Chromaline TECH/PL screen printing emulsion

With a high solids content of 50%, TECH/PL enables efficient production of stencils with the required thickness. Its relatively low water content also contributes to faster drying and shorter exposure times, providing significant advantages during the screen-making process.

The product is particularly suitable for textile printing applications requiring thick ink deposits and sharp, well-defined stencil edges.

Key Features

1. Single-Component SBQ Technology – No Sensitizer Mixing Required

TECH/PL is a single-component SBQ (Single-Component SBQ Emulsion) screen printing emulsion.

Conventional two-component diazo emulsions require the user to mix the emulsion with a separate sensitizer in the specified ratio and allow the mixture to stabilize before use.

In contrast, TECH/PL is supplied pre-sensitized and ready to use, eliminating the need for additional sensitizer mixing.

This helps minimize mixing errors and reduces screen preparation time, improving workflow efficiency.

2. Specifically Designed for Textile Screen Printing

TECH/PL is specifically formulated for textile screen printing, including printing on T-shirts, fabrics, and various textile products.

In addition to conventional textile printing, the emulsion is suitable for applications requiring relatively thick stencils, making it versatile across different textile screen printing environments.

3. High Solids Content – 50%

One of the most important characteristics of TECH/PL is its high solids content of 50%.

Solids are the components of the emulsion that remain on the screen mesh after drying and form the stencil film.

A higher solids content allows the emulsion to build stencil thickness more efficiently under comparable coating conditions, making it particularly advantageous for thick-stencil applications or printing processes requiring heavy ink deposits.

In certain textile printing applications, a greater amount of ink must be deposited onto the fabric compared with conventional printing processes. These applications require sufficient stencil thickness.

The high solids content of TECH/PL helps achieve consistent stencil formation for such applications.

4. Low Water Content – Fast Drying

With a solids content of 50%, TECH/PL has a relatively low water content.

After coating the screen, the emulsion must be completely dried before exposure. Extended drying times can significantly increase the overall screen-making cycle.

TECH/PL's fast-drying characteristics help reduce drying delays and allow screens to proceed to the exposure stage more quickly.

This advantage can improve productivity, particularly in screen-printing facilities that prepare multiple screens each day.

5. Extremely Fast Exposure

One of the major advantages of the SBQ photopolymer system is its high photosensitivity and rapid exposure capability.

TECH/PL offers short exposure times, making it advantageous for reducing screen-making time compared with conventional diazo emulsions.

Shorter exposure times reduce the total time required to prepare each screen, improving efficiency in production environments where large numbers of screens are made repeatedly.

Technical Note: Actual exposure times may vary depending on the UV output of the exposure unit, lamp type, distance between the light source and screen, mesh specifications, and emulsion coating thickness.

Therefore, an exposure test is recommended to determine the appropriate exposure time before production.

6. Sharp, Well-Defined Stencil Edges

When properly coated, TECH/PL produces sharp stencil edges with a nearly square stencil profile.

This stencil profile helps maintain consistent openings through which ink passes during the screen-printing process.

In high-build printing applications, rounded or uneven stencil edges may affect the shape and quality of the deposited ink layer.

Sharp stencil walls and well-defined edges contribute to more consistent ink deposits and cleaner, more precise printed images.

7. Medium Viscosity – Consistent Coating Performance

TECH/PL features medium viscosity.

Its consistency helps minimize excessive emulsion runoff or dripping during screen coating.

When used with an appropriate coating technique, the emulsion supports the formation of a uniform coating across the screen mesh.

The combination of high solids content and medium viscosity provides better control over emulsion coating thickness, particularly for textile printing and thick-stencil applications.

8. Aqua Blue Color

TECH/PL is supplied in Aqua Blue.

The colored emulsion allows operators to inspect the coated screen and identify image areas more easily.

It also facilitates stencil inspection after washout, helping operators detect minor defects or imperfections in the stencil.

Why TECH/PL Is Suitable for High-Build Printing

Unlike conventional textile printing, high-build printing requires a sufficiently thick stencil to allow a greater volume of ink to pass through the screen and form a raised or thick ink deposit on the fabric surface.

TECH/PL offers several characteristics that support these requirements:

• 50% High Solids Content: Supports efficient thick-stencil formation.
• Medium Viscosity: Provides better control over coating thickness.
• Fast Drying: Helps reduce overall screen-making time.
• Sharp Stencil Edges: Supports uniform ink deposits and well-defined print profiles.

Together, these features make TECH/PL suitable for thick-stencil screen preparation in textile printing applications.

Technical Specifications

Storage Instructions and Handling Precautions

TECH/PL must be stored under appropriate conditions and protected from freezing.

Special care should be taken during winter transportation or prolonged storage in low-temperature warehouses to prevent the product from freezing.

As a photosensitive emulsion, the product should also be stored in a cool, dark environment and protected from inappropriate light exposure when not in use.

Coated screens must be thoroughly dried in a dark, clean, and low-dust environment before exposure.

Recommended Initial Exposure Test Settings

The following table provides suggested starting values for exposure testing with different mesh counts and coating configurations.

Technical Notes:

These values are recommended starting points for exposure testing, not fixed exposure times applicable to every exposure system.

Actual exposure times must be established through exposure testing based on UV intensity, mesh specifications, emulsion thickness, coating method, and equipment conditions.

The 2/1 and 1/1 coating ratios indicate the number of coating passes according to the screen-making procedure. The sequence of coating passes on the print side and squeegee side should be confirmed before use.