Yesterday I went into the print studios do you some more primary research in the form of flocking and foiling. I was aware that you are able to complete this process using fresh print outs from a laser printer and the heat press, however I found that when others on the course tried this before me it was very unpredictable and most times unsuccessful.
I also tried using a fresh print out and putting it through the laminating machine in the library, however using this was very much unsuccessful as there was no way of really determining the temperature of the machine. Therefore I went with the last and most reliable option, using a fabric screen and a heat press.
How I completed the process:
The process of preparing a screen is similar to that of screen print. However picking the right sized screen is optimal for this process. Fabric screens are not as elastic as regular screens and therefore have less 'give'. For this reason you must pick a fabric screen that allows your design to lay in the centre of the screen with a good amount of room around the edge, this ensure that when the screen is pressed down with the squeegee it will make successful contact with the stock.
After I picked my screen I filled the regular procedure of preparing a screen. I took it to the wash room and scrubbed both sides with b-strip and a sponge before power hosing the front of the screen to remove the previous persons emulsion and design. After doing this I left the screen to dry.
Once the screen was dry I applied a new coat of emulsion. When doing this you need to make sure that the coat is consistent and thin, to ensure this, one I had coated the front of my screen, I ran back over it with a trough to remove extra emulsion from anywhere where it had built up too thickly. Once this layer is applied it needs to dry thoughroughly. As my screen was small (an a5 screen) I only had to leave it in the cupboard to dry for 1 hour. However the larger the screen, the longer it will take to dry.
Once the screen was dry it was ready to be re exposed. To to this it placed my black positives face up in the exposure box and placed my screen face down. I then got one of the technicians to set the exposure screens off as, only third years are sometimes able to do this by themselves.
The exposure box counts down from 110. Once the light box has finished counting down and the vacuum has fully released the screen is fully exposed. The screen then needs a light rinse, I did this in the wash booth in the exposing room, gently rub both sides of the screen with a sponge. Rubbing too hard or using the blasting hose will remove the design.
Once the screen is dry it is ready for use. I found that the best way to use the screens was to secure it into one of the mobile frames which can be used on the normal tables in the print room. Once it was secured in the frame, I register the print and positioned my stock. This is where foiling and flocking becomes very different to screen print. Instead of using ink, you have to used adhesive and this can only be ran through the screen approx 3 times before it needs to be washed out again. This is because the adhesive dries very fast and if left in the screen for too long without washing it can block and leave the screen unusable. Once I had ran a number of different stocks with the adhesive I cleaned and put away my screen. I took my printed stock and flock/foil materials to the heat press. Experimenting, I tried a number of different combinations.
When adding foil to your adhesive it followed these list of steps:
Make a sandwich. Fold a piece of newsprint in half inside your newsprint place your adhesive printed stock face up, place your foil on top of the print, ensuring it covers the whole design, facing upward. One I had done this it was ready to be put into the press. Foiling has to be done inside the heat press at 160 degrees for 12 seconds. I placed my work sandwich inbetween the press plates and clamped it in, following the temperature and time constraints. Once this was done I unclamped the press and removed the sandwich. This has to be left to fully cool down before peeling away.
I followed the same routine for flocking however the flock MUST be placed face down (fuzzy side down). This is put into the press for 20 seconds at 170 degrees. This must also be left to cool down fully before peeling away.
Below are the results I got from combining both print processes on a selection of different stocks:
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