What's the Best Emulsion to Use for Screen Printing?

Posted by Jeffrey Gononsky on

Holden's Photo Emulsion ReclaimerPhoto emulsions for screen printing come in 3 primary forms.

Determining the most appropriate photo emulsion to use, is directly correlated to the ink system you will be printing with.  So if your print job calls for a limited run of water based prints, and you are a plastisol printer using a plastisol photo emulsion, you can stick with the emulsion you are comfortable with.  However, if you get an order for a large run of water based dischargeable prints, then you should seriously consider a water resistant photo emulsion.

  1. Water resistant emulsion for printing with water based screen printing inks.
  2. Medium solvent resistant and moderately water resistant emulsions for printing with plastisol inks, UV inks, and short run water based screen printing inks.
  3. Solvent resistant emulsion for printing with screen printing inks that require harsh solvents.  Like vinyl inks, epoxy inks, and similar solvent based systems

Not to overly complicate the selection process, but there are two primary types of photo emulsion.

2 Classes of Photo Emulsions.

  1. Diazo photo emulsions.
  • Shelf life of 4-6 weeks once sensitized
  • Shoots well with non-professional light sources
  • Presensitized pure photopolymer emulsion
  • Shelf life of up to 1 year
  • Requires a more professional light source
  • Very fast shooting time

Holden's Screen Supply has you covered for all your screen printing needs! Click through our inventory and you'll find exactly what you need. Thanks for stopping by!