Description
Elevate your darkroom with Baselayr Complete. It's a high performance, high solids emulsion made for shops that need the most out of their emulsion. Baselayr Complete was specifically created to work with the most demanding ink types. You can print all water-based, solvent-based, discharge, silicone, plastisol, and UV inks with this emulsion — it’s designed to perform.
Made with high detail and high resolution in mind, images will easily rinse out and screens will painlessly reclaim when the stencil is properly dried and exposed. Exposure units with higher wattage LED like the Baselayr Exposure Units are recommended. The emulsion also works well with metal halide lamp systems. Printers with exposure light sources like halogen, fluorescent tubes, or black-lights should not use Complete. If your exposure unit is not strong enough, try Baselayr Long Lasting Emulsion.
For those shops with a Direct to Screen unit, Baselayr Complete has an ink receptive surface and is a great choice for wet ink-based and wax-based units.
If you used SVP, TX Discharge, or Cryocoat emulsions, you'll appreciate Baselayr Complete. The emulsion has faster exposure times while maintaining all the same properties printers love.
Baselayr Complete is designed to hold up during long print runs when correctly and fully exposed (solid step 7). If you need greater resistance or are doing a larger run, add diazo or post-expose for greater durability. Details below.
VIEW THE BASELAYR EMULSION PRODUCT CATALOG
DOWNLOAD "HOW TO MAKE A STENCIL" POSTER TO HANG IN YOUR DARKROOM
BENEFITS
- The emulsion works for all ink types, so printers do not need to stock several different kinds of emulsions.
- Baselayr Complete exposes rapidly, reducing time spent in the darkroom.
- Its high solids formula strengthens the emulsion's adhesion to the mesh, providing better on-press longevity.
IF USED WITH DIAZO
For customers that need even greater details in their designs, want to push the boundaries of resolution, or require greater initial stencil durability, try using Baselayr Complete with Diazo. With the addition of diazo, exposure times will increase about 3x but image resolution will be greatly enhanced. Plus, the longer initial exposure time will greatly improve the stencil's longevity on press, exemplifying a similar performance to a long post exposure/leaving your screens in the sun to dry.
RECOMMENDED
For long run water-based/discharge production, use Baselayr Emulsion Prep — a screen mesh degreaser and adhesion promoter.
FEATURES
- Water-resistant and solvent-resistant.
- No emulsion hardeners needed.
- Durable for long print runs using aggressive water-based and discharge ink systems.
- Holds great detail while printing on both the manual or automatic.
- High solids concentration allows for superior bridging of mesh.
- Extremely fast exposure time for quicker screen burning.
- Pre-sensitized
- Diazo is available as an option for those who desire more higher details or resolution.
- Color: Green
- Shelf Life: Opened: 6-8 month
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Shelf Life: If adding Diazo, see below for more details.
- If kept in a cool environment around 40°F (in a refrigerator), you can extend your shelf life to ~12 weeks.
- The hotter your environment is, the faster the diazo will break down. At 90°-100°F mixed emulsion has a pot life of ~1 week. At 70°F it's ~6 weeks.
- Add the appropriate amount of distilled water. Do not use tap water. Tap water contains minerals that can interfere with proper adhesion of the emulsion to the mesh.
- Diazo is sensitive to heat.
INSTRUCTIONS
Baselayr Complete Emulsion is pre-sensitized and ready for use.
If adding diazo, please follow these steps:
- Add 50% to 75% of distilled water to your bottle of diazo. Do not use tap water. Tap water contains minerals that can interfere with proper adhesion of the emulsion to the mesh.
- Shake the container, completely dissolving the diazo into the water.
- Add mixed diazo to the container of Baselayr Complete. Carefully stir in the diazo completely.
- Let the emulsion sit for a couple hours to let the air bubbles settle out.
- Apply emulsion to a clean, degreased, and dried screen mesh with a scoop-coater using appropriate application techniques. We recommend using Baselayr Emulsion Prep screen mesh degreaser and adhesion promoter whenever possible. Depending on your screen and stencil thickness needs, use either the sharp edge or round edge of the scoop coater and coat once or twice per side. More coats will make a thicker stencil. Be sure to rotate the screen so that you push the emulsion from both sides to bond around the knuckles of the mesh. Experiment to find what works best for you within your shop.
- Allow your freshly coated screen to dry, shirt side down.
- Expose your screen with the recommended light source. As with all emulsions, we recommend testing for appropriate exposure time for your unit before exposing the design. Use a Step Wedge Calculator to determine the proper amount of time needed to fully cure a stencil. If needed, you can harden your stencil by post-exposing it (make sure the stencil is completely dry), putting it back in the exposure unit, and exposing for 3x the initial exposure time (essentially replicating what adding diazo does). You can also place your screen in direct sunlight.
- Reclaiming Baselayr Complete is easy and works with most stencil removers or reclaimers that are available in concentrate and ready-to-use formulas. Follow proper instructions for reclaiming.
EXPOSURE VARIABLES
Exposure variables depend on mesh count, mesh color, stencil thickness and moisture level in the coated screen. Keep humidity levels below 40% at all times. Use a dehumidifier to ensure proper darkroom humidity levels.
- Lower mesh = slower exposure / Higher mesh = faster exposure
- Thicker stencil = slower exposure / Thinner stencil = faster exposure
- More moisture = Under Exposed and difficult to rinse out
- Less moisture = proper exposure and maximum detail resolution.
- Yellow mesh = slower exposure and more detail resolution
- White mesh = faster exposure
SUGGESTED EXPOSURE TIMES
- Mesh: 156 standard mesh color: White, Baselayr V & X Series Unit: 25-35s
- Mesh: 230 standard mesh color: Yellow, Baselayr V & X Series Unit: 25-35s
- Mesh: 156 standard mesh color: White, Baselayr Y Series Unit: 7-8s
- Mesh: 230 standard cmesh color: Yellow, Baselayr Y Series Unit: 8-9s
- Mesh: 156 Hi-Dro / Thin Thread mesh color: Yellow, Baselayr Y Series Unit: 10-11s
- Mesh: 230 Hi-Dro / Thin Thread mesh color: Yellow, Baselayr Y-Series Unit: 9-10s
To further dial in your exposure time, run the Step Wedge test with a Step Wedge Calculator.
HELPFUL HINTS TO ENSURE YOUR EMULSION LASTS LONGER
- Store in a cool area. The emulsion will break down much faster in heat. Storing emulsion in a fridge can slightly extend the shelf life; however, emulsion that has gotten to the point of freezing will no longer work properly and must be replaced.
- Keep the emulsion lid on tight to preserve air and light leaks.
- Gently mix the emulsion each time before use to help extend the life.
- To ensure best results, date the emulsion if mixed with diazo and keep an extra container on hand once the emulsion is about to expire. Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity can cause the emulsion to expire quicker.
FREEZE WARNING: When ordering emulsion during the winter, please note that it's possible for emulsion to freeze during transit. Frozen emulsion is unusable. We recommend to plan accordingly when ordering so shipping is uninterrupted and to pull all delivery packages inside the building and store in a warm place immediately.
Payment & Security
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Ehh…not my favorite
It is somewhat similar to cryocoat except that it takes FOREVER to dry. It was still pretty tacky after about 3 days of letting it sit in my darkroom. Had an evacuation fan going the whole time. It burned fine and washed out fine. Haven’t tried to reclaim it yet.
ScreenPrinting.com
Hello! Thank you for reaching out! I am so sorry that you're having difficulty getting the emulsion to dry. I'm going to reach out to you via email so we can figure out what might be going on. - April w/Ryonet

Excellent emulsion
I’m not sure what the complaints are about, but this emulsion is great! I ordered this product months ago and finally ran out of the blue Baselayr Plastisol. After reading all the reviews I was very worried that Baselayr Complete was going to be thick and take days to dry. I found the Baselayr Complete emulsion to be a little thinner than the the blue Baselayr Plastisol emulsion and the consistency of the emulsion was great! It went on the screens very fast, with excellent coverage and left a very smooth finish. I coated a total of 24 screens, with a combination of 156, 200 and 230 mesh, using a 2-2. The screens were completely dry within 1 hour using a DIY drying cabinet with a 12 inch fan on low. I then burned a 156 mesh and 200 mesh screen to print some of my company shirts, using a LED vacuum exposure unit. After burning the screens for 25 seconds, I dropped them in a dip tank with water for 1 minute and washed them out. Both screens washed out completely, within seconds. The stencils had no pin holes, extremely sharp edges and were very smooth. I dried the screen and got to printing using FN Ink. The green color made it easy to register the screens, the tape stuck to the screens well and I found the squeegee glided over the screens with very little effort on a push and pull stroke. I have used a lot of different emulsions and Baselayr Complete is by far the best one I have used to date. Baselayr Complete is slightly higher Baselayr Plastisol, but I found the difference to be negligible and well worth the upgrade. I have attached some pictures of the screens and finished product. I don’t know why there are some negative reviews, but I found there to be ZERO issues and don’t think you can go wrong with Baselayr Complete! Footnote: I used the new FN Ink Metallic Silver and the results were amazing. The picture does not do this ink justice. I used a 156 mesh screen and it applied perfectly with 1 pass.
ScreenPrinting.com
Great review Brian! We truly appreciate all the time you spent adding in detail and pictures for us to see. We are super glad you love the new emulsion, it worked so well in your process and you were able to share about it. Keep on Powering the PRINT!

Bring back CryoCoat
Takes forever to dry. Stayed tacky for days, and seems to be thicker than CryoCoat- making exposure times longer. Had zero issues with CryoCoat.
ScreenPrinting.com
Hello! Thank you for your review! We are sorry to hear your order is not working out as anticipated, and would like to help! I reached out through email on a case submitted for your order, please respond there! Thanks, cstake@ryonet.com

Not my favorite
I’ve done multiple tests on this emulsion and has not been producing well in my shop. I’ve tried a 2-1 coat with the emulsion and a 1-1 coat and still trying to get clear this emulsion off after being exposed has been a hassle.
ScreenPrinting.com
Hi Ashleigh, Thank you for taking the time to leave us some feedback. I have a case submitted for your order and will reach out to you directly to offer support!

Works Great
Works great. Been running it the same way we were running Cryocoat, and it seems to work pretty much the same. Is also the same color as Cryocoat. We have not had any problems with plastisol, water based or discharge. Easier to work with than even the description inplies.
ScreenPrinting.com
Hey Derek, Your feedback is super helpful and we truly appreciate it! Glad the Base Layer Complete Emulsion is working out better than we expected! Happy printing :) - cstake@ryonet.com