Waterbased Flash Drying - Times, distances, general advice :o)
Good morning/afternoon/evening,
I have a few questions that hopefully somebody can answer. I've had a look around the other threads to see if there is an answer but I can't find one that exactly answers what I'm after.
I have a standard flash dryer that I intend to use to cure t-shirts. I'm only just starting out so have to make do with what I can afford.
My plan was to let the shirts air dry first then to flash them to cut down on the length of time they are exposed to extreme heat.
First of all does this make sense or should they be flashed from wet to get the correct binding?
How long and at what distance do I need to flash dry standard colour on white t-shirts?
Is it a good idea to flash in 2 iterations so as to not burn the t-shirts?
I'm going to use an infa red thermometer so does anybody know what temperature a t-shirts starts to scorch at?
As I final measure I thought I might iron then for 20-30 seconds.
Re: Waterbased Flash Drying - Times, distances, general advice :o)
Flash cure times really depend on the ink you use and the type of flash unit you have. Most inks indicate cure times on the container or on the ink company's website. For example, for Matsui/Ryonet Enviro-Line 301 series with a standard IR flash unit they recommend 2.5-3 minutes at about 5 inches until it reaches 320 degrees. With waterbased ink you basically need to heat it until the water evaporates (you'll see it steam) and then it needs to reach 300-320 for 30 seconds, which is why they recommend a total cure time of 2.5-3 minutes for that ink. The pre-cure air drying you mention will probably shorten the cure time because some of the water will have evaporated already, but I think the post-cure ironing is overkill. You don't want to over-cure your ink.
In the end, I think your best bet is to follow the guidelines of the ink you have and do some cure tests like stretching and washing.
This is a discussion about Waterbased Flash Drying - Times, distances, general advice :o) that was posted in the Screen Printing section of the forums.
Waterbased Flash Drying - Times, distances, general advice :o) 
