Discuss the various aspects of direct to garment printing. DTG printers include Brother, T-Jet, Flexi-Jet, DTG Kiosk, Kornit, Mimaki, Tex-Jet and others! Discuss and learn about this up and coming printing technology.
We have used R & H inks for the last year plus in our Flexi-jet with no fading problem.
Since R & H is now discontinued I am interested in how to cure ( time/temp) DuPont inks on a white t-shirt without fading.
Since T jet, Anajet, DTG, Flexijet, and others use the same DuPont inks I am hoping for some general feedback.
If you are printing with DuPont inks on white t-shirts succesfully without more than 5% fading after several washes and would like to share your tips for success I would appreciate it.
I have been using the new dupont white for the last month. I have found it is much brighter than the old ink and fades very little. To be honest I really cannot see any fade. I cure at 325 and I do sixty seconds for each pass with very, very light pressure, I try to get no pressure at all as it seems to cure better that way. With my HM1 I do one pass medium density white and one pass color and get great coverage. hope this helps. If you want to know anything else specific let me know.
I actually meant just regular CMYK printed on a white shirt. Not really the white ink ( though I am really glad to hear reports on that as well)
I haven't used the DuPont CMYK yet, but I keep hearing lots of T jet, Flexijet etc.
say they are having fading problems and I am trying to plan ahead to avoid that problem if possible when I switch over to DuPont CMYK.
I think the main thing with the cmyk is to not over cure it or have your heat to high. I do notice if the heat is a little too much or the time a little to long it does tend to fade. It really is all about finding the right balance between those two. I have found lower heat for a little longer much better than a higher heat for less time.
US Screen now has a new pretreatment for light shirts (no white ink) called FastColor. This works very well. We are seeing virtually no fading even after several washes.
FastColor from US Screen does a great job of increasing the brightness of the print when printing cmyk on a white or light colored shirt. It also greatly improves washability so that there is virtually no fading at all of the ink after repeated washes. It's $31.95 a gallon so it's relatively cheap to use. And it works with any brand printer.
But soon I will switch to DuPont and initially I would like to try to get the cure time/temps down properly to minimize fading. If that is not satisfactory then I may add a pretreatment process to further inhibit fading.
So are you saying that without the pretreat, fading problems are inevitable?
The FastColor pretreat will work well with any brand ink, including your R&H. If you are doing 2 passes on white and light colored shirts for extra brightness, FastColor may allow you to achieve the same look with only one pass. And it does seem to eliminate or minimize any fading of the ink in washing. Equipment Zone is offering free quart samples if you want to try it.
I also have a Kiosk, and we were on the R & H inkset, but since 95% of our orders are on dark / black shirts we decided to switch over to the Dupont color inks since they bind better with the dupont white.
Dupont colors are not as vibrant on white shirts as the R & H, but IMO R & H wasn't either. Either you get light penetration of ink, or you have to over-saturate the shirt to get an acceptable print.
Anyway, we also started using the FastColor from US Screen, it works great.
It seems to prevent the ink from being fully absorbed into the fabric which allow the colors to pop better. FastColor doesn't seem to affect washability, it's still not great IMO. Sure, if you turn it inside out, and wash it cold and hang dry it it's fine, but most customers just throw it in with the rest of their laundry.
You can get the same results by diluting the Dupont Pre-Treat by 50%, then just apply as usual. Any machine with any ink-set will raise the quality of image by this extra step.
You can get the same results by diluting the Dupont Pre-Treat by 50%, then just apply as usual. Any machine with any ink-set will raise the quality of image by this extra step.
Mark
The problem with doing that is two fold.
The Pretreatment for white ink will discolor white shirts in sunlight.
Cost. The average price for white ink pretreatment is $95 a gallon. Even if you dilute it by 50% that still over $42 a gallon. FastColor is $31.95 a gallon and is ready to go.
FastColor also does more then raise the image quality. It also greatly improves the washability of the ink on white and light colored shirts. I don't think you'll get that advantage with diluted white ink pretreatment.
I agree with Printerguy on the yellowing and the cost.
I very skeptically had Equipment Zone send me a free sample quart of FastColor. I was skeptical because the earlier pretreatment for light shirts was unimpressive.
After trying the free quart I was so impressed (I am not easily impressed) that I immediately ordered a gallon.
To answer your first question IMHO all of these inks on an untreated light shirt fade more than 5% on the first wash. I have seen no difference between R&H and Dupont ink as far as fading goes. Others may disagree.
We always double pass prints on light shirts without pretreatment and dry at 60 to 90 seconds (330 degrees) with light pressure. When printing with 2 passes at 360 we dry for 60 seconds. Printing 2 passes at 720 we dry for 90 seconds.
To answer your first question IMHO all of these inks on an untreated light shirt fade more than 5% on the first wash. I have seen no difference between R&H and Dupont ink as far as fading goes. Others may disagree.
We always double pass prints on light shirts without pretreatment and dry at 60 to 90 seconds (330 degrees) with light pressure. When printing with 2 passes at 360 we dry for 60 seconds. Printing 2 passes at 720 we dry for 90 seconds.
I highly recommend that you try the FastColor.
Regards,
GRH
Thank you for the detailed answer. It is much appreciated.
DuPont ink on white shirt w/o fading 
