opps im from singapore. =)

 

That was very interesting thanks for your support

 

yes, you can dry the paper with a flash cure unit. You are just trying to get any moisture that the paper has absorbed from the surrounding air since it was manufactured. If you don't plan on using all that cured paper right away, a tip is to put it in a ziplock bag to keep it from absorbing moisture from the air overnight....or saran wrap. Good luck.

Bryant

 

If you want to eliminate that messy powdered adhesive, and you still want maximum adhesion especially to mesh fabric, all you need to do is print clear plastisol ( plastisol with no pigment, not soft hand additive) as the last color down covering the entire design. Plastisol acts as an adhesive. The thicker the deposit the more ink there is to melt down into the fibers and hold onto the shirt tightly for dozens of wash cycles.

Bryant

 

can you show me the video?
tank's b4

 

How many coats of emulsion do you need to build up a decent ink well?

 

i guess no one can answer my question, fast above

 

Titere,

I am printing plastisol transfers at home w/ screen printing equipment . but I'm getting a haze around the image. I have a complete setup for screen printing here at my house. i run a business @ HOME in an extra bedroom

I love how people think you can't do things at home. that you need to be high tech, with a SHOP.


anyone, please reply. or i'll start another forum for this problem

 

I have a few questions:


1) does regular plastisol work? (I'm using Wilflex MP inks and additives)
2) after sprinkling transfer powder on the print, how do I prepare sheets for transport? ie. How do I ship 20 of these to a client through the mail?

If someone has any tips in general, I'd like to hear them before I ruin a bunch of transfer paper.

 

Just carefully stack them and sandwich them between two rigid sheets of cardboard slightly larger and taped together all around then insert into a plastic bag and seal it. Yes most any MP plastisols work. Some have more stretch than others and others are specifiacally designed for nylon material as opposed to cotton/poly. Read the manufacturer tech sheet for that ink online and see if it is recommended for transfers as well as direct printing to be safe. Some low bleed inks get too brittle to transfer ot harden up over time. Plan on a one year shelf life for most transfers.

 

hello there i normally use a gell like adhesive not powder and then after printing i flash and pack them like ordinary paper, note flashing is to let an ink half dry but it will ttransfer okay. contact ryonet coperation they sell very good adhesive for transfer printing.

 

Yes you can use a flash unit if you like. All you are doing is conditioning the paper so it is stable and doesn't shrink or swell on you due to the moisture content. Paper absorbs moisture from the surrounding air. After you condition it , then you need to put it all in a big ziplock to keep the moisture content at one level throughout the entire print run.

Other plastisols work....I like International Coatings Multipurpose MP inks because they stretch enough for transfers and can be printed directly onto tees as well. The color range available is awesome. 562-926-9486

 

I was told the adhesive powder is only necessary on cold peel transfers. I stopped using it on the hot peel and they are working fine without it. I found it actually made the paper difficult to peel if you didn't peel it immediately.

 

Oh and Union Ink makes an ink line specifically for transfers that I think is far more opaque than the other colors I've used. They recommend no higher than 80 mesh screens also.

 

I personally make them for jobs that I know will repeat in the not so distant future, because once they are printed, they are a lot easier to use on a repeat order than setting the press up again. Another job I used them on was for porthole practice jerseys. If I printed them on the press, the ink would end up all over the platen when it went through the holes in the garment. On a heat press, you can just put a used transfer paper under the holes to catch the ink that flows through. It also worked on a job I did with mesh shorts. The lining in the shorts would have made it impossible to keep still on the platen, unless I bought a hold down maybe, but on the heat press, it was really easy to apply the transfers. I also silkscreen small items on a regular basis for a crafter and I can just replace what they sell easily. I'm sure I'll find more uses for them. I am also thinking I may be able to sell them to a local repro center that only has a heat press. I need to perfect them before I try that, though.

 

i just did my first plastisol transfers this afternoon!
i combined what i read here with some info i found on youtube and the result is very good.

i used ordinary plastisol ink without any special powder, printed on a piece of suport paper from self-adhesive vinyl (oracal, avery, any piece of paper with a very glossy surface will work, i believe).
then i flashed the ink with my heat gun then pressed it wit the cap heat press on a baseball cap.
medium-high pressure, 25 sec, 180-190 degrees Celsius (i believe about 380 Fahrenheit), and i peel the paper after 3-4 seconds.
again - the result is very good and it seems to hold on ok.
thanks everybody for the info!

 

I have heard that you can but only to gel state,, do not let it dry,,
please correct me if i am wrong , good to see ya Joe,,
Sandy jo
MMM

 

Someone asked me for some tips, so...I am by no means an expert, but I'll tell you what I do know so far...keep in mind, I have only made one and two color hot split to date. If anyone disagrees or has additional info, feel free. Some of this is already covered above.

Screens: Use 80 mesh and set your graphics up a bit thicker/fatter than usual. For multiple colors, you'll want a good amount of trap. I use .035 if I can get it. You want a nice amount of ink, especially for hot split. Burn the image mirrored.

Vacuum platen/table: While this is supposedly a must from anyone you ask, I have found it possible to make one color transfers without it, if your off contact and print stroke are perfect. I would also recommend it though, as it is way easier. For 2/c+ transfers, it is a must.

Paper: I use AceTransCo paper. Far superior than others I've tried.

Ink: Union ink makes a really good transfer specific line of ink, but other plastisols work also. I did find this weekend though that some very high viscosity inks require an extender base. I'm looking into that more. I would suggest you read up on any ink you plan to use that is not specifically for transfers.

Position: If making more than single color transfers, you'll need to set up a template to position the paper for subsequent prints. I use a thick masking tape line to position the paper in the same place every time.

Curing: I have a Vastex Econo Red II, I set it at the lowest position, temp at 550, belt speed at 40. You want to gel the ink as you would for flashing. I gave up testing temperature, I just test to see that the print is a bit tacky but does not come off on your finger. This part you may need to play with a bit. For single colors, that's it. For multiple colors, you should put the paper through the dryer before printing because it always shrinks some. By doing this, you are pre-shrinking it so you have a better chance of getting that second hit to line up. I print a t-shirt first to make sure my registration is perfect before I move to the paper. This way you alleviate that issue if your registration is off. I have found humid conditions make the shrinkage unbearable. This good paper helps a lot, but it's still tougher. You print, throw it in the dryer, let it cool a bit, then print your second hit. As I said, I have only done 2/c so far, so I don't know more about additional hits, but so far I have not had to speed up the dryer for the second print.

Pressing: I always test press my first sheet before I go whole hog printing sheets. You want to make sure it's going to actually transfer before wasting all that time, ink and paper. I have a Hotronix and set it at 350, 5 seconds, medium pressure. Peel right away.

 

Ok guy's, i've been very quiet on the forums for a little while now as I too have been learning this 'plastisol transfer' business.
I managed to purchase a poster screen printing hand bench with a vaccum bed very reasonably earlier this summer
A small problem I have come up against is that I have not purchased a conveyor drier so I am 'flashing' my transfers with a heat-gun. This gives inconsistancy with the cure, some are over-cured some under.
I decided the best way to battle this was to use powder adhesive, really just to give me confidence that the transfer would adhere well to the garment on the heat press.
I am using Union Inks Unilon 2159. I started by sprinkling my (wet) transfers with the powder then shaking off the excess powder then curing with the heat-gun. This is where the problem came, whilst curing with the heat-gun some of the glue particles were melting to the transfer paper which cannot be shifted. This gives an terrible result when you press your transfer onto your shirt!
I have combated this by now adding the adhesive at a ratio of 10-15% directly to my plastisol ink.
By doing this it has made the process much less messy and a whole lot quicker. I have deliberately 'over-cured' my transfers and they still adhere well to the garment, thanks to the adhesive powder.
I hope this helps.

Phil

 

Hi,
just a few tips, instead of printing onto platen, as in first post, tape a piece of acetate or clear film onto platen along top edge so it is hinged by the tape. Pull a Print onto this film, and slide your transfer paper under film and into position. Use taped on tabs of card for register guides. This allows accurate register on multicolour jobs to be accomplished and is more forgiving of irregularities on the edge of transfer paper, I frequently produce four colour process decals in this way. Remove acetate once position is ascertained. Repeat for subsequent colours with a clean acetate(film), pull a print onto acetate and sliding previously printed transfer sheet under film manouever it into position. This is made easier if a rule is taped to transfer sheet to manouever it into position under the film without having to lift the film. This method is common practice for setup on a screen printing hand table and allows setup with minimal waste. Also when Using plastisol, the film is easily cleaned of with white spirit (MINERAL SPIRIT)for re use.
A cheaper alternative to a tunnel dryer is a thermography machine, frequently seen on ebay not attracting much interest, which is effectively a small flash dryer over a metal wire conveyor. I use an old adana version for precisely this purpose and it works very well. This provides a much more uniform heat than a heat gun and reduces risk of scorching sheet.
Printed transfers can be stored, or shipped, interleaved with kitchen grease proof paper, or waxed paper.
Finally a cheap vacuum base can be made by affixing a melamine board onto an old aluminium screen frame front and back, with mastic. Place a piece of graph paper onto top board for drilling template and drill through with .3mm or .5mm drill. Use an old cylinder vacuum cleaner as vacuum pump, with a simple slide valve arrangement underneath, to allow vacuum to be released between prints. I can post pictures or plans of this home made arrangement, (my decal table), if anyone is interested.
Hope this helps.

 

Hi does anyone use a temp gun to cure plastisols? Just curious because say if you cure to 350 then maybe it would stand to reason that for transfers you would let it hit 175 or something for this? Also only union ultra softs? Nothing else works right????
And do you put the powder on the paper then print or on the print to go between it and the fabric? I was thinking aboiut doing this for hats and maybe brand size labels, so would it be a good idea to print 10 or 20 at a time? I know this is a really old thread but I need to revive it...need info!

Thanks in advance!

 

I was wondering if you could use a heat press to cure plastisol transfers. I have a Geo Knight Swing press and it would be the same distance as a flash dryer. Thanks

 

I've wondered about this also. I remember reading an article (maybe by Scott Fresener?) talking about possibly using a heat press to gel the transfer. I'd like to give it a try, but I haven't had the time yet. Anyone else try this?

Also, what does the adhesive powder do? I use Union Ultra Soft plastisol ink. I also purchased some of the transfer paper that Valley Litho sells. Would I still need the adhesive powder?

 

great post

 

I am having trouble with this. I am doing some test prints to try and figure this out. I have a screen with 156 mesh, international coatings plastisol. I printed on hot peel transfer paper. Flashed it for a few seconds, then added adhesive powder, then pressed at 350 for 10 seconds. The ink is sticking to the paper too much. I tried it at 15 seconds and still the same thing. I pull up on the heat press and try to pull it right away. Some of the plastisol goes on the shirt and some sticks on the paper. Any ideas???

 

Got it working. I was using the inkjet transfer paper we had and not the plastisol premium stuff.

One question

I tried it without flashing before pressing and it worked fine. Is there a need to do the quick flash if you are going to be pressing immediately? Reason we are doing it instead of directly on the garment is we are adding some text to a shirt that we already printed. So we want to line them all up so there is no variation.

 

Read through this thread but did not see anything about separating colors for plastisol transfers? With screen printing, obviously each color requires its own screen. Does plastisol transfers work in the same manner or can all colors be printed onto one transfer from a single screen?

 

All other normal screen printing rules apply. You need a separate screen for each color.