Reclaiming isn’t the most fun part of the screen printing process. With all the scrubbing, waiting, rinsing, and scrubbing some more, it can become a tiresome task. It doesn’t have to be a monumental challenge, though. There’s a simple solution — a dunk tank. A dunk tank (also known as a dip tank) will change your life. How? Let’s dip into it (pun intended).
HOW DOES A DUNK TANK WORK?
It's simple. Fill the tank with 27 gallons of water and three gallons of Emulsion Remover. Place up to six screens in the tank and let them soak for a minute or two. Remove the screens from the tank and use a power washer to remove the emulsion. That's it. How nice is that?
You don't have to worry about any leaks from the tank. It's made of welded aluminum construction, guaranteed to be leak-proof!
WHAT’S NEW
Chances are, you’ve seen a dunk tank before. So what’s different about this one? The Sgreen® Dunk Tank has a simplified design to keep your shop humming along. Want a lid? Don’t worry. There’s an option to add a stainless steel lid to your dunk tank.
The best feature of the Sgreen® Dunk Tank is its new-and-improved aluminum walls. The tank walls are crafted from aluminum instead of plastic, reducing bulging and giving you more peace of mind. You can fill the tank with chemicals and set it aside knowing that those chemicals will stay where you want them to.
USE THE BEST CHEMICALS
Let’s talk chemicals for a second. You’re going to need some in order to fill up your dunk tank. Use friendly chemicals that still perform to your standards to keep yourself and the environment happy.
Take Sgreen® Emulsion Remover, for example. Sgreen® Emulsion Remover is eco-friendly and it powerfully cuts through all types of emulsions including pure photopolymer, dual-cure, and capillary emulsions. With Sgreen® chemicals, you can fill that dunk tank knowing that you’re keeping yourself healthy and still getting the best clean possible.
RELATED: AN ER NURSE’S TAKE ON SCREEN PRINTING
HOW TO USE A DUNK TANK
This all sounds great, right? If you use the dunk tank properly, you’ll have a super easy job reclaiming screens. Here are a few tips you should know to do it right every time.
First, put the water into the tank and then pour in the Emulsion Remover. If you pour in the remover first, it'll get foamy and therefore take longer to fill. You’ll have to wait for the foam to go away in order to add more Emulsion Remover, which can take a few hours. The solution will be milky.
When you’re using the dunk tank for the first time, test it out first. Put one screen in the tank and let it soak for 30 seconds. Pull it out and power wash it off. If it works great, then get to reclaiming. If you notice any issues, leave the screen in the tank for a longer period of time. You may see parts of the emulsion start to fall off in the dip tank. It's nothing to worry about, the emulsion will not affect the efficiency of the solution.
PRO TIP: Thicker mesh counts take longer to reclaim than thinner mesh counts. Low mesh count screens have a thicker stencil. Adjust your reclaim wait times with the dunk tank to accommodate this.
Make sure to remove all the ink off the screen before placing it in the dunk tank. You may already have bits of emulsion floating to the bottom, and you don't need ink on top of that. Grab either Sgreen® Supreme Wash or Sgreen® Ink Degrader to wipe off all ink and then set screens into the dip tank.
RELATED: BEST PRACTICES FOR CLEANING INK OFF SCREENS
CLEANING YOUR DUNK TANK
What should you do when it's time to replenish the solution? As you'll notice, when you remove screens from the tank, some of the solution leaves the tank. Eventually, it'll need to be replenished.
It’s best to clean it every time the tank needs more solution. Here’s how to do it:
- Use a sump pump—like the one in the Sgreen® Filtration System—to remove the solution through a filtration system so any byproducts don’t go down the drain.
- Clean out the tank. Rinse it out and wash the sides of any residue.
- Refill the tank with water and Emulsion Remover.
Keeping the tank clean means you'll maintain a sharp, effective reclaiming process.
Having a dunk tank in your shop saves you a lot of energy and time. You can simply pop your screens in the tank and get back to watching that new show you’ve been binging. Reclaim screens from the comfort of your couch with the Sgreen® Dunk Tank.