[Uncle John]

Day 3 with the Malcojet, What we now know is our trouble with white ink is pretreatment. If you guys and gals would please describe how you do this. I have read all the posts but Anajet doesn't require pretreatment on light colors, so it gets confusing. Our Wagner sprayer is defective as you just tilt it down a bet and it leakes and sprays globs, its going back today. Thanks in advance as CYMK on white looks great.
John

 

[sunnydayz]

Hi John,

Here is a thread that might help you with the pretreatment http://www.t-shirtforums.com/direct-garment-dtg-inkjet-printing/t52278.html. If there is anything in particular that you need help with let me know, I would be glad to help. And you are right about the light color pretreatment, it is not necessary from any of the machines, its just a preference for some owners as it does help with the washability. Remember most of the printers use the same ink which is dupont, Anajet also, so the methods would be the same irregardless of what machine you are printing on. There are some new inks such as the dtginks from thread and ink, and I believe All American has their own ink for the flexi, and then the dtgs on the east coast use colemans inks, then of course brother uses its own and so does kornit, but the rest including anajet use dupont. So you shouldnt have any problems using any pretreatment method that works for one machine because they are using the same inks.

 

[Uncle John]

Thanks, Bobbielee, I have read that but will reread it. I know youv'e done this for a while so I will look to you for guidance if I can. Thanks, John

 

[DAGuide]

John,

There are a couple of posts in AnajetUsers.com that talk about the different methods of pretreating. They are located at the top of the Pretreatment Techniques and Tips board. I believe Anajet is no longer recommending using the insecticide sprayer method and join the ranks of Power Wagner backers.

The other thing I would recommend is trying different type of shirts. The fabric, the weave and any chemical put on the shirt can have a dramatic effect on the way your design looks after printing and after being washed. This is why I tell people starting out to expect to test on 25+ shirts and to expect an increase in the laundry workload.

Mark

 

[Uncle John]

Mark, I have read all the posts on pretreatment on anajetusers forum and there all different. Am looking for consistency I guess. We should have our new Wagner sprayer tomorrow and it should help. The white we printed today was ok but only on the areas that had good treatment. That's what I need to learn. Thanks, John

 

[DAGuide]

John,

It does seems that everyone does the pretreatment process differently. This is because there are so many factors to be considered in the pretreatment process (i.e. the fabric, the color, how much pretreatment to put down, how to evenly apply it, what pressure to cure the pretreatment,...). Change any one of these factors and it could change the outcome. Also, the description of "lightly apply pretreatment" from one person to another can be completely different. So everyone comes up with a slightly variation in the process. Now with the new SpeedTreater from Equipment Zone, it sounds like the process has gotten a little bit more consistent.

Ultimately, you are going to have to find out what your pretreatment process is and this can only be done by a lot of trial and error. So absorb as much info as possible and keep a log as to what you do on each shirt (I recommend using both sides). This will help you be able to repeat the process once you figure out what works best after the wash test.

Mark