The first step in reclaiming a screen is to remove all of the ink on both the squeegee and print sides. In order to remove the ink from the screen an “ink degrader” chemical must be used to make the ink water soluble. This is done by spraying each side of the screen with ink reducer using a spray bottle, and then scrubbing both sides with a scrub brush. Most ink degraders take around 30 or so seconds to work their magic and make the ink become much easier to remove. Once the ink reducer chemical has had enough time to do its job the screen should then be placed in the washout sink and sprayed with water to remove all of the ink from both sides of the screen. Ink reducer is not terribly expensive and It is important that you use enough of the chemical to neutralize the ink, so don’t be stingy with it. It is also common to have to use ink reducer on a screen after it has been reclaimed (emulsion removed) to make sure there is no ink left in the mesh.
When it comes to ink reducer there are many manufacturers of the chemical. When it comes to ink reducer we highly suggest using Saati Chemicals “IR-26”. Saati is a leading manufacturer of darkroom screen print chemicals that revolve around reclaiming and coating screens. The IR stands for “Ink Reducer” and typically comes in a concentrated format meaning it has to be mixed with distilled water at a certain ratio. Realize that ink reducer is different than press wash, which is used for changing colors on while a screen is still on a press and won’t break down emulsion. Ink reducer is not designed to breakdown emulsion, but since it is mixed with water it naturally will unlike press wash.
