Experiment -- Laser Cutting into Silk Screen

We had talked about using a laser cutter to burn an image into silk screen for printing.  The laser cutter worked just fine -- at least at 30% power and 80 speed the result was clean:

All at 80 speed on the laser cutter --

20%, 10%, 30% (left to right)

However we could not coat the metal mesh evenly -- as PINHOLES surfaced in the thin spots when the emulsion dried:

Pinholes in the dried emulsion coat

dried on a metal screen

The emulsion went on thin and even when we applied it to a regular polyester silk screen.  So the trick remains in applying the emulsion.

The solution might be to just coat the screen twice, to fill in the pinholes -- but after it has been stretched over a frame.

THE EXPERIMENT

On November 26, 2025 Quelab, we experimented and laser cut a one centimeter square into a metal mesh successfully. The idea ultimately is to stretch this metal mesh over a frame and then laser cut an image into it -- and then print it with the regular silk screen technique:

We coated a 250 mesh metal screen

with ecotex TEX BLUE emulsion

When the emulsion dried, 

we cut it off with the laser cutter at Quelab

All at 80 speed on the laser cutter --

20%, 10%, 30% (left to right)

ecotex

TEX BLUE emulsion

No diazo required

First Failure

We taped the metal screen down onto paper to make it flat, and then applied the emulsion:

The paper tore off too

when the emulsion dried

Ultimately I would like to laser cut my drawings into silk screen and print them:

November 18, 2024

Editing for more SPARKLE

My drawing

ready for silk screen

November 19, 2025

AI improved my drawing,

which would translate better into silk screen

• Silk screening would translate my drawings into prints better than the relief linocut method.