[Dizzymarkus]

I am using a targeted thermo gun and letting he ink get to 340 in the middle to get 320 on outside edges-- after letting cool I pulled it and it cracked. I finished up the 12 and had to heatpress them on 325 for 12 secs to get the ink to not crack-- what am I doing wrong here?

I print flash print the white (1 underbase and 1 final) Perfect white wiflex plastisol

then a grey with a 2 pass and cure

markus

 

[inkshirt]

I think you are over curing your first hand which has to be light one , ink has to be just tacky to the touch then the second hand. Also your ink deposit could be too thick on first hand , most printers use 110 mesh I personally use 160 I get a softer hand and also thinner ink deposit preventing all kind of problems . good lock

 

[NoXid]

Since you have a heat press, I would use the process you ended up using. Flash well enough so as not to make a mess when taking the shirts off press; then heat press. Use parchment paper or a silicone sheet over the ink when pressing (the former if you want a less shiny look). It is faster, more consistent, and no chance of scorching.

I print with water base, but I agree with @inkshirt about preferring a higher mesh count.

 

[Dizzymarkus]

awesome thanks for the replys-- the white is 110 and the grey was 156. I will try some higher counts :0) The white seems so think, its harder to flood the screen than the grey :0(

Markus

 

[Ripcord]

A heat press is a great way to cure prints because it also will smooth out a rough print and make it feel thin and soft. You don't need much pressure, just enough to insure even contact. It's especially useful for finishing prints on fleece which tend to have a rough feel to them. It will also tend to even out an uneven looking print on the fleece. When you use it on fleece it's important to use very light pressure because heavy pressure can cause the print to spread.

Doing your shirts this way will also save you time because it's quicker than a flash unit and provides much more even heat. Also you can continue printing your run instead of stopping to cure each shirt.

 

[Dizzymarkus]

Thank you greatly for your response. I did notice on the sweatshirts that it made them look nice like the tees :0)

I am trying to narrow down a good time to press them for as in duration. Currently, using the laser thermometer the press platten it hottest in back and varies by about 15 degrees to the front. Keeping that in mind I set the press temp @ 330'. So target temp 320' and pressing for 14 seconds using parchment paper, it sometimes sticks to the ink and seems to "pull it off" I am guessing I am laying down to much ink. It is on a black shirt using p\f\p for wiflex, perfect white(super thick). I have lowered the press time a few but not sure how little is to long lol The various threads I can find are all over the place on times.

Markus

 

[Ripcord]

You might be trying to remove the parchment too quickly. Give it 15 seconds or so to cool off after pressing and then carefully peel it off. If you rush it and some ink tries to stick to the parchment, carefully lay it back down while the rest of the ink is still holding it in place and press it again.