Need to Register?

stadiumsports · July 20th, 2009

We've had curing problems when printing on Game Gear 100% nylon (dazzle cloth) uniforms. It always seams to be our printed #'s on the backs that are the biggest problem. In the past we had luck not using Nylobond. I was always under the impression the the weave was lose enough for platisol to grab hold and cure. I get weary of putting Nylobond in our # screens because they get reused without reclaim over and over again. Sometimes printers get in a hury and forget to clean ink. Then I'm left with big problem of reclaiming and re-burning a whloe set of #'s.

What are some suggestions on what we can do? Are we stuck with the afor mentioned option? HELP!

tlbays · July 20th, 2009

Hi StadiumSports

The lack of immediate response posts shows the tricky nature of your application, and the general reluctance of most folks to go out on a limb with any suggestions.

My only observation is that plastisol ink formulas do vary, with certain products "geared" to specific uses and others for general applications. Have you ever tried a dedicated Nylon Jersey ink?
Athletic Plastisol

Rutland, Wilflex, One Stroke, etc., all make nylon specific inks that usually work if ink deposit and cure temp/time is tightly controlled.

Note that multiple times printed and cured jerseys (front/back names/numbers) often receive different cure rates as a result.

Does your print order do the the back #'s last?

I assume the screen mesh count ink deposit is the same on both names and #'s?

stadiumsports · July 20th, 2009

We tried to do the #'s first so that it go down the dryer multiple times and had some luck. However, we keep having problems with this specific brand of uniforms.
I have also tried athletic inks and to many times have ran into dye migration. Even after turning flashers down. esspecially gold ink.
All of our # screens are 110 mesh.
we are a low man, high volume shop that has one gas dryeer, i 6 color auto and 2 6 color manuals that run all day. so we are running t-shirts at the same time as we are running uni's. So it tough to make any changes to dryer settings. We might havt just start using nylobond . ?? any more ideas?

tlbays · July 20th, 2009

I'm glad you've got a basic handle on this application.
Granted, dryer settings dedicated to seperately run Jersey's is advisable, and full complete cure is a benefit as you've discovered.
Accurate temperature measurement is also a huge advantage.
You're obviously aware that excessive temperatures (340F/350F+) contribute to the problems occurance.

Just to be clear, we're talking about "Ink Pigment Migration", and not "Jersey Fabric Dye Bleeding".

Note that Union (for example) specifically makes a seperate range "non-migrating" colors alongside the standard athletic versions available.

A significant aspect of their guidelines for non-migrating athletic inks are mesh counts 60T-86T.
They also suggest heavy print pressure on initial passes to drive base layer of ink well into fabric surface.

The substantially thicker ink layer allows an extra degree of pigment encapsulation that does help avoid color migration.
It may be worth a try to take one last testing stop on a coarser mesh before resorting to NylonBond, if quick clean-up of your # screens is just to unpredictable.

Good luck!

stadiumsports · July 20th, 2009

we'll keep playing with it. Thank you!!

Need to Register?

Resources

T-Shirt Sites

Need tips for 100% nylon dazzle cloth printing.