[srhnglnn]

I need advice! I did shirts for a friend of mine and she said she washed them in cold water. She didn't use bleach at all. The ink turned color and ran. The font was navy blue and she said it looks purple now. She also said it looks like ink ran which is pink.

I didn't do anything different than I normally would have. I used tranfer sheets for light garments and printed with the ink I've always used. the shirts are light gray.

Any thoughts??? The only thing I can think of is that I didn't wash the shirts before I did the transfers. Normally I will wash black or dark colors first. I guess I didn't think of washing gray shirts since they are considered a "light" color.

I hope to hear from someone!! I really want to figure out what happend.

Thanks in advance!
Sarah

 

[Rodney]

:: edited thread TITLE to be a bit more descriptive and moved to a more appropriate section of the forum ::
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[JoshEllsworth]

Did you print on a higher quality setting and lay down more ink? Also the darker color may lead to heavier color saturation and bleeding when washed. Are you using a pigment or dye based ink? Would recommend pigment, and lastly did you let the print dry before applying and also prior to washing?

 

[srhnglnn]

I checked on the kind of ink I used. Its a pigment based ink. I printed on "iron on transfer setting", best quality. Which is the setting I always use.

I really can't remember if I did some printing a day prior to pressing them. How long would you recommend waiting to dry?

Should I have washed the light gray shirts BEFORE I pressed them?

 

[Joto Paper]

How about pressure? I assumed that you were using light transfer paper. Most times, pressure is a big factor in how the shirt washes when using light transfer paper.

 

[Skinbus]

I checked on the kind of ink I used. Its a pigment based ink. I printed on "iron on transfer setting", best quality. Which is the setting I always use.

I really can't remember if I did some printing a day prior to pressing them. How long would you recommend waiting to dry?

Should I have washed the light gray shirts BEFORE I pressed them?

Washing the shirts before pressing isn't necessary. The shirt shouldn't be washed for at least 24 hrs. after pressing. I don't normally use "best quality" for ink setting due to the fact that more ink is used which takes longer to dry, although not much longer. With ink, more isn't necessairly better.That's the best part of pigmented ink which is it dries quickly. Regarding laundering, even if normal bleach isn't used, many detergents have a "bleach alternative" added to it's content which will also cause problems. I also wash inside out.

 

[srhnglnn]

It seems like pressure might have something to do with it.... I did use light transfer paper, hot peel. I had to cut around the image. When I applied it, you couldn't see the areas I didn't cut. But after washing you could see the outline where I cut, which is now white.

I have one of the shirts I did. The image has a cow hoof behind the navy blue letters. The hoof that was once a darker gray looks purple. The navy blue letters faded a bit but looks pinkish around it.

I washed the shirt a couple times at home. It looks like some of the pinkish areas are fading out. The hoof still looks a bit purple. I was going to repress it to see if I can get rid of the white outline.

I don't know... either way I should replace them. I know I won't be printing my own stuff from now on. I'll order my prints.

 

[Mabuzi]

Pressure, pressure!
Dont cut into the printed are of the transfer either!
Some washing powders have bleach and that too can cause problems.

 

[srhnglnn]

I was careful not to cut the printed area. From the looks of it however, it looks like pressure might have been the problem.