[arum]

hello Guys! is there any way by chance that i can use a Discharge inks without having a flash curer?

can i use a flat iron plus teflon cloth for alternative?

what is the drying process of discharge inks? will it dry if not cured with flash curer or conveyor?

what mesh count is for discharge inks? and what type of shirt. thanks so much!

 

[FLASH]

You can use a heat gun, I just saw it done on youtude the other day. I dont remember the link but search for discharge printing.

 

[RatedOG]

You might have problems curing with a flat iron just because you want all the water to excape as it dries. I use my flash dryer and there is quite a bit of steam when it cures. You could certainly try though, I used to cure my waterbased prints using an iron before I got my flash and had good results. It would make your life easier to use a heat gun as mentioned above.

A 156 mesh screen should work, and you will want 100% cotton shirts to get the best results.

Hope it helps.

 

[FLASH]

Like RatedOG said 100% cotton shirt and look for ones with reactive dye, they discharge better.

 

[arum]

Thanks Brian and Justin!

so 100% Cotton with reactive dye is better. good. hehe! now i can do it without flash curer or any equipment that will spill the money out on my pocket. but i dont have too much money i do have coins. ehehe!

156 mesh noted sir! ill watch that video too...

 

[BOOSH!]

You might have problems curing with a flat iron just because you want all the water to excape as it dries. I use my flash dryer and there is quite a bit of steam when it cures.

Whoa. Really? I've been a bit hesitant to use waterbase, due to the ink manufacturers wanting you to have a forced-air style conveyor dryer. I've heard of people using a heat gun (since it knifes through the fabric to evaporate the water), but not many using their flash.

What brand ink are you using? Do you discharge? How big are your prints? What model flash? What are your results like?

I may have to try this afterall, so any info you can give would be awesome.

 

[RatedOG]

I had great results with jaquard (spelling?) waterbased inks using my iron. I just put the iron on the hottest cotton setting and went to town for about ten minutes. I used a scrap piece of cotton to barrier between the iron and the printed shirt, this worked best for me. I also tried using kitchen paper, or wax paper to iron the ink, but I ended up with some pretty nasty looking scorches.

I have a black flash from ryonet (18x18), prints are usually from 2x2 to 14x7. Have great results curing my waterbased in i got from ryonet as well as the discharge ink (both are the enviroline). I remove the shirt from the platen before doing the cure, this lets the shirt breath more letting the water vapor escape. I also raise the flash a few inches higher than I would with plastisol ink. I'd say about 8 inches from shirt.

 

[BillyV]

You might get away with a heat gun on a small print, I wouldn't suggest it on a large print...
Be very careful or you will burn the shirt and make sure you get allot of air into the fabric this will help the discharge agent react and cure.

Good luck!

 

[BOOSH!]

Have great results curing my waterbased in i got from ryonet as well as the discharge ink (both are the enviroline).

Thanks for the breakdown. How do you deal with the formaldehyde from the discharge?

Do you have a vent for your work area? A fan blowing fumes out a window? A respirator mask?

Because, aside from the drying aspect of waterbased/discharge, I've always been a bit leery of the chemicals involved in the discharge. Is it just a minor annoyance? Or do you come out of the room a couple hours later with a pretty good buzz on?

 

[RatedOG]

I luckily have a large windows that open to create a nice cross draft. But the smell does get pretty bad. I have been using those painters masks (the cheap paper ones) and i don't think they help that much. I think it would be good to get one of the the masks that painters use that look like gas masks.

I noticed that my studio stunk for a couple hours after doing some printing. I find it to be just a minor annoyance, and I felt the same way you did before I got into discharge printing. But I am so happy that I got my inks! I absolutely love the look and feel of the discharge prints.

 

[westmama]

I had great results with jaquard (spelling?) waterbased inks using my iron. I just put the iron on the hottest cotton setting and went to town for about ten minutes. I used a scrap piece of cotton to barrier between the iron and the printed shirt, this worked best for me. I also tried using kitchen paper, or wax paper to iron the ink, but I ended up with some pretty nasty looking scorches.

Wow, you iron the same print for 10 mins. I use the Jacquard Professional Screen Printing ink, I only iron for about a min (with a cloth in between)... I great results with this.

 

[RatedOG]

Wow, you iron the same print for 10 mins. I use the Jacquard Professional Screen Printing ink, I only iron for about a min (with a cloth in between)... I great results with this.

I tried for just a minute at first like the ink directions said, but my prints kept washing out after one wash! I kept increasing my iron times till my prints would last for several washes.

Maybe also that the iron is my grandmothers and looks like it is from the 60's.

Get a heat gun atleast though. I hate looking at an iron now that I have my flash cure. I just finished a job that would have taken me a week if I had an iron, that only took me a few hours with the flash.

 

[m_short]

Discharge ink actually works with the steam that the shirt is giving off to create the chemical reaction. I wouldn't attempt working with discharge without a conveyor dryer to do the work for me. The ink usually is formaldehyde based and is some very nasty stuff to breath in during the chemical reaction that takes place. At one of the larger shops we had to actually install special venting above our flash units and ends of the dryers to make sure that we were getting the correct air exchange for the safety of all our printers.

 

[thedeadpress]

I luckily have a large windows that open to create a nice cross draft. But the smell does get pretty bad. I have been using those painters masks (the cheap paper ones) and i don't think they help that much. I think it would be good to get one of the the masks that painters use that look like gas masks.

The paper masks are for dust when sanding etc, you do indead need a chemical mask, your lungs will thank you.

 

[Evgeny]

There are some produsers in Europe that made discharge inks without formaldehyde and ftalate. It's absolutely safe. So you don't need wash shirts after printing. But I don't know is there any suppliers of this inks in USA.