How do you get exposure on Deviant Art?

I'd like advice on building an exposure unit, and anything else related to screenprinting.

• Amateur screenprinters! I am considering building my own exposure unit (for fine art screens -- i'm not trying to start a shirt business). I could use your advice on this matter and anything else related to screenprinting (i'm not completely new to this, but all input is valuable) {mi}. I produced a number of screens a few years ago in my college courses using high wattage lights, but the exposure times were inconsistent and dreadfully long. Now, since I'm making screens for fine arts applications, I don't really care about registration or absolutely picture-perfect exposure (i'll probably be using really rough halftones on my positives), but I *do* care about exposure time. I *hate* spending 15-20 minutes hovering over a screen with a floodlight hoping that the end result will be good enough to bother printing. To that end, I'd like to create a home exposure unit in the $50-100 range (more time than money here; I know I can expose using just the sun, which is free, and I know and I have burned screens with $10 bulbs, so I don't want to spend a fortune making the process easier, but I wouldn't mind spending a hundred bucks to get my ideas on to screens more quickly) and get, at the least, a process that 1) produces usable screens on a regular basis (again, doesn't need to be professional -- i don't need vacuum seals here, or super-fine definition) and 2) is primarily unattended and/or fast. The best I've been able to find on the web so far is http://www.screenprince.com/exposure_unit.htm. My other option was to try the whole http://www.nehoc.com.au/index.html dealie, but after some investigation it seems they are too expensive and not versatile enough for my applications (although I like the idea of going from positive to printing in 10 minutes, it seems like the screens aren't reclaimable, and either way, incredibly tiny. Also, it sounds like the bulbs are one-use only too. Lame!). Mostly I want to know about lights. I've heard special UV lights can work (but the ones recommended were in the grainger catalog and crazy expensive), and the model I linked uses a mercury vapor bulb. My friend has had decent success with halogen lights (suprising, because sources on the web mention that they contain the *least* amount of light necessary for the conversion -- and fwiw, the screens he made with those had a *lot* of clogging problems and fuzzy edges). Also, in a related question -- how about some emulsion suggestions? I've always used diazo, but I've heard that the diazo-photopolymer mix is quicker to expose and still relatively easy to work with. Has anyone had experience with it? Other stuff: any good sources for screenprinting equipment? I've found ebay has a wealth of products, but I wouldn't mind a consistent source. So far, http://poconoscreen.com/ is all I've found. Oil inks vs. water-based? Anything! (particularly advice from a fine arts perspective. it doesn't need to be perfect, and I'm interested in alternative techniques).

• Answer:

  All I can suggest is to use water based inks. Oils will need to be cleaned with turp, and to do that safely you need industrial strength ventilation, or the fumes can build up and kill ya. Or explode.