Wouldn’t you love to make reclaim as simple as possible? With Easiway Chemistry, you can significantly enhance your screen cleaning processes without breaking a sweat. Let’s take a look at the four products and how you’d use them when reclaiming screens.
STEP ONE: REMOVE INK OFF THE SCREEN
Alright, so you’re done printing for the day and it’s time to clean up. Looking at the stack of dirty screens, you know what you gotta do first — remove all the ink.
Grab a cleanup card and get rid of all the big globs of ink. Now what you do next depends on what you’re planning to do with the screen. Are you going to reclaim it or keep it to print again?
USING A STENCIL AGAIN
If you plan on storing the stencil to use again in the future, grab both Easiway On Press Wash and Multipurpose Ink, Stain & Haze Remover and follow these steps:
- Generously spray the screen with Multipurpose Ink, Stain & Haze Remover.
- Use a cotton rag or shop towel to wipe the screen free of ink.
- If necessary, repeat steps 1 & 2 until all the ink is gone.
- Spray a little bit of On Press Wash onto the screen and use a rag to wipe off the residue.
- Store the screen in a dry, dust-free area.
Fun fact — Easiway On Press Wash isn’t just helpful when cleaning screens, it’s clutch to have while in production. It can be used as an ink remover for color changes. It’ll dry super quick, which lets you reapply tape in the blink of an eye.
RECLAIMING THE SCREEN
If the screen is going to be reclaimed, all you need is the Multipurpose Ink, Stain & Haze Remover. And then you’ll do the following:
- Generously spray the screen with Multipurpose Ink, Stain & Haze Remover.
- Use a cotton rag or shop towel to wipe the screen free of ink.
- If necessary, repeat steps 1 & 2 until all the ink is gone.
Now that the screens are clear from ink, it’s time to get rid of the emulsion.
STEP TWO: BLAST OFF EMULSION
To remove emulsion from the screen, you have two options — Dip Tank Solution or Concentrated Emulsion Remover. Which one should you choose? If you have a dip tank, grab the Dip Tank Solution. If you do not have a dunk tank, then you’ll want the Concentrated Emulsion Remover.
RELATED: HOW A DUNK TANK CAN IMPROVE PRINTERS’ RECLAIM PROCESSES
Let’s start off with the process of using the Easiway Dip Tank Solution. It’s pretty straightforward — pour water and chemistry into the tank, let screens soak it up, remove, and rinse. But just in case, here are the best practices when it comes to using the Dip Tank Solution.
- Check the dunk tank to ensure it’s free from any residue like old emulsion or chemicals.
- Fill the tank with water first — approximately 25 gallons.
- Add 5 gallons of Easiway Dip Tank Solution. Adding the chemical after the water keeps the foaming to a minimum. For larger or smaller tanks, adjust amounts accordingly, ratios will remain the same.
- Card off all excess ink (which you’ve already done with On Press Wash).
- Put screens in the tank to be reclaimed. Let them soak for 30-60 seconds. Thicker stencils will take longer to break down while thinner stencils will break down quickly. If screens are left in the dunk tank for too long, the emulsion may fall off the screen and settle at the bottom. (Note: Not all emulsions will loosen or fall off in the dip tank, emulsion fall-off time can vary between brands. Ideally, adjust times to avoid emulsion falling off inside of the dip tank.) Pro Tip: It used to be thought that any emulsion left in the tank would impact the efficiency of the chemistry; however, this is no longer the case. Emulsion becomes inert in the solution and won't affect the solution's ability to break down the emulsion on your screens.
- Next, use a pressure washer to remove the dissolved stencil from the bottom to the top and from the back (t-shirt side) of the screen, then move on to the other side. A high-pressure hose attachment can work as well.
RELATED: WHY SCREEN PRINTERS SHOULD HAVE A FILTRATION SYSTEM
Now that the screens are free from emulsion, it’s time to prep them for the next job.
STEP 3: DEGREASE & ERADICATE HAZE & STAINS
Cue the Multipurpose Ink, Stain & Haze Remover again. It leaves mesh free of all oils and contaminants and reduces the occurrence of pinholes to allow for better adhesion of emulsion. It also deep cleans mesh, removing any stains or haze.
- Before use, remove all emulsion from the screen.
- Spray the Ink, Stain & Haze Remover on one side of the mesh and scrub it with a nylon brush or scrub pad.
- Flip the screen and repeat step 2.
- Rinse with high-pressure water, spraying from bottom to top on the t-shirt side of the screen. Reverse the screen and rinse with high pressure, then use low-pressure water and flood-rinse the entire screen.
- If residue is still visible, repeat steps 2-4 until completely clean.
That’s it! In a few steps, you have squeaky-clean screens ready for the next job. Easiway Chemistry makes reclaiming fast and simple. You could say Easiway Chemistry is the “easiest way” to reclaim screens (pun intended 😉).
PRODUCT RESOURCES
For more information on how to handle the aforementioned products, please refer to each product’s Safety Data Sheet.
