Discuss the different plastisol screen printing inks and curing methods on the market. Share tips on getting the best results with the different ink manufacturers.
hello there, am new in printing i would like some advice pls. fisrt of all i do have my artwork thats fine. I bought some equipment and plastisol ink, what i like to know is what should i do after applying the ink on t-shirt? how to cure the ink? should i bye a dryer? pls help me..should i buy a dryer? here it's expensive how could i cure my t-shirt in a low cost rate?
give me some tips please....
The proper way to cure plastisol ink is 330deg
for twenty seconds.
How you cure it is up to you,but here are some ways
Conveyer dryer
Flash unit
Heat Press
buy a big hot plate and make a flash unit out of it
Propane heater
any way you can to cure the ink
thanks for rep, but all these machine cost a lot, how can i cure it, low cost?
am doing this at home with my saving for now i don't have enough money to pay these machines,
can i cure it with a heat gun or hair dryer?
by the way if am using 2 different color on a t-shirt should i cure the first color then apply my second color and cure it again?
Are you serious?
You can cure Ink with a heat gun or a hair dryer
Like I said before-Ink needs to cure @330deg for 20 seconds, so hold your little heat gun on a spot for 20 seconds then move to another spot & repeat 20 times
You can print wet on wet
In my thread I mentioned buying a $30 dollar hot plate and converting it into a flash unit
I also mentioned a propane heater found at your local hardware store they normally cost under $60 bucks.
If your complaning about spending that kind of cash you might try looking into doing somthing else because this business gets expensive real fast
thanx lot for helping but as i said before am really new in that what is hot plate? and how to convert it into a flash unit? i know my questions are stupid but am learning....
You plug it into a wall and cook food with it.
The elements get up to 600 deg so the heat un the shirt will reach 330deg. You can find them at your local hardware store. Buy a hotplate turn it around so that the cooking area is down & build some type of stand. Buy the biggest area hot plate you can.
The second suggestion
A propane heater
Buy a Garage heater, turn heater on. place shirt infront of heater for 20 seconds. If shirts starts smoking thats ok its supposed too, but if the shirt catches on fire, you got too close so put it out!
I had a rotating dryer once that opperated much like the propane method.
the element was upright you loaded a shirt kinda like hanging your laundry. then it rotated infront of the element cured the ink then rotated to cool down.
I have cured ink using the Propane heater and you dont burn shirts once you get a rithm down its kinda fast. Use your hands as a guide.Stand 2 to 3 feet away and count.
This method would be alot faster and more dependable than using a heat gun. Using a heat gun can you really tell what part of the print reached 330 deg
Plastisol needs to acheive 32o degrees to fully cure to a shirt. It does not however need to stay there for 20 seconds. It just needs to achieve it. Now, you can hold it there for a few seconds to make sure the entire ink deposit has actually gotten to 320 degrees. Especially if the ink deposit is thicker than normal.
Plastisol will start to become dry to the touch or gelled (also called semi-cured) between 180-250º F (82-121º C). It becomes fully cured between 280-320º F (138-160º C), depending on the type of plastisol. The temperature at which the ink becomes fully cured is called the fusion temperature. Most Union Ink plastisol inks cure at 300º F (149º C). Check the Technical Data Sheet for each Union Ink plastisol for complete instructions.
The temperature of the ink film is determined by the time the garment is under the heater and the temperature of the heater. This means that the temperature can be controlled with the belt speed of a conveyor dryer or time under the heater with a flash curing unit. If the heater temperature in a dryer or flash curing unit reaches 800º F (427º C), it is possible for the ink film on the garment to reach the full cure temperature (300º F, 149º C) in a matter of 20-30 seconds. Generally the temperature in the dryer is much higher than the temperature required to cure the ink. This allows the ink to cure quicker for faster printing.
so when I wrote cure for 20 seconds I meant that it will take about 20 seconds
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Last edited by denck; April 13th, 2009 at 10:19 AM.
how do I cure the ink after printing? 
Wouldn't want you to burn your house down in your quest to cure a shirt.
