Basic DIY Woodglue Photoemulsion

These Instructions will lay bare the simplicity and flexibility of making photoemulsion for screenprinting. I feel that the Photoreactivity of emulsion spooks some beginners, who think something like a dark room is needed. Watch as i burn a screen with no regard for ambient lighting and the most minimal of materials.

Woodglue - I had the tail end of a bottle , like 1/4 cup or so

Potassium DiChromate - bought some about a year ago and haven't even used half. I dumped out what looked like about 1/4 gram ish.

water from the tap

squeegee

stretched screen

random clear sticker with a muppet drawn on in sharpie

scrubbie

Step 1: Mix Dichromate and Tapwater in a Little Vial

Added a few ml of water and shook until mostly dissolved.

Step 2: Dump and Shake

dump the vial of now orange water into the glue bottle. wear gloves and shake it well. at this point it becomes photosensitive so i moved to the dimly lit bathroom

Step 3: Coat the Screen

I just squirt it on and smooth both sided again and again. whatever scrapes off onto the squeegee is discarded until theres no holes or unevenness. Immediately i dried it with the hairdryer on cool for about five minutes. Keep it dim, once dry the emulsions sensitivity is at max.

Step 4: Make a Master

this one some dude drew and left at my house. Its just sharpie on clear vinyl

Step 5: Burn (exposure)

Stuck the sticker on, put a black board under and set it in the partial sun for 30-60 seconds. check after thirty you should see a marked color change. if not, give it more sun

Step 6: Washout

peel off the master and wet the screen. let it sit a couple minutes then rub it gently with fingertips under cold water . once the emulsion is washing out a short burst from the spray nozzle will clear it out. Be careful. after its clear let it cook in the sun to dry

Step 7: Print!

Thats it , It works!