on top of the screen and applied using water and a squeegee. Coating via a scoop coater is much more common and is done by dragging the coater filled with emulsion on both sides of the screen. The screen is then placed in a dryer so the emulsion can dry to the screen. If the screen is coated with too little or too much emulsion, then the artwork can be difficult to expose, wash out, or might break down while printing.
After a screen has been coated and is dried, the process is completed and the screen is ready to be burned with new artwork. Without going through this process, screen printers would waste countless screens. Errors in the reclaiming process will lead to imperfections in the prints that come from the mishandled screens. So the reclaiming process is critical to the efficiency and efficacy of screen printing operations.
