Emulsion Drying times without cabinet

[Fatherviper]

I have tried so far 4 screens at different times and the emulsion did not dry completely. Every time I would try to expose a screen it would completely wash out. How long should I dry a 230 mesh screen before I expose it without a cabinet? I am using the Ryonet HiFi Blue Photopolymer Emulsion

and to expose a 150 watt light for around 5 mins.

[Chuggins]

Hi!

Drying a screen is alllll about moisture evaporation. If there is too much moisture in your emulsion, it will not cross link properly. Now, if your environment has high humidity, you will never be able to evaporate enough moisture to create a proper stencil. So, step one is to find out more about the environment your screen is in. Pick up a hygrometer, this will tell you you current and average humidity and temp over last 24 hours. You want your screens to be in as dry a space as possible, but a good target is 30%-40% relative environmental humidity.

If you have a properly dry space, a screen would naturally evaporate over a few hours - 6 hours is a safe statement on time. If you have a fan blowing directly over it, it can be as quick as an hour - but this is all dependent on humidity and heat.

[Fatherviper]

Thanks for the info. It helped in ways that I cannot explain. Now to the new issue. I am having issues with stencil breakdown. could it be due to the level of humidity in the room (average range 35-42)? I had to delay an order by 2 days due to it breaking down after 25 shirts (it was a complete mess on that shirt. So bad that I had to torch it).

[Fatherviper]

By the way. I am using the base layer emulsion (SKU: CMEM-BLP-Q).