Is There An Ink Remover for Plastisol Inks that you can use on t-shirts and garments?
I've just taken a few orders for hooded sweatshirts (the zip-up kind) and they are fairly pricey ($10 and up) for me to buy wholesale.
Printing up a batch your sure to have the old print that doesn't run out, but with an overhead of $10 each that can get pricey if you screw any up it will eat your profit margin on the order.
A spot-cleaning gun is about $100.00, and should be one of the first pieces of equipment you buy. They can be had from any supply vendor. Albatross makes a good, cheap one.
with an overhead of $10 each that can get pricey if you screw any up it will eat your profit margin on the order.
Any advice?
-James
Yes mistakes are expensive. Buy a spot gun and fluid. Remember though it is called a spot gun, not a complete screw up remover. That is why in my opinion peolple need to decide if this is a hobby or a business. If its a hobby then print away, if its a business then hire professionals to do the printing. Go watch a house being built by professional. Why do they hire plumbers to do plumbing, rough carpenters to frame, electricians to wire, finish carpenters to do finish work ect.... I am sure we all know how to use their tools but not as well as a professional. Maybe its because we have companies making lots of money selling cheap equipment for good money selling the idea to get rich screen printing. We screen print for a company that sells over 20 million dollars worth of shirts a year, 30 employees and they do not print a single shirt in house. Ask yourself why? The concentrate on what they do well which is design and sell shirts. Now if you are a mega shirt company like Old Navy they hire professionals to manage and print their shirts in house and still outsource their over runs.
As Stuart pointed out, it's a spot gun. It's the combination of the fluid and the pressure it builds up that removes very small areas of plastisol such as a fingerprint or a pinhole. It isn't meant to remove a whole design to save the shirt. The fluid isn't so cheap that it would be a solution even if the gun could remove all the design, not to mention the time it would take. And, the stuff is nasty. Buy a few extra shirts, build the cost into the entire job, then set your job up on an old sweatshirt and work out any problems. Maybe go down to the Salvation Army or Goodwill store and buy some used sweats, or see if they have fleece material at a fabric store to practice on.
As a rule, it's best not to take on a job if you haven't done it before. Sweats are a little different than tees, and if you want to offer them, you'd be best off working out any problems ahead of time.
As a rule, it's best not to take on a job if you haven't done it before.
You'd never learn to print anything with that general rule.
When you get into something new, ask questions, read articles, seach the web, (supply vendors can actually be useful sources of information if you've got a good relationship), plan for a learning curve (a few extra $$) and learn from your mistakes.
Printing a sweat isn't so different from printing a T-shirt that you can't figure it out with a few tries on rejects. Ask your shirt vendor if they sell seconds, and buy half a dozen.
Screen printing is a craft, and it takes some dedication. I made a very good living doing 4-color process printing back in the days when my competition was telling people "you can't print process on T-shirts," or else botching the jobs so badly that they lost all their process clients to me. It was a matter of dedicating myself to learning the problems inherent with the process, and eliminating them and controlling variables. So few screen printers are willing to put the work in to really learning their trade that it sometimes saddens me.
This is so true if you want to use it as a BUSINESS. You are so right it takes time, dedication, and unfortunately money (using mistakes as rags) to become a true professional. The problem is there are these companies that market a system for $995 where you can make great money printing t-shirts and with today;s society they expect instant success. I hear about people printing shirts as a business and curing them in their kitchen oven it makes me laugh. Business 101 is do what you do well and hire professionals to do what they do well. You make more money in the long run which is what most people want when they have a business.
You'd never learn to print anything with that general rule.
When you get into something new, ask questions, read articles, seach the web, (supply vendors can actually be useful sources of information if you've got a good relationship), plan for a learning curve (a few extra $$) and learn from your mistakes.
Printing a sweat isn't so different from printing a T-shirt that you can't figure it out with a few tries on rejects. Ask your shirt vendor if they sell seconds, and buy half a dozen.
Screen printing is a craft, and it takes some dedication. I made a very good living doing 4-color process printing back in the days when my competition was telling people "you can't print process on T-shirts," or else botching the jobs so badly that they lost all their process clients to me. It was a matter of dedicating myself to learning the problems inherent with the process, and eliminating them and controlling variables. So few screen printers are willing to put the work in to really learning their trade that it sometimes saddens me.
Sorry if that sounded rantish.
Maybe I should have clarified my remark by saying not to take on a job that required a technique or process that I hadn't mastered. You stretch your skills by working out the problems on your own time and materials, IN ADVANCE, THEN sell the skill to the public. I've read too many posts from newbies that get their $295 4-color E-Z press on Friday having promised a job on Monday for an event, just to come around here on Saturday trying to figure out why the emulsion won't wash out of a screen, or their "paint" is too thick. If you're gonna print fleece, read the forums first, then get some scraps and work out the problems. I passed on an opportunity a few years back to print white shirts for a bike ride simply because I hadn't printed process yet, which would have been necessary for the logos on the shirt back, and the delivery date was too close for me to go through the process, practice, and make sure I could deliver a satisfactory job on time. I've since used process for jobs very successfully and am currently working out doing process on darks, which, as you mention, is quite doable, in spite of the fact that many say you can't. But I use simulated process for paying jobs in the meantime until I'm sure I've got it nailed.
This is so true if you want to use it as a BUSINESS. You are so right it takes time, dedication, and unfortunately money (using mistakes as rags) to become a true professional. The problem is there are these companies that market a system for $995 where you can make great money printing t-shirts and with today;s society they expect instant success. I hear about people printing shirts as a business and curing them in their kitchen oven it makes me laugh. Business 101 is do what you do well and hire professionals to do what they do well. You make more money in the long run which is what most people want when they have a business.
Well then, I feel as though the people who buy the $995.99 start-up kit are being scammed. They give you just enough rope to hang yourself in most cases. Anyone getting into this for "EZ screenprint bux" is in for a rude awakening. It's a fiercely competitive and relatively complex business. I hate seeing people getting the wool pulled over their eyes like this.
Is There An Ink Remover for Plastisol Ink? 
