Blockout a Screen Frame and you’ve mastered an essential part of screen printing.

This is Part 3 in this RhinoTech series following Coating a Screen and Exposing and Developing a Screen Frame.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

To Blockout a screen, the necessary tools include the screen frame that we previously exposed and developed, RB203 that is a thick product and water-soluble. It is a perfect choice to use on coarser mesh counts.  For finer mesh counts, the choice is RB202 that is a thinner product. And, for an absolutely permanent blockout, the choice is RB201.

As a side note, we used the BL1620 Exposure Unit w/backlight.

STEPS TO BLOCKING OUT A SCREEN FRAME

Puddle blockout in the corner of the frame. With the trusty yellow squeegee, spread the product around the edge of the frame. This is important to ensure that all pinholes from dust are covered.

NOTE: RB203 is water-soluble making it easy to wash off the screen. And, the backlight on the Exposure System makes it easy to see where light is potentially seeping through, so you can cover those areas/spots, easily.

Work carefully, though, to make sure that you don’t get any of the blockout on the image.

Let the screen dry.

DOUBLE SECURITY

When the screen is dry, use regular packing tape to tape out around the inside edge of the backside (squeegee side) of the frame. This will ensure that when you print, no ink will get squished between the mesh and the frame.

And, that’s it!