Electronic Thickness Gauge

Finally, an inexpensive, high-standard, Electronic Stencil Thickness Gauge! Includes the gauge, durable hard-shell case, complete instruction booklet and verification plates. The unit is pre-calibrated at the factory for immediate use.

As this tool is so important to the screenprinting shop and realizing that most shop owners couldn’t afford the U.S. made electronic thickness gauges that can cost $1,000 or more for a very nice unit, we went shopping. We did find electronic gauges that have the same body style as this one, but were no where near the quality or accuracy. In fact three of the units ceased working within a week of delivery. While not a U.S. made product this unit does meet the same stringent standards as the $1,000 units. They are manufactured specifically for the U.S. market. By buying in great quantities we are able to reduce the cost of this electronic thickness gauge to just $299.

This is such a critical tool for screenprinting professionals that want to control the ink transfer process that we couldn’t pass it up.

Use for measuring:

• Thickness of Tensioned Mesh – know instantly the amount of ink that a particular mesh will transfer to the substrate.
• Thickness of Coated Screens – know instantly the amount of ink that a particular thickness of coated screen will transfer to the substrate.
• Pre-Exposure Tool – by measuring the thickness of the coated and dried screen you can accurately determine the exact exposure for any screen and achieve the maximum detail possible, assuring that the emulsion will be fully hardened.
• Ink Deposit Measurement – by measuring a previously printed substrate you can more accurately reproduce the ink deposit to match the sample.
• Substrate Measurement – knowing the exact thickness of the substrate can greatly speed up the press set up times.
• Off-Contact Measurement – accurately measure the distance from the mesh to the substrate to quickly set the off-contact evenly and consistently.

Product Specifications:

• Model: ETG-91546
• Built in probe
• Operating principle: magnetic induction/eddy current (F/NF)
• Measuring range:from 0 to 1250 microns / 0 to 50 mil
• Resolution; 0.1/1
• Accuracy: ±1-3%n or ±2.5um
• Min. measuring area: 6mm
• Min. sample thickness: 0.3mm
• Battery indicator: low battery indicator
• Metric/ imperial: convertible
• Power supply: 4×1.5V AAA(UM-4) battery
• Operating conditions:0-+45°(32&#8457; -104&#8457; ) , <=90%RH
• Dimensions: 126x65x27mm
• Weight: 81g(not including battery)
• Optional accessories: other range 0-200um to 15000um
• Automatic substrate recognition
• Manual or automatic shut down
• Two measurement mode: Single and Continuous
• Wide measuring range and high resolution
• Metric/English conversion
• Digital  display gives exact reading with no guessing or errors

The gauge uses magnetic induction to measure the thickness of mesh, dry emulsion and stencils as well as substrates and dry ink thicknesses.

After zeroing the probe on the included ferrous base plate an accurate measurement can be made of any mesh or substrate placed flat on the base plate. The surface of the probe bridges the mesh openings and enables the probe to measure the true thickness from knuckle to knuckle of mesh or substrate.

Wet Ink Deposit Equals Stencil Thickness

One of the most important things one can learn about screenprinting and especially ink transfer is that the wet ink thickness is always equal to the thickness of the stencil. An accurate measurement of stencil thickness will assist in the knowledge of what ink thickness a particular stencil will print. By measuring stencil thickness before exposure one can decide if a stencil is appropriate or will need further face coats on the print side to achieve the desired ink deposit.

An electronic stencil thickness gauge is the only way to measure the thickness of the stencil to accurately predict and control the critical elements of the ink transfer process. It is extremely important to control stencil thickness across the entire image area of the stencil. Measuring stencil thickness is particularly important for those who manually coat their screens.

Emulsion Over Mesh Ratio

Emulsion over mesh (EOM) ratio is extremely important in achieving the very best ink deposit. If the emulsion coating is too thin a proper gasket seal between the stencil and the substrate cannot be achieved. The ink will bleed under the image edges and create a rough edge and a saw-toothed edge. With a too thin emulsion coating the edge may appeared to be smeared, there may be dot loss in the highlight and dot gain in the shadows. If the emulsion coating is too thick the ink may not be able to release from the mesh opening during printing or if it does it may deposit too much ink on the substrate.

Dry Ink Thickness

Our Electronic Stencil Thickness Gauge can measure the thickness of the substrate as well as the thickness of substrate and ink deposit. The difference between the two is the thickness of the dry ink. Knowing this measurement one can more accurately predict the thickness of stencil that is required to achieve the desired wet ink thickness.