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View Full Version : Can you use vinyl instead of an acetate to make an exposed screen?!?



FairyD
14-01-2013, 09:10 PM
Not looking to use vinyl as a stencil on a screen but instead of printing out the black graphic is it possible when doing spot coloured lettering or very basic shapes to use vinyl cut out with a plotter/cutter and then use that just as you would acetate to expose the screen....i.e. leave the vinyl on it's carrier sheet?!!?!? Does that make sense!?!? Looking to do a large spot coloured graphic that is all text.....don't want to waste a LOT of ink as it will be a large piece so hoping that this can be done!?!

Paul
14-01-2013, 10:28 PM
is this what you mean?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqPIWWE7WQs

FairyD
15-01-2013, 12:09 AM
Hi Paul...no, but I had watched this video this morning which made me think about using a cut vinyl (weeded and still on it's carrier sheet) rather than printing out the image on acetate....the plan would still be to use the emulsion and put it under the lamp etc. but use the vinyl INSTEAD of the printed acetate as the 'negative' for the screen to expose with....everything's the same as normal acetate exposure just without the acetate?!?!?!

Paul
15-01-2013, 12:30 AM
..but why?? :confused:

Ian M
15-01-2013, 03:05 AM
Gayle, You should be able to do it the way you want without out any problems. The main thing to remember is that anything that is black will not expose & anything clear will expose. In fact when I worked in screen printing we used to hand cut the bigger more simple positives using a two part film called Rubylith. There is a video showing someone cutting some Rubylith here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYaF-WWSz6w

FairyD
15-01-2013, 10:44 AM
Yes Ian...that's exactly what I was hoping..!! Brilliant. Paul, I have tried printing acetates before with my old epson when I used to make my own polymer stamps and a lot of the time the black just wasn't black enough...so I was hoping that I could 'cheat' a little......this is only for the text stuff but it means I can make it as big as I want it (depending on size of screen obviously!!) I do need to invest in a laser printer too at some point I think!!

Paul
15-01-2013, 11:20 AM
i print on my brother and black is not 100% solid black. but black enough to expose screen. you can use standard copier paper to expose your screens.

FairyD
15-01-2013, 11:23 AM
Okay....I'll give both a go and see what happens!

socialgiraffe
15-01-2013, 11:29 AM
We always used tracing paper for films. Not sure on the times or anything as I just used to send the film to my printers downstairs to expose. It worked very well and they never had a problem and it was nice and cheap.

FairyD
15-01-2013, 11:53 AM
Interesting...thanks Simon.

John G
15-01-2013, 02:50 PM
Yes you can use cut vinyl when exposing screens - you can use a number of things but I still use clear acetates printed with a laser printer.

I used to do work for a guy who supplied his own print ready artwork and that's what it was - black sign vinyl cut on a plotter and weeded. The end results weren't as good as a posi due to the plotter not cutting perfectly, and also the thickness of the vinyl effected the exposure - but it does work. For very short runs of plastisol you'll get away with applying the vinyl to the screen direct, no exposure needed.

ASTROID
10-10-2017, 02:47 PM
yes you can ...... i had an issue with my printer not wanting to take the acetates correctly so i decided to cut out of black vinyl in reverse and attach the vinyl to a clear acetate then laid this on the screen covered with a sheet of glass placed under a 500w lamp at a height of 24inchs for 25mins and came out perfect i used a plotter to cut the image first.

John G
10-10-2017, 04:02 PM
Hi Astroid - this thread/post is over 4 years old - I think the OP may have the answer by now - lol.

ASTROID
10-10-2017, 08:30 PM
i know but i was looking for the same answer which i could'nt find so i thought i would post so any one else wanting to try can without spending hrs looking on the net

John G
10-10-2017, 09:28 PM
Very good point - more info cannot be a bad thing.

Daninho
17-08-2020, 05:55 PM
I actually plan to use Vinyl as a stencil on a screen insteal of the UV coating, i think it can work with basic shapes like Fonts etc.. Just a cheap way of screen printing at home with water absed inks i would say.