syllabus — ART 231 & ART 331 — Screen Printing

End of Quarter Clean Up

overview:

We need to clean every screens and help reset the studio for the next quarter. Some of this cleaning will happen throughout the quarter, and some will happen during exam week. If you know that cleaning during exam week will be problematic for your schedule, please make arrangements to clean before the start of exam week.

Cleaning (especially screen cleaning) is part of the course grade (see syllabus).

scope of cleaning:

• SCREENS:
  Go through the racks and find each screen that you’ve used. Remove all the tape on the screen. Clean out any remaining ink, gunk, adhesives, screen filer, emulsion, or any other residue left on the screens. Ink haze (discoloring of the mesh) is OK as long as you can see through the screen mesh. All other residue is a problem unless it is at the very edge of the screen where it will be covered by tape.
  
  If you can, please clean additional screens that do not have a name on them, so they are not left for the end of the quarter. Any unidentified screens will be cleaned before or during out exam time.
  
  Once clean, place clean screens in the designated area. If a designated area is not yet set up, place near the top of a screen rack.
  
  Ripped or severely damaged “un cleanable” screens should be shown to the instructor, then labeled with “ripped” or “clogged” on a piece of tape, and put in the designated area for ripped/clogged screens.
  
  Turn off the washout booth and store the cleaning materials once cleaning is complete.
  
  
  
• SINK:
  Screens and squeegees and ink knives and scoop coaters, etc. should not be stored in or near the sink. They can sit near the sink temporarily to dry, but they should go back to their places – even if still wet. The storage spaces for these tools allow for wet items to dry.
  
  Check that the washout booth is properly turned off.

• ROOM PICK UP:
  Please do you part to re-organize inks and tools and equipment in our studio. Areas that often need organization are: sink, ink shelves, drying racks, vinyl/transparency rolls.
  
  Check that the washout booth is properly turned off.

• DRYING RACK & FLAT FILE ORGANIZATION:
  Gather your dry work from the drying rack and store it together. You may store it in a stack on the drying rack, or in a stack in the class flat file drawers. The goal is to keep it together so nothing is forgotten when you are ready to take it home (or swap it with your classmates at the end of the quarter).
  
  

end of quarter cleaning:
Official end of quarter cleaning begins the day after our final critique, but you are welcome to begin cleaning all your screens the moment you finish your last print for the quarter. If you are sure you’ve already cleaned everything (and you have no screens hiding somewhere) then you can sign off on screen cleaning with me rather than signing up for a cleaning timeslot.

A physical cleaning sign off & cleaning time slot sign up will be posted in the print room near the end of the quarter.

You will be able to sign up for time slots for cleaning:

Times & Days: Determined at least two weeks prior to the end of the quarter.

At our Scheduled Exam Time we will do a “final pass” cleanup of the room, drying racks, and flat files at that time - while we have an optional artwork swap to trade prints with your classmates.

cleaning resources:
Please see printed versions of all these resources (and more!) in the green printmaking binder located in the printmaking room (attached to the ink shelf).

Washout Booth Instructions (PDF)

Emulsion Removal cheat sheet (PDF)

Drawing Fluid & Screen Filler cheat sheet (PDF)

Clean That Screen (PDF)