Recent research findings on “Effects of Drying Temperature on Screen Tension Part 2” by Screen Printing Technical Foundation (SPTF) show that screen tension loss which occurs with higher drying temperatures is permanent, and further mysterious dips follow stencil washout, reclamation and degreasing.

In 2002, the Foundation confirmed that higher drying temperatures cause a reduction in screen tension. The 2005 experiment mimicked its earlier heat vs. tension project with two additional sets of screens and extended the testing to include printing each screen with 250 impressions.

“Our goal was to track the screens farther in the process to see if stabilization occurred differently based on temperature,” said Dawn Hohl, Technical Manager, SPTF.

 

Theresearch observed three main conclusions:
• Higher drying temperatures result in permanent tension loss.
• Screen tension remained virtually unchanged before, during and after printing on all meshes.
“Recommendations based on this study are to keep drying temperatures as standard as possible to ensure screen to screen tension consistency,” he said.

The report, which is expected to be out in July, includes explanations for permanent tension loss as well as guidelines for drying screens. SGIA members will be able to download it from SGIA.org once the report is released.
For further details visit www.sgia.org