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screen printing => General Screen Printing => Topic started by: jesterapparel on January 13, 2012, 02:03:32 PM
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Mine has a couple dings in it and leaving streaks on screens no matter what angle I try to put it on.
Over time the coating on the metal chips off I guess, cause I have never dropped it and keep pretty good care of it.
Anyone recommend one that will last awhile if treated well?
Thanks
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I find that the only really significant differences are how much they hold, and whether they are straight up or tipped in the "rest" position.
Many come with either edge protectors or one piece covers.
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We got one in from CCI as part of some deal and I really liked the way it looks. Straight up,
holds a lot, etc. Screen dude likes it too.
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I like the ones made by AWT. They are the gold anodized ones. They have a single and double edge model.
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I got a AWT single edge one and I like it. But, the coater is pretty small which does not bother me, I do not coat a lot of screens at the time.
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This might sound silly or dumb, but I take my scoop coaters and rub a pc of soft wood back and forth over the edges and that keeps then nick free and smoothe. I use a very fine sandpaper once which just did a number on it, so I tried the wood and it seemed to work tons better.
Darryl
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I try not to get nicks on it in the first place. It messes up the coating process.
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I am a good coater. I just do not do that anymore. ::) ::)
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Mine has a couple dings in it and leaving streaks on screens no matter what angle I try to put it on.
Over time the coating on the metal chips off I guess, cause I have never dropped it and keep pretty good care of it.
Anyone recommend one that will last awhile if treated well?
Thanks
did you try sanding those out?
pierre
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John, I'll try to remember to bring mine down Sunday for you to look at. You can keep it and try it for a week or so.
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I have more than a couple Tetko/Sefar (same channel), but it sits tilted, if you can't stand that, you don't want one. I have a "Majestech" (or something) coater that has a tiny radius on the round side, and the tiny flanges on the bottom are extremely hard to grip without putting my thumb on the edge opposite the one I'm coating with.
+1 Pierre on touching up the edge--if you're careful and do it like you're sharpening a blade (i.e. don't just sand the nick, sand the whole edge) it works pretty well for me.
I'm wondering though, Darryl might be onto something--using a chunk of wood like a chefs iron, not actually taking material off, just straightening the edge...
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Guys, they are $30. I am not going to mess with trying to fix the edge. I keep 2 on hand and coat with them for more than a year before upgrading them. You just have to be careful with them...just like screens.
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get a good piece of 300+ sandpaper and just start sanding....we do it regularly to keep it smooth as can be and we treat our scoop coater like gold...
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I don't have nicks in my coaters I just like to rub the wood on them to keep them smoothe and yep the wood won't take anything off just smooths them out. Keeping your coater very clean after coating will allso help keep a coater in good shape.
Darryl
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I'm with MK on this. I want mine to be perfectly smooth and straight. I'll spend a few buck to make sure they are. (And mine ain't cheap!)
No offense Sam, but on this I disagree with you.
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dave...ours is straight and smooth...but I agree buy a great one and keep it that way...just trying to get him through it...
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A red Scotchbrite pad will also clean it up.
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I like the Sefar coater with the blue end caps and dual edges. Nice and deep so it holds plenty of emulsion. Will stand up on it's own or you can make a simple stand for it.
The one at the shop is well over 5 years old. It has build up all over it and would make anyone look at it cross eyed if asked to use it.
It may be old and dirty, but I'll take that one over a brand new one. The edge is about glass smooth and coats beautifully so why replace it.
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Sefar is what I have for hand coating. Mr. Jester, I'll bring it in Sunday and you can play with it for a while. It has a round edge and a sharp edge. It's the one I most prefer.
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I like AWT's dual sided coaters. It just fits nicely in the hands.
Anyone care to post a pic of the sefar? I've tried other coaters out in the past and pretty much hated all but the AWT Pro-Coat. It would be nice if the pro-coat held a little more emulsion though.
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thanks guys
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I like the ones made by AWT. They are the gold anodized ones. They have a single and double edge model.
The single-edged one is the one I started with, and still the only one I use. I bought one of the silver aluminum ones with the plastic end caps and the two edges, but I've never cared for, or gotten used to, the way it sits in my hand. I hold the screen in one hand and the coater in the other, which may explain why I don't like the second one. Seems all of the videos I've seen of people using the second kind show them leaning the screen against something and using two hands with the coater. Anyhoo, I get good results doing it the way I'm doing it now, even if it's bassackwards.
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I like the ones made by AWT. They are the gold anodized ones. They have a single and double edge model.
The single-edged one is the one I started with, and still the only one I use. I bought one of the silver aluminum ones with the plastic end caps and the two edges, but I've never cared for, or gotten used to, the way it sits in my hand. I hold the screen in one hand and the coater in the other, which may explain why I don't like the second one. Seems all of the videos I've seen of people using the second kind show them leaning the screen against something and using two hands with the coater. Anyhoo, I get good results doing it the way I'm doing it now, even if it's bassackwards.
You do it the way that's most comfortable to those who have coated a crap load of screens. I used to do it leaning against the wall and using two hands on the coater, but as you get more skilled at doing it, holding it with one hand works better. The very best screen coaters I've ever seen do it with one hand like we do. My printer now was my screen guy for a few years and his screens were absolute perfection. I gaurantee you an automatic scoop coater wasn't more accurate than he was, and he used the one hand on the coater and the other on the screen, standing up and bent over at the waist. His screens were literally within a tolerance of under 5 microns from one screen to the next of the same mesh, I measured many screens over those two years in amazement that he could be that accurate.
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Alan, I always coated using one hand to hold the screen and one to hold the trough. I can't even guess how many thousands of screens I have coated. When we got
our machine, the Kiwo rep was in measuring stencil thicknesses. He was gloating on how good the machine was doing. I almost hated to tell him he was measuring
screens that I had done by hand the day before. If you do it day in and day out, you can get remarkable results. I'll stick with my automatic coater now though, thanks.
I have my brand new trough set out to take to John tomorrow morning.
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Thing I like about the AWT coater is the ends of the trough keep the emulsion from building up too much and making a thick bead of emulsion on the edges of the coated screen. The Sefar coaters tend to let the emulsion spill over the ends too much.
My favorite coating stand is a Black and Decker Workmate. Just the right height. Clamp a piece of 1x1 in it for a stop that the frame leans against. I coat 1 handed. Works great.
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I have two Sefar coater's, so I don't have to flip it while coating. We polish the edges before each use with an old scrap of denim. I haven't had to buy a new one in a while but AA frames has some great pricing on them.
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I agree with Socalmf we use sandpaper to take care of those dings.
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Sandpaper here too !!
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SERICOL scoop coater has my vote, keep the edge clean and polished.
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+1 on sefar. It is what we started with and never wanted something different. I will admit, as mentioned, it does leave a thin line on the edge though.
two hands. Built a rig in the darkroom so the screens are waste high. Less bending and better repeatability.
pierre
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Where can you find a Sericol coater? I've never seen one.
Need to get some big ones at some point for the flatstock screens and wouldn't mind shopping around.
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I really like the AWT double edge coater. That sucker rocks. the corners of the rounded edge side were too sharp and i had to round them off.