First off, Amazon offers the best price that I have found for Yudu products, but it is still an expensive tool.
I have had mixed luck with the emulsion sheets. My first try worked well, but it took a long time for the drying step. My second round quickly turned into my third sheet of emulsion as it was difficult to see what was and wasn't dry so I ended up smudging the emulsion to a point that my design was ruined. So BE SURE the emulsion is thoroughly dry before trying to remove the protective plastic sheet. I also found that washing the emulsified screen (say, when changing colors), the emulsion could not take a lot of washing -it tended to bubble. In fact it bubbled even while going through the first drying step. Once bubbled, it's near impossible to fix.
I also think that finely detailed images gave the emulsion some trouble, as bits would bubble of easily or I couldn't remove emulsion easily in other spots. Stick with bold, simple images for best results.
One tip that was subtly mentioned (for obvious reasons), you can cut the emusion sheets to smaller pieces to better fit your project -instead of using one whole sheet on a small image. This may seem obvious to some, but I wasn't sure if it would affect the final product. I think this would also shorten drying times as the emulsion seems to dry on teh edges quicker than the middle.
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The emulsion sheets seem very convient, but they don't work well. If the emulsion doesn't adhere properly a sheet is wasted, at the high cost it just isn't worth it. A MUCH better, easier and cheaper product is the Diazo emulsion it works wonderfully and you can do MANY more prints per application.
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I am not happy with the quality of the "original" Yudu emulsion sheets. Two of the packages I purchased contained emulsion sheets which had bonded together and were completely useless as there is no way to separate them: scratch 4 emulsion sheets to poor quality control = $32+S&H that I might as well have thrown out my window while driving. My third package had two distinct and separate sheets, yay. When I went to prepare the screen as it shows in the video that accompanied the Yudu unit, the emulsion did not want to stick to the wet screen at all and there were air bubbles that refused to come out rubbing the underside with a paper towel (like the lady says to do in the video). I finally just sprayed the underside of the screen with a spray bottle which helped with the non-sticking problem but didn't help much with the air bubbles. 5 minutes later, after squeeging, squirting and wet paper-towel rubbing the emulsion still contains air bubbles on about 30% of the surface area. This emulsion sheet isn't staining the wet paper towel like the ones that were stuck together so I am guessing that it is dried out or improperly mixed. I am going to make a video of preparing the remaining emulsion sheet and post it to YouTube. I contacted Yudu after having issues with the first emulsion screens being bonded together and they have never replied. I am EXTREMELY unhappy with the quality of the Yudu original emulsion sheets and am equally unhappy with their lack of cutomer service.
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My primary complaint about the sheets is one wont cover the 'whole screen' but I've found regular scotch or packing tape will block out the paint just as well as the blockout goo.
1. When wetting down the sceen, I've found holding the screen vertically, and spraying it for a few seconds with my sinks sprayer and shaking it off made it 'properly' damp on a consistent basis. (If you do not have a sink sprayer, a garden wateringcan will achieve the same effect being water pressure is not necessary).
2. I set the emulsion sheet on the screen and use the squeegee to rub it onto the screen (again still upward at an angle)and this has always removed all the air bubbles for me, then flip it over and spray any 'dry' areas with a spray bottle, rubbing it in with fingers until all dry zones are clear.
3. I usually make my screen the day before my project, so that it has plenty of time to dry. I live in Louisiana, humidity central. So I usually do three cycles (or just let it air-dry in the dark overnight) and then let it stand an hour in the dark. Remove the protective sheet slooooowly! Ripping it off in a hurry guarantees tears in the image. If it shows resistance, work on the opposite corner of the screen and come at it from a different direction.
4. When exposing, Find someone good at tracing, and let them trace the image with a black permanent marker on the STICKY side of the transparency. This will make a deep black line that will completely block out the light and my screens have rinsed off beautifully since we started doing so.
With a little trial and error, I found the sheets very preferable to the jars of emulsion goop, if too small for a single sheet to cover the whole screen. Have masking or weak tape handy each time, and remove the tape during the screen rinsing process after paint jobs so it doesn't hold ink on the screen. We made over 25 shirts for a christmas party without needing the blocker. I only recommend that product for minor defects on the screen to extend its use-life before it has to be redone completely.
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Yudu's biggest failure yet, the photo emulsion sheet. This product rarely does what it is supposed to. NEVER adheres completely and ALWAYS gets air bubbles. If you don't get it PERFECT on the first shot, you cannot peel it off and try again because you will RUIN the sheet. You may as well just lite a $20 bill on fire instead of buying this product. When it comes to screen printing, it's best to stay old school and stick with classic emulsion. Also, be warned: almost no craft stores will accept returns/exchanges on this product. So if you buy it here and it sucks (and it will) don't expect to pull one over on Michaels and trade it in for credit. They have signs posted near the Yudu machines that say they will not accept them. Bottom line, other then a condensed area to burn/print your screen-prints, the Yudu set-up is generally garbage. I have done both the classic Speedball-type printing and now (regretfully) own a Yudu. I am going back to Speedball.
