Screen Printing Cleaning: Which Wipe Fits Each Station, From Screens and Presses to Glass, Acrylic and PCB Printing

Screen printing cleaning works best when each station gets its own wipe. Ink and oil on screens, squeegees, flood bars and press frames call for a durable meltblown wipe: the LICK L7207 on a perforated roll for busy fixed stations, or the L8138 quarterfold for scattered stations with no tearing needed. PCB, LCD and other areas with a cleanliness requirement call for a soft spunlace wipe such as LGK3, whose product page lists screen printing machines, or LGK5.

This guide is for specialty print shops working on glass, acrylic, electronic components, PCBs, film, aluminum and tile, and for the distributors who supply them. It covers a station-by-station table, how to wipe glass and acrylic, using wipes with press wash and solvents, and how to turn station use into cartons.

Different stations in a print shop deal with different dirt and different surfaces. A single shop can match wipes station by station rather than using one wipe everywhere.

Stations outside the print room, such as assembly, maintenance or food lines, are covered in our guide to industrial wipers by industry.

The L7207 and L8138 are the same material, a polyester meltblown nonwoven at 73 GSM and 0.8 mm thick. The difference is how they dispense.

The product pages describe both as super durable and low lint, acid- and base-resistant, and suited to use with solvents and alcohol. The L7207 page notes that it absorbs printing ink and machine oil.

A typical press-side cleanup runs like this:

1. Card the excess ink off the screen, squeegee and flood bar back into the ink container with a scoop card or spatula before any wiping.
2. Tear one L7207 sheet off the roll, or take one L8138 sheet from the pack, and wipe the remaining ink off the squeegee blade and the flood bar, working from one end to the other.
3. For ink left on the mesh at a color change, apply the shop’s press wash to a fresh wipe rather than straight onto the screen, and wipe the image area from both sides of the screen.
4. Follow with a dry wipe to lift the loosened ink and the leftover wash.
5. Put used wipes in the closed waste container the shop uses for ink- and solvent-soaked waste.

Reclaiming a screen, removing emulsion and ghost images, is a separate chemical and washout process. The wipes cover press-side ink cleanup and color changes.

The L7207 and L8138 product pages list printing and glass cleaning and LCD panel assembly among their uses, and the L8138 page names PCB printing and lens wiping. Within those uses, each substrate has its own points to watch:

Inks, solvents and cleanliness needs vary from shop to shop even on the same substrate, so trial samples at your own stations before standardizing.

Where the print area has a cleanliness requirement, a spunlace cleanroom wipe takes over from the meltblown cloths. The LGK3 cleanroom wipes product page describes cleanroom and screen printing cleaning, and lists screen printing machines, cleanroom areas and LCD-related manufacturing areas. The LGK5 cleanroom wipes are listed for clean rooms and semiconductor-related manufacturing areas.

Both product pages list low lint among their SGS test items, alongside formaldehyde, heavy metals, E. coli and migrating fluorescent agents. Which wipe suits which grade of clean area is covered in our guide to cleanroom wipe classes.

The product pages state what each wipe is built for. The L7207 and L8138 are acid- and base-resistant and suited to use with solvents and alcohol, and they can be used with alcohol or organic solvents to clean dirt. The LGK3 works well with solvents and is listed as acid-, base- and solvent-resistant.

Before a new wipe goes on the line, test it with the press wash or solvent you actually use. Wet one sheet, wipe a typical surface, and check whether the sheet fuzzes, tears or leaves marks.

Let presses that have just stopped and heat transfer jigs cool before wiping them, and keep wipes away from open flame, as the product precautions note. How solvents and solvent-soaked wipes are stored and disposed of depends on local rules and each chemical’s SDS, so check the requirements where you operate.

Work out monthly use from what each station actually takes:

As an example with assumed numbers: four press stations each using 20 L7207 sheets per shift, on two shifts a day and 22 working days a month, use 3,520 sheets a month, or 3 cartons. For comparing wipes beyond the price per sheet, see the cost per use of industrial cleaning wipes.

Are screen printing wipes the same as shop towels?

The names overlap in practice: screen printing wipes, press wipes and shop towels can all mean the cloth used at the press. The L7207 and L8138 are single-use meltblown wipes; how they compare with launderable shop towels and rags is covered in industrial wipes vs shop rags.

Are the L7207 and L8138 made of the same material?

Yes. Both are polyester meltblown at 73 GSM and 0.8 mm. The L7207 comes on a perforated roll and the L8138 as single quarterfolded sheets.

Can these wipes clean emulsion off a screen?

That is not their job. Removing emulsion and ghost images takes dedicated reclaim chemicals and a washout. The wipes are for press-side ink cleanup, color changes, squeegees and press upkeep.

Are these wipes lint-free?

We describe them as low lint, and the LGK3 and LGK5 list low lint among their SGS test items. For how those labels compare, see lint-free vs low-lint wipes.

Can a distributor get these wipes under its own brand?

Private label applies to the L7207 and L8138, with options such as sheet size, fold, roll length and packaging; printed packaging sets the minimum order. The LGK3 and LGK5 are supplied in their standard packs.