[ijustdontknow818]

Hello I have had issues with printing a smooth white underbase on my sprint. The issue I'm having is that it seems to leave little ink bubbles on my underbase so when I print the color over it and heat press, the white will show through as spots and I wont get solid black and red colors. Ive used up alot of ink and pretreat trying to figure this machine out. I've tried all the settings from heavy ink 4 all the way to light 1 on my setting I even tried the speed to fine printing on the quality settings. I've also tried all the pretreat methods. Light to heavy pretreat, squeegee (light to hard) and even almost broke my heat press by having to stand on it to clamp it down (wet and dry). Ive tried to hang drying it. And I dont think it could be the ink because this is my second set of inks with the same issues. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[23spiderman]

it looks like you have enough pretreat, but you aren't getting the fibers to dry flat. you don't need crazy "stand on top" pressure, just really firm. spray your shirt, lightly squeegee the area in the same direction (i squeegee from bottom to top) several times. then you can hang to let some of the moisture evaporate. you can speed this up by letting the heat press hover above the shirt. after about 90 seconds, you should be able to press the shirt for 40 seconds or so. when you lift the heat press, the cover sheet should not stick to the shirt. then press again and you should be ready to print.

i like to let my shirts hang dry until they are barely damp. then they get two 20 second hits with the heat press and they are ready to go. either stack them flat, or print them as you don't want them to get "roughed up" again.

based on your pictures, this is a pretreat issue, and not an ink (quality or quantity) issue. what brand of shirt are you using?

 

[zoom_monster]

I totally agree with Sean here. In your picture, you can see the fibers standing up. You need to find a way to mat those down, pick a shirt brand that has a smoother face, or both.

Other things to concider: Make sure the ink in the carts and lines is well mixed and agitated and experiment with different levels and drop sizes to see what combo works better for you when using different brands. I would try a ringspun mid weight shirt just to see how good it can get.

Read the DTG pretreat section of the forums and pick a technique that works for you.

 

[ijustdontknow818]

Hello thank you guys for replying. that brand of shirt is alstyle (AAA) problem I have is the shirts that I print is for this league near my house and all their shirts are alstyle shirts 100% cotton.
@sean I will give it another go I am waiting for pretreat I ran out its due to arrive today haha.
@Z Yes I heard of those issues so I shake my white ink every time before I print.

 

[CoorsDTG]

Your underbase actually looks really good aside from the fibers. I have personally moved completely away from using AAA shirts because of this same issue. Sometimes though it is still unavoidable as some customers will insist on using them. Make sure that you are actually applying a good amount of pressure on your squeegie stroke instead of just scraping down the top of the shirt. Really mash those fibers down. I personally don't like to press the shirts before printing them because it makes the heat press square much more noticeable. It also takes a lot more time if you're looking at a large order.

 

[JeridHill]

Take a look at this print.

Several things to consider when pretreating.

1. Garment: Some fabrics perform better than others. This is a FOL, but we can get good results with many different styles and brands. BUT, some will have more fibers than others.

2. Pretreatment: What mix are you using and how much. We like using a 50% distilled water mix because it gives you more leeway when pretreating. The additional moisture gets into the fibers and the weave quite a bit better than using 100% straight pretreat. You still need to use the same amount of pretreatment, so your shirt will be twice as wet, but it does work more consistently than using 100% straight.

3. Pressure: The more pressure the better. There is a threshold that you need to consider, how much moisture you have on the shirt and how much pressure you use will effect the overall look of the shirt. So if you have the shirt soaking wet, with the additional pressure, you get a glossy look on your shirt. It washes out, but you don't want to have to give your customer this. If you pretreat, then let your press hover over the shirt for 30 seconds or so, the additional "wetness" of the shirt lifts and then you should be safe to use the pressure on the shirt to get the best look.

Pretreating is an art form and quite honestly, one of the most critical aspects of dark garment printing with dtg. As you can see from the photo, it's well worth it in the end.

 

[JeridHill]

Make sure that you are actually applying a good amount of pressure on your squeegie stroke instead of just scraping down the top of the shirt. Really mash those fibers down.

The process for printing these shirts are direct to garment, not screen printing. The interesting point you make, though, is the fibers on these garments are just as bad with screen printing as with dtg. Some garments are better than others for embellishment!

 

[23spiderman]

Jerid, he's refering to using a squeegee (like for vinyl on signs) to flatten the fibers of the shirt prior to heat pressing, or so that the shirt can air dry. as opposed to a squeegee used for screen printing. but your comment remains true, as i've had some tri-blend shirts that were screen printed and i had a lot of trouble getting a smooth white print.

 

[JeridHill]

Oh right, I forgot people still did that (no offense )! Thanks for the clarification.

 

[CoorsDTG]

Oh right, I forgot people still did that (no offense )! Thanks for the clarification.

People DON'T squeegee after pretreating anymore? Makes sense why I'm the only one on here that has never had a problem with printing with white ink I'll take the extra 3-4 seconds per shirt in order to guarantee that they come out 100% of the time.

 

[JeridHill]

I have never squeegeed pretreated shirts and I never have problems either. That's why I guess I didn't think about someone still using a squeegee. In the end, do what works for you, that's what matters....

 

[23spiderman]

the difference in using the squeegee comes from pressing while wet or letting the shirt air dry. if you just spray the shirt and let it air dry, there's no way you'll consistently get a smooth surface, if ever. if you squeegee while wet, you can air dry and have a smooth surface. if you heat press while wet, same result. for me, i take the extra few seconds to squeegee, and then i heat press after some of the moisture has evaporated. i get a smooth surface every time, and because this is "routine", it's one less thing in my dark shirt chain to go wrong.

 

[ijustdontknow818]

Thanks everybody and sorry for not keeping up with this post. I have been printing like a mad man (not for customers, but just because the consistency is there now =)). I got the misconception from anajet and the dvd that comes with the printer and I was heat pressing for 10 seconds when pretreating and then go straight to press. I now do the 40 second heat press and now my whites come out consist and smooth even on the alstyles. Thank you Sean for the tips.