[chuck_5533]

Hey all, first time poster in the forums. I own a small ($200k+) screenprinting and embroidery company and we've started using Extremecolor transfers for select situations (short run, quick turn, complex design, design variants, etc.) We did some shirts for a landscaping customer using Coloursoft on long sleeve wicking fabric shirts, finished and delivered the job back in April. Just heard from my customer this week who claimed the product was fading, and he wasn't exaggerating.

I want to get more information from my customer (washing frequency, detergent/additives, possible solvent exposure from gas/oil/etc), but am wondering how many of you all have experienced this?

For reference, here's what the shirt looked like when freshly pressed (different camera, different light, but this will give you an idea how far things faded)

 

[splathead]

What or who is coloursoft? What is the method to create them?

 

[chuck_5533]

What or who is coloursoft? What is the method to create them?

It's a DTF product - - I get them from a local wide format wholesaler. Let me find out the printer brand and model they are using to create their prints.

 

[splathead]

Digital prints do fade. Though yours do seem extreme.

Honestly, for contractors, I would not do anything less than plastisol screen printing. These guys wash their shirts at least once a week and probably more often. Plastisol is about the only thing that could withstand that kind of abuse.

 

[TABOB]

I'm not sure this is DTF, but like splathead said most digital methods will fade because the color layer is too thin.

 

[Zwik]

I'm not sure this is DTF, but like splathead said most digital methods will fade because the color layer is too thin.

I'm not sure it's DTF either. IDK about a scientific comparison against plastisol, but a quality DTF transfer should give more than satisfactory durability and washability results through washings for the life of the shirt. Nothing like the results shown.

 

[TABOB]

I'm not sure it's DTF either.

Makes no difference, because DTF and any other digital transfer method is likely to have the same problem with this type of use.
All it takes is a little bit of abrasion and the thin color layer is gone.

 

[sgsellsit]

Hey all, first time poster in the forums. I own a small ($200k+) screenprinting and embroidery company and we've started using Extremecolor transfers for select situations (short run, quick turn, complex design, design variants, etc.) We did some shirts for a landscaping customer using Coloursoft on long sleeve wicking fabric shirts, finished and delivered the job back in April. Just heard from my customer this week who claimed the product was fading, and he wasn't exaggerating.

I want to get more information from my customer (washing frequency, detergent/additives, possible solvent exposure from gas/oil/etc), but am wondering how many of you all have experienced this?
View attachment 275940 View attachment 275941


For reference, here's what the shirt looked like when freshly pressed (different camera, different light, but this will give you an idea how far things faded)
View attachment 275942

Unless it is for a ball team, I don't use heat press materials. Even then I do not use printable heat press vinyls. This type of material is only good for proofs, one offs and they aren't really designed for much use. If a company insists on multicolor designs on minimal orders they need to be willing to pay for the advertisement. If not, they need to condense it to a single color. The customer no doubt wants you to replace these at your cost and more than likely when they get what they want they will never be back.

 

[multiplesifl]

I've had problems with wicking shirts where the dark color of the shirt bled through the ink. Combine that with a piece of artwork that isn't designed to last and you could get exactly what you're dealing with here.

 

[sgsellsit]

I've had problems with wicking shirts where the dark color of the shirt bled through the ink. Combine that with a piece of artwork that isn't designed to last and you could get exactly what you're dealing with here.

That is called dye migration. There are several different polyester dyeing techniques these days. In any case the dye is subject to be overheated and will "degas" into the ink or material. It literally turns into a gas and molecularly inundates and fuses with it. After all polyester and dye resins are just plastics and you know what happens when you get plastic too hot. Make sure you are using low bleed, low temp polyester inks with either a blocking layer or multiple coats and set your heat equipment accordingly. Also make sure you alternate your stacking off the end of the dryer. If you stack several poly shirts on top of one another hot you stand the chance of your dyes migrating. Worse yet there is a possibility that you could ghost your image into the shirt stacked on top of it.

 

[TABOB]

I've had problems with wicking shirts where the dark color of the shirt bled through the ink. Combine that with a piece of artwork that isn't designed to last and you could get exactly what you're dealing with here.

I see no evidence of dye migration in the photos... unless of course they dye migrated to the table surface as well.
The pink tint in the first photo is just the lighting.

 

[sgsellsit]

I see no evidence of dye migration in the photos... unless of course they dye migrated to the table surface as well.
The pink tint in the first photo is just the lighting.

I was just explaining the dye migration process to the one that commented on having trouble with poly's. The original issue is not dye migration. It is the issue of using temporary mediums for long term service, it doesn't work. DTG,DTF, transfers, htv, etc. have no place in the utilitarian world of apparel.

 

[Zwik]

DTG,DTF, transfers, htv, etc. have no place in the utilitarian world of apparel.

LOL, They're friggin T-shirts.

You'll wear a few favorites to death, but throw out or donate most of the rest when you are tired of seeing them and could use the room in your drawer.

The fabric of your favorite "wear to death" tees will likely become faded, stained, stretched, pilled, tattered or torn by the time enough of the design has deteriorated that it looks more sad than expressing character.

When they've lost their luster and beyond their prime, when you no longer would wear it to the family barbeque, the grocery store or the post office (a pretty low bar for me, personally), a T-shirt that has developed character can always still be worn to bed, around the house, to cut the grass, clean, work in the garage, work-out... and in pandemics

Fits my definition of "utilitarian". How many wears do you need to get your money's worth out of a t-shirt for it to meet your definition of utilitarian?

Yes, there are crappy transfers, perhaps for hobbyists, that shouldn't be sold as t-shirts. But I have to disagree that quality DTG, DTF, and even a fair amount of HTV (depending on various factors such as the amount of solid area vs space), and some other quality transfers are not "utilitarian" enough to have a valued "place in the world of apparel", especially for high color/low volume, and on demand production.