Page 23 - SCREEN PRINTING FOR BEGINNERS
P. 23

Surface     smoothness       can    affect       Capillary   films   suffer   from   a   past

                   your   substrate     to   stencil   gasket.      bad    reputation     for   delamination
                   The    lower    Rz   numbers      will   be      (Fig.   6)   the    current     products
                   produced only by machine coating                 available  are  capable  of  long  runs
                   or   film   products.     Direct/indirect        and  excellent  detail.  Capillary  films
                   and capillary films will produce the             produce     the   lowest   Rz   numbers
                   lowest    Rz   numbers      possible    for      possible     and     can     save    large

                   screen stencils. High solids content             amounts         of     screen       room
                   emulsions       and      face     coating        production time.
                   (second  or  more  coats  of  emulsion
                   over   dry   first   coatings)   can   also
                   lower  your  RZ  measurements.  (Fig.
                   4)  Exact  EOM  and  Rz  numbers  can
                   only    be    measured       by    special

                   testing equipment.
                                                                          Fig. 22 Measuring dry emulsion
                   Indirect      film      products       are

                   presensitized     emulsions      on   film.
                   They  are  produced  to  expose  and
                   develop    before   they   are   attached
                   to   the   screen   mesh.   Indirect   film

                   has   fallen   out   of   general   use   as
                   products that are easier to use and
                   have        superior       reproduction
                   properties are now available.
                   Capillary   films   are   photosensitive
                   emulsions      layered    onto     a   film
                   backing.     (Fig.   5)   The   name     is

                   indicative of the action that causes
                   the adhesion, capillary action. With
                                                                               Fig. 23 Capillary films
                   wet    screen    fabric,   the   film   will

                   draw  into  the  mesh  when  placed
                   in   contact   with   the   face   of   the
                   screen.
















                          Fig. 21 Measuring dry emulsion              Fig. 24 Delamination of capillary films





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