Earlier this week I started pricing out materials to build a washout booth for reclaiming the photo emulsion on my screens after printing. Then, I happened to have good timing and found a used washout booth here in town. A screen print shop had upgraded their booth and didn't need this anymore. I did a little trade, slipped it in the trunk, and took it home to be cleaned up. I got pretty much everything cleaned out except the red plastisol ink in the pan. I'll work on that some more later. So, here’s a few photos of the washout booth in various stages of being cleaned. I also made a time-lapse of the washout booth being re-assembled.
this was sitting in corner of a screen print shop waiting to be rescued
it almost fit in my trunk, but alas, i had to take it apart to get it home
Not everything shows up in the pictures that I took, but it was a mess! The booth was covered in dried photo emulsion and plastisol ink. For those of you who don’t know screen printing; if you let the chemicals used to take out the photo emulsion dry out, the emulsion becomes so hard you can’t reclaim it with the standard chemicals. You’ll have to either have the screen re-screened or use caustic chemicals to get it out. I used Envirohaze, which is a non-hazardous, non-caustic haze remover. I’ll have another post on that at a later time.
For those of you who are curious, I added a time-lapse video of the washout booth being reassembled. The booth is designed to be flat packed to save on shipping costs. I do admire the thought that went into attaching the threaded inserts to the metal instead of using loose nuts. This helps make it easier to assemble without an assistant or another set of tools.
Originally, when I was planning on making a washout booth from scratch, I wanted to make one of chemical resistant materials that you could buy locally. I also planned on making a water recycling tank that I could hook up to my pressure washer so I could use it in areas that may not have immediate access to a garden hose or proper drainage (i.e. public demonstrations, workshops, or a side yard). I think that i will still explore that option at a later time.
Why a washout booth?
For the non-printmakers out there, you may be wondering why have a washout booth for screen printing? When working at home, you have a bath tub or shower that you can use, but the chemicals used can stain or ruin the finish of your bath tub. Who really wants to shower in the same tub that you just reclaimed your screen in? I have used my bathtub for reclaiming screens, but it is quite the effort to clean out the chemical stains and still not get everything out. I’m a renter and I sure would like to get my deposit back and be a responsible renter.
A screen printing washout booth is elevated to make it easier to clean or reclaim a screen. Some models are backlit to allow you to inspect the screen image as you are washing it out after exposing or as your are reclaiming. Some can even save on space. A commercial booth is built with materials like stainless steel (your best option), galvanized steel, or a polypropylene that is resistant to the chemicals being used in screen printing. Even some of the non-toxic or environmentally safe chemicals can strip paint or melt some plastics.
Whenever you can, have your washout booth connected directly to a drain, or at least drain into a stainless-steel utility sink if you have a counter top booth like mine. DO NOT drain into a sink that is in contact with food (i.e. kitchen sink) or your bathroom sink (can get chemicals in your eyes when washing your face). Also, be aware if your city has laws about what you can’t put in the drain. Some ordinances may require you to have an approved filtration system to sort out the chemicals and debris before being sent down the drain -do your research. You can use a garden hose and/or a pressure washer to clean out the screen in the booth.
I have seen print shops and studios where someone used a utility sink or elevated a bathtub insert as a washout booth. This is fine, but I’m not certain that it will withstand some of the caustic haze removers if you choose to use them. However, this method can be an acceptable alternative. I was considering this as one of my options awhile back. Heck, you can find tubs and utility sinks on Craigslist or OfferUp for not too much.
Mobile device users will notice that when you select a photo, there is a tiny white dot to the lower right of the screen. When you click on the dot the description will pop up. You can continue to swipe between the photos with the description. If you want to disable the description just touch the dot again.