Welcome to the end of semester S U P E R C R U N C H !!!

A few things we want to pass along.

We know that buildings on campus are open 24 hours. However, we are keeping ours on on the usual 7AM – 2AM times.

Let me say that again. BUILDING HOURS WILL BE FROM 7AM – 2AM.

Why you ask? Because only bad things happen in this space after 2AM. You’re tired, equipment breaks, no one’s here to troubleshoot, things get stolen or lost or whatever. It’s just bad news. Don’t kid yourself, you know it’s true.

I’m sorry but that’s just how it is. Please remember are MANY times during the week that studios are unoccupied. For example:

Etching is open:
Wednesday from 2PM – 2AM
Thursday from 3PM – 6PM

Litho is open:
Monday 7AM – 4PM
Wednesday 2PM – 2AM
Thursday 3PM – 2AM

Screenprinting is open:
Monday 3PM – 2AM
Thursday 8PM-2AM

EDIT>> FRIDAYS ARE OPEN TO MAJORS, CONCENTRATOR, AND ANYONE IN CLASSES!
Come in and work!

Then of course everything is open from 10PM – 2 AM, and all weekend. For those of you particularly upset about this, remember that if you go to bed early, the shop is nearly EMPTY on Saturdays + Sundays before noon.

As far as the last day for access, the building will shut down on Sunday, May 9th. Details on this will be sent out as that date approaches.

Thanks all, good luck on all of your finals. Kyle.

I have just spent a long time gathering and posting information on every single shop chemical I can find online. The link is now in the menu on the right of this page, labeled Health and Safety. It is also available directly at www.micaprintmaking.com/msds.

This is all considered Right to Know information, available to everyone while in the shop, and subsequently now available to everyone everywhere. Is there a chemical you use frequently? Maybe Lithotine, or possibly the Emulsion Remover? Whatever it is, look it up!

What is an MSDS? MSDS is short for Material Safety Data Sheet, and is required to be offered by all manufacturers or retailers in conjunction with chemicals and materials they produce or sell. Subsequently, we are required to make them available to you. I make this sound like a bad thing – it’s not, it’s great. The more you know the safer we all.

The advantage of having it in the shop is you can research what just spilled down the front of you immediately. The advantage of having it online is that you can now research what you spilled on yourself in the shop from home now too!

MSDS are a quasi-standardized form, built around the same basic structure, utilizing 8 sections:

Section I – Material Identification
Section II – Hazardous Ingredients/Identity Information
Section III – Physical/Chemical Characteristics
Section IV – Fire and Explosion Hazard Data
Section V – Reactivity Data
Section VI – Health Hazard Data
Section VII – Precautions for Safe Handling and Use (Spill or Leak Procedures)
Section VIII – Control Measures

Exact final appearance, however, can vary greatly from form to form and company to company. Most today are modern, easy to read, and digitally based. Some however, appear to be composed on a typewriter, photocopied, faxed, folded, crumpled, faxed again, hand-written on, and so on.  This is because they are.  Believe it or not, this is still legally binding. Unfortunately, I am required to use MSDS provided by the product supplier whenever possible, so I don’t always have the option to swap out versions.

Listed on most (but not necessarily all)  you will find a NFPA Diamond (or occasionally just list). These break down the basics of all chemicals into a 4-color, 5-level (0-4) code that is easy to remember. The lower the number, the safer it is. Colors dictate what is being rated.

While every effort is made to provide the safest possible materials in the department, sometimes even the safest isn’t so great. If you are ever unsure of what a particular solvent or product might be doing to you, don’t hesitate to look up its MSDS. Currently they are only updated online. Within a week they will also be updated in print form, broken down by classroom space, and located in Safety Yellow MSDS binders in each room.

Until then, if you can think of any chemicals that are missing from the list, please don’t hesitate to tell me!

HEALTH AND SAFETY YEAH!!!!