The Vault
Troubleshooting guide
Why does my stencil have pinholes and start breaking down partway through a run?
Posted by the SuperPrinters team · 7/26/2026
Tiny unwanted dots of ink print in areas that should be blocked (pinholes), and/or the emulsion becomes tacky, soft, and starts washing or wearing away mid-run so the image edges deteriorate and ink bleeds into open areas. Most often caused by underexposure or incomplete drying of the emulsion, so it never fully cross-links and breaks down under ink and pressure, among other possible causes — a full step-by-step diagnostic and fix follows below.
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