[chuck scott]

I just got a call from one of my customers, they stated that the ink on the shirts is washing off. I using plastisol ink and flash drying it for about 2-3 min, does anyone have some advice. thanks chuck

 

[badalou]

Yeah, I want to know where you got those transfers? I am going to be doing this and I am nervous about which company I will use. I have a shirt I practiced on yesterday now I am going to wash it to see what happens.

 

[Rodney]

Are you talking about heat transfers or regular screen printing plastisol inks?

 

[identityburn]

Sounds like undercuring. I've had that problem myself doing our test prints. I'm thinking about getting a temp gun to make sure the heater is hot enough to try and avoid that.

 

[Solmu]

As a general rule if someone posts in the screen printing forum and talks about flash drying, they're screen printing not using transfers...

(and I'd agree with Jason's advice to get a temp gun, I don't use plastisol myself but it's one piece of advice I've heard over and over)

 

[Rodney]

As a general rule if someone posts in the screen printing forum and talks about flash drying, they're screen printing not using transfers...

You'd be surprised

 

[suzieh]

Chuck, on the other board I belong to "heat_transfers" Y group....a screenprinter just had the same problem. Seems as if undercuring (they did not use their temp gun or test strips and I think it was an oversized image as well). And possibly using some bad ink (wasn't their typical brand) may be the cause. I'm not a screenprinter...just passing this on as it just got posted and fresh in my head LOL. There are screenprinting boards as well...just an FYI. Susan

I just got a call from one of my customers, they stated that the ink on the shirts is washing off. I using plastisol ink and flash drying it for about 2-3 min, does anyone have some advice. thanks chuck

 

[Ayres Clothing]

I did some test prints, and i had some of the ink wash off. I know I didn't flash dry them long enough, but I am about to do another run of test prints. Is there anything wrong with plastisol inks when printing on cotton shirts? Is there a better type of ink I should be using? Does anyone have any suggestions on a particular type of ink?

 

[Solmu]

Is there anything wrong with plastisol inks when printing on cotton shirts?

Nope.

Is there a better type of ink I should be using?

It depends how you define better. Waterbased inks give you a softer hand, are better for the environment, and pose less OH&S risk to the printer. On the other hand they're not as opaque, take longer to cure, and dry faster in the screen. They're generally considered harder to work with and not as good for printing on darks.

 

[Ayres Clothing]

I gottcha. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Solmu]

The other advantage of waterbased inks I forgot to mention is that they airdry. You still need to cure them before washing, but it does make it easier to handle them pre-curing. Of course the airdrying properties are also what make the ink dry in the screen, so if you don't print quickly you may get nasty blockages.

As you may be able to tell I'm still undecided myself as to which is best. Plastisol and Wasterbased both have their advantages, so I'm not sure which I'll end up using longterm myself (let alone which I'd recommend for someone else).