laser engraving and screen printing

[Jan Devera]

Hi,
I got maybe a crazy idea.Would be possible to use laser engraving for simple screen printing sieve? Has anyone ever tried anything similar?
My idea is to use a dense network of thin metal stick it on some weak material and engrave picture into this material. Metal network would keep the theme together. Then this could be used for direct printing such as T-shirts .....

[Dee Gallo]

Jan,

They do make stainless steel mesh which you could use... I don't know how it will print, but it seems like the theory should work. If you are not going to print a hundred of anything, you could get away with a paper or vinyl mask. Otherwise you should think about a fluid film which when dry can be lasered.

Maybe not so crazy! dee

[Martin Boekers]

Maybe a use for the liquid laser masking out there.

I've heard some do that with a vinyl cutter. Cut the vinyl then
attach it to a screen.

[Joe Pelonio]

Maybe a use for the liquid laser masking out there.

I've heard some do that with a vinyl cutter. Cut the vinyl then
attach it to a screen.
For big screenprint jobs i use black intermediate vinyl plotter cut and applied to acetate to burn the screen using the
emulsion/uv light method. for a short run single color where fine detail/print quality is not an issue the vinyl can be applied directly to the screen.

[Jan Devera]

Liquid laser masking with steel mesh is great idea.... That could work even beter.Yea vinyl cut works but this should be mucheasier and usable for any images...

[Bryce Mccloud]

Hi there I'm new to lasers but I've been silkscreening on and off for awhile.

I like the idea in concept - but wouldn't the steel mesh be really hard on your squeegees? I guess if it was really fine it might not be a big deal.

ps what is liquid laser mask? does that exist? (did I say I'm new)

[Richard Rumancik]

Jan, you might find that even a paint would work. If you paint the stainless screen and then laser the pattern it should ablate the paint from the holes in the mesh. You might have to experiment to see what paint works best. Obviously this would only work with metal screens.

If you are currently using emulsion, what if you applied emulsion and exposed the entire stencil? Then burned away the emulsion pattern with the laser. I assume it is an organic liquid and will ablate with the laser. Then you could reclaim the stainless screen after use using the standard strippers.

[Martin Boekers]

Hi there I'm new to lasers but I've been silkscreening on and off for awhile.

I like the idea in concept - but wouldn't the steel mesh be really hard on your squeegees? I guess if it was really fine it might not be a big deal.

ps what is liquid laser mask? does that exist? (did I say I'm new)


Laserbits and another company sell a liquid mask. This could be used for coating say a piece of wood
then lasering through it. By doing this you can now fill the lasered areas with an ink or paint without
getting it all over the wood.

One thing with this liquid mask or if using a paint, the screen ink may act as a solvent and degrade
the mask or paint so you may have to play with it.

[Dee Gallo]

I would concerned with pulling a rubber squeegee over a liquid mask... would probably remove it or at least damage it. You could use a cardboard squeegee which you'd have to replace every so often.

[Jan Devera]

I'm going to try it with liquid mask.. But have to first create simple metal screen printing sieve...
What is interesting, if this method will work, it will easily and quickly produce a template for the screen press, even for raster graphics ....

[Doug Lynch]

I would like to know the results of this test.
We pad print and I always thought that we could make pad printing plates on the laser but have never tried.

Doug

[Martin Boekers]

I'm going to try it with liquid mask.. But have to first create simple metal screen printing sieve...
What is interesting, if this method will work, it will easily and quickly produce a template for the screen press, even for raster graphics ....


Heck, if you have a UV set-up you may try the regular screen coat.
Just make sure it is laserable, same with the liquid mask if you use one
not necessarly designed to laser. Not to mention if it is combustible!
STAY SAFE!

Most the screen places will send a sample of their meshes if you ask.

[Dee Gallo]

Heck, if you have a UV set-up you may try the regular screen coat.
Just make sure it is laserable, same with the liquid mask if you use one
not necessarly designed to laser. Not to mention if it is combustible!
STAY SAFE!

Most the screen places will send a sample of their meshes if you ask.

Good point, Marty! Rubber cement is extremely flammable. And it burns like napalm...

[Thomas Bank]

With the ease of the photo-developing systems for screen printing, I'm not sure that I see the purpose for lasering a screen. Perhaps I am missing something.

[Richard Rumancik]

I don't think you are missing anything; it is just an issue of what tools you have at your disposal and how often something is done. People are just trying to be creative with the equipment they have on hand. For those who have fully equipped shops and specialize in an area, and use the equipment every day, they wonder why someone would go to all the trouble to come up with what they see as a MacGyver scheme.

Recently we talked about cutting vinyl on the laser - and of course, those who have plotter/cutters wonder why someone would waste their time trying to cut vinyl on the laser when you can use a vinyl cutter. Sure . . . if you have one. If you only do it occasionally you try to make do with what you have. Or they ask - why try to use the laser when a CNC router would be better? No problem . . . just buy a small router and software for $10K, and find the space to set it up and work to keep it busy.

Sometimes people just like to experiment without investing a lot of money, to see if it is something they should invest in.

The printing industry has evolved such that computer-to-plate methods are more common. They eliminate the need for a photographic negative. There is similar technology for pad printing - using a laser to make cliches eliminating the film negative. This is the way the technology seems to be going. Film negatives will probably disappear in the fabrication of printed circuit boards as they go to laser imaging. Maybe a laser engraver is not the ideal way to direct-etch a screen for screenprinting, but I'll bet that you will see more systems developed in the future that eliminate the negatives.

[Richard Rumancik]

I would like to know the results of this test.
We pad print and I always thought that we could make pad printing plates on the laser but have never tried.

Well, it is currently done with dedicated YAG and CO2 lasers - if I was in the pad printing business and had a laser engraver, I'd give it a try at least. There is some interesting info at inkcups.com. They sell the Cobalt engravers for pad printing. (Yag and Co2). I think they are both galvo but for the size of a cliche I don't see the problem with a raster machine. You will have to develop a system for getting a proper spot size and depth. You need to keep the depth pretty small - much less than .001". You may need a better lens - I would expect 1.5" FL and smaller would be better. Over such a small area you should not have depth of field problems.

I'd buy some laserable cliches and have a go at it. But what is learned form direct lasering of screens will have nothing to do with making cliches - they are quite different methods.

[Darryl Hazen]

I've lasered cliche plates for pad printing. Method I used was to harden the cliche polymer using a UV lamp. Then laser the artwork onto the plate. I don't recall the exact settings on the laser but the plate turned out fine. Problem is, this method is no faster than exposing the plate using the usual pad print method.

[AL Ursich]

In my Navy Days visiting Subic Bay, PI (1977 and 1987) the Street Vendor T-Shirt Shops used wide computer paper print outs and a x-acto knife to first sketch the letters and designs then cut them out. Stick to some screen and print away.... They even did multi color.... The Quality was OK and the shirts cheap.... If I remember correct, he used 2 screens.... One under and one over the paper...

AL

[Daniel Osman]

I'm going to try it with liquid mask.. But have to first create simple metal screen printing sieve...
What is interesting, if this method will work, it will easily and quickly produce a template for the screen press, even for raster graphics ....

How did you get on with this, I'd be interested to know?