MyFriendMoomba

So I spent $200 ordering Vinyl inks that can Air Dry for printing on Polypropylene reusable grocery bags that everyone is asking for lately. and I have had nothing but problems with this ink! I cant really figure out what was happening but after a few prints I started getting a 3Dish look to my print almost as if it had moved off registration but I checked and it had not. I have a Hopkins Press that holds great reg! but looking on the bottom of my screen I would see the image I was printing but stuck to the bottom of the screen about 1/8th inch off of where the ink squishes through my stencil. I am printing wet on wet 4 colors but assured to keep all the colors from touching in the design. I hope this is making sense. because I am going crazy. Halfway through a 100 bag job I had to stop and spend HOURS cleaning this ink out of my screens along with the tape that it made a complete mess out of around the edges.

The other thing you can see in the pictures below is I noticed after printing half of these bags the ink was starting to absorb into the material! which is WHY I bought Vinyl so it would stay on top of the material!! I think I might have to eat these bags and all the ink I bought because it doesn't work! It is settling into the deeper spots in the material... This client is going to KILL me if she has to wait another week now! How do you calm down in these situations?



close up:


size 16pt text looks like garbage "Eastport Art Center Member":

Everything looked great on the press even the green (yeah, theres green in there) and then everything started to dry and disappear!

And my Epson is a piece of refurbished garbage to top it off this weekend.

Please help!

Gabe

 

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jonesi98596

i am printing polypropylene bags also, i have tried almost everything. my problem with the 9700 series or using a catalyst in the ink is it is too thin and just goes through the bag. i have had the best luck with my bags using a normal plastisol ink and curing in the dryer at 300 for 60 seconds. i got good coverage and color (bright green on dark blue) but the dimples in the bag with my small designs i cant get a good enough print for the customer. to get the good coverage i just mixed some creamy white with my green. from the looks of your design, the plastisol might work for you if your bags can withstand 300 degrees. or the have low temp plastisol.

 

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MyFriendMoomba

Quote: Originally Posted by jonesi98596 i am printing polypropylene bags also, i have tried almost everything. my problem with the 9700 series or using a catalyst in the ink is it is too thin and just goes through the bag. i have had the best luck with my bags using a normal plastisol ink and curing in the dryer at 300 for 60 seconds. i got good coverage and color (bright green on dark blue) but the dimples in the bag with my small designs i cant get a good enough print for the customer. to get the good coverage i just mixed some creamy white with my green. from the looks of your design, the plastisol might work for you if your bags can withstand 300 degrees. or the have low temp plastisol.

I am using 1bagatatime bags and I wouldn't be so concerned if the backside of the bag didn't have their logo extremely thick and nicely done on it. (they wont give up the secret though)

I actually also tried Plastisols before I spent the money to order air drying inks. I tried running mine through the conveyor dryer and under the flash cure unit for the fastest setting and it scorched it completely. The print came out so good with the plastisols but I just couldn't get them dry.
I may try the Inktech Vinyl ink one more time. However I am in the same boat, I just can't get the small font to be good enough for the customer...

ugh.

Thanks!


Gabe

 

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thutch15

I wonder if ink for nylon would work...I know it does not cure at such a high temp.

 

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jonesi98596

i tried mixing the ink with a nylon catalyst (cure 280-285 degrees) and it has the same problem as the 9700 all purpose ink and vinyl ink, its too thin and goes through the bag. gabe i had the same problem as you on the first bags we did, they would melt at the first sign of heat so we ended up talking the customer into a cotton bag. for this job we have a different brand of bag and it can take 300 degrees and i dont know what the difference is, but they want a bunch of small sponsor logos in lime green on these dark blue bags. i can get the bright green they want (by mixing some white with the lime to help with coverage) but the texture on the bag makes it hard to read some of the small logos. all i can say is if i had the equipment for UV ink it would make this alot easier.

 

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MyFriendMoomba

jonesi98596:

as unfortunate as it is to say it's a little more comforting knowing I'm not the only one having major problems with these bags.

I think I may just eat these bags and put their money towards a different type of bag. (preferably cotton or something that can withstand a bit of heat). Mind if I ask what bags you are using?

This is what I'm looking to switch to but I think it might be the same as I'm using now:
earthwisebags.com | reusable shopping bags

I've got to call the company today.

I've got to resolve this issue though because this is a promising customer for a lot of future work. I can't lose them.


Thanks a Ton!

Gabe

 

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jonesi98596

we are using "port&company polypropylene grocery tote" bags, they also have organic material totes and 100% cotton ones too, which is what we switched too when we had this problem before and the print was better than on a shirt but the cotton bags are a little bit more. not sure about the organic ones?

 

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jeffie

Hey our solution for now is to buy them printed...someone in cali ....jeff

 

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MyFriendMoomba

Quote: Originally Posted by jonesi98596 we are using "port&company polypropylene grocery tote" bags, they also have organic material totes and 100% cotton ones too, which is what we switched too when we had this problem before and the print was better than on a shirt but the cotton bags are a little bit more. not sure about the organic ones?

This is Great I have looked into them and found them at a reasonable price at blankshirts.com (the organic ones are REALLY expensive!) The Cotton ones are only a 4.5oz bag where the Polypropylene ones are 12oz but I don't think that will be too much of a factor, I'm going to have a sample ordered on Monday to check these out.

The only disadvantage I can see is that I'm not sure if they come with a bottom stiffener like the 1 bag at a time ones.

Sounds like these are going to be the way to go though and our client has been extremely patient and understanding through this situation so we have been Very lucky!

Thank you SO much for the help!



Gabe.

 

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