Vastex makes some pretty solid dryers. I wouldn't hesitate to get one. For a small dryer it had a 30" wide belt which is nice. You probably won't have to change the settings for Cotton and poly/cotton blends, but you might want to play with the settings and do some tests for dazzle fabrics and 100% polyester. I'm not sure about the per hour rate of the dryer, but I'm sure you can at the bare minimum do 80-120 per hour, maybe you can squeeze 150.
HELP Vastex dryer owners!
so im really unsure i've read almost every dryer thread on here, and i need simple questions answered from people who own the machines,
looking at vastex econo red-I 30"
is the short tunnel as issue? i've heard mixed review from very experienced printers, but they may be too old school to change their ways.
it says 150+ shirts and hour? is this like mpg at a dealership? whats a realistic output for such a device?
say i have an order or 200 half are cotton the other half are 50/50, am i going to have to adjust the temp/belt speed for every specific fabric?
and any other useful info on conveyors would help a lot!
im also open to other brands and models, i found this model in my city, second hand. so i want to know the good
thanks
looking at vastex econo red-I 30"
is the short tunnel as issue? i've heard mixed review from very experienced printers, but they may be too old school to change their ways.
it says 150+ shirts and hour? is this like mpg at a dealership? whats a realistic output for such a device?
say i have an order or 200 half are cotton the other half are 50/50, am i going to have to adjust the temp/belt speed for every specific fabric?
and any other useful info on conveyors would help a lot!
im also open to other brands and models, i found this model in my city, second hand. so i want to know the good
thanks
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Hello Bro,
Mike asked me to jump in and provide the answers to your questions. Not because he can't but I have been around a bit longer, so I think I know it all!.
1) We refereed to 380 in this case because we were applying a heavy deposit of white ink. We do not dispute the 320-340 but when measuring with a non contact heat gun you can only measure the top skin. We need the cure temp to be throughout, all the way to the garment. The 380 is an educated guess as to the increased skin temp needed to achieve up to 340 where the ink is attached to the garment.
2) 25 seconds is the approximately time needed to get the ink safely to the cure temp. We can get it there faster or slower, faster is risky, more can go wrong in a short period of time. It’s like driving 95 miles per hour, you get places faster (sometimes) but you take your life and license in your hands. Slower will work also but you are in this to make money, time is money.
3) Same amount of time as that brand ink will last when properly cured, in this case. Remember we are not really curing at a higher temp just measuring the ink in the hottest place. You know when you check the temperature of cooked meat, you do not check the skin you check inside.
I hope I was able to clear things up, please feel free to ask us any further questions.
Mark Vasilantone, president
Vastex International Inc.
mark@VASTex.com
Mike asked me to jump in and provide the answers to your questions. Not because he can't but I have been around a bit longer, so I think I know it all!
.1) We refereed to 380 in this case because we were applying a heavy deposit of white ink. We do not dispute the 320-340 but when measuring with a non contact heat gun you can only measure the top skin. We need the cure temp to be throughout, all the way to the garment. The 380 is an educated guess as to the increased skin temp needed to achieve up to 340 where the ink is attached to the garment.
2) 25 seconds is the approximately time needed to get the ink safely to the cure temp. We can get it there faster or slower, faster is risky, more can go wrong in a short period of time. It’s like driving 95 miles per hour, you get places faster (sometimes) but you take your life and license in your hands. Slower will work also but you are in this to make money, time is money.
3) Same amount of time as that brand ink will last when properly cured, in this case. Remember we are not really curing at a higher temp just measuring the ink in the hottest place. You know when you check the temperature of cooked meat, you do not check the skin you check inside.
I hope I was able to clear things up, please feel free to ask us any further questions.
Mark Vasilantone, president
Vastex International Inc.
mark@VASTex.com
Hello mark. Yes, the cooked neat is a nice anology. A probe type of thermometer is usually inserted into the meat if one wants to check if the meat is cooked inside. Unfortunately, we cannot probe the ink.
So your target of 340F lowest ink temp, or an extra 20-40F over the often heard 300-320F, is an insurance?
On the matter of ink colors. You seem to have the same temp and belt speed settings for both white and black inks.
I have a separate thread about plastisols cracking in just a dozen washes or maybe a little more
http://www.t-shirtforums.com/screen-printing/t123738.html
(Those are not my prints though but below is one of the pictures).
I also have halftone prints where some of the dots have gone missing after a couple of dozen washes(these are my prints). Some suppliers told me that all plastisols will crack and it is just a matter of time. But, I have also read that properly cured plastisols should not crack and should outlast the garment.
Someone posted that cracking after 100 washes is good enough and he has shirts that still haven't crack after 15 years. These are certainly more reassuring data.
Maybe you can give a more "industry-wide" answer, based on actual experiences or feedback from the many users of your dryers or maybe also on your tests. How long should a properly cured plastisol (like in your video) be expected to last before cracking? Or what is a good benchmark in terms of number of washes?
Thanks
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