By
eHow Arts & Entertainment Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Coated Silk Screens
- Contact Exposure Units For Silk Screen
- Garden Hoses And Attachments And Water
- Little Red Wagons Or Dolly
- Art-prepared As Transparencies
- Sunlight
Step1
Place the silkscreen frame - coated with emulsion that's dried - in the contact exposure unit. The well of the screen should have the foam inserted into it and be locked down in position, flat face up.
Step2
Place the artwork to be exposed (the transparency) on the emulsion surface "wrong reading" (i.e. backwards) in the center of the screen.
Step3
Place the plate glass over the art, sandwiching the art between the glass and the silkscreen mesh. Make sure there is contact over the entire surface of the art. (The emulsion is slow, so you can do this quickly under normal light.)
Step4
Use a dolly, a little red wagon, or two people to take the entire unit out into direct sunlight, being careful not to disturb the glass or move the art around in any way.
Step5
Let the contact unit sit in the direct sun for at least 20 minutes. (See exposure times below.)
Step6
Wheel the contact unit into a shady area (or indoors if there is an area set up for washing inside) after exposure.
Step7
Disassemble the unit, removing the art and glass from harm's way.
Step8
Place the screen in an upright position, braced in such a way so as not to move when sprayed with water.
Step9
Use a garden hose or power washer to spray the entire surface of the screen with water. At first, do this with low pressure from a distance. Within 2 minutes the screen will start to open up and the positive areas will start washing away.
Step10
Move closer if necessary, increasing the pressure of the hose and focusing it on any areas that do not seem to be washing away.
Step11
Continue until all the positive, unexposed places in the screen are washed clear.
Comments
timhsouthern said
on 11/20/2007 I would try SpeedBall's Photo Emulsion you need the Emulsion and the Diazo mix. It's very easy to do and make and it last a long time and is cheap. This stuff, as mentioned dries like crazy glue and once dry is a real pain to remove from things like clothes and lids. Simple printers rule: Keep Your Workspace EXTREMELY Clean. Everything hasa place and everything is in order.
viralelm said
on 10/26/2007 Is this method usable with metals to be used in etching?
naiggel_05 said
on 3/24/2007 to author,
May I know the mixture of your chemical,pls,
thanks