MY STENCIL DOES NOT WANT TO RECLAIM

Fully, or even over exposed screens, actually reclaim easier than under exposed screens.

Screen makers under-exposure to keep fine lines fro closing up and choking the actual ink print. Under exposure does reduce that problem, but at the cost of stencil durability and the ability to reclaim the stencil. 

Many reclaiming problems result from mistakes made earlier, during the stencil-making process. Chief among these is underexposing the emulsion. Underexposed emulsion can be virtually locked to the threads of the mesh and may resist all efforts to reclaim it. The solution is to buy and learn how to use an exposure calculator or 21 Step Gray scale to measure stencil hardness. 

For reference, please visit the links below to learn how to reclaim a stencil:

• "How Does Capillary Film Work"
• "How Does Direct Emulsion Work"