try a heat gun

 

The iron isn't steaming is it?

 

I tried both (reg and steam mode) on wet and dry inked shirt. Still smeared. Ofcourse the smear was worse with the freshly inked shirt, than the dry, but the dry still smeared.

 

I haven't tried to iron water based but perhaps you would have to cure by sections? EG: Leave the iron sitting on a section of the image for a while pick it directly up and put it back down on another section? I would assume the smearing comes from you moving the iron around and possibly you have thick sections of ink that squirt out and smear?

 

There are two types of speedball inks... ones for textiles and ones for everything else (paper, wood, glass, plastic, etc...). Acrylic is for everything else so maybe that's why you're having problems. So try the speedball ink for t-shirts. It should be available at the same place where you got your acrylic ink. Also you should always use a piece of cloth (scrap t-shirt, printing pellon...) between your iron and the t-shirt you're trying to cure. Also make sure your iron is on the highest setting possible. The ink needs to reach 320 degrees in order to cure.

 

Thank You so much to all of you for the help! Here's one for ya'...I just tried to silkscreen a shirt with this quart of Ryonet white that i had. The guy from the company was wicked cool, and said i could cure it without a flash dryer, or anyother type of fancy drying machinery by just throwing it in an oven @325 for like 30 seconds. I thought that's cool, why not give it a try.
First of all, as i'm sure you all know, that stuff is a mess!!! Not only thicker than the thickest house paint i've ever seen, but as sticky as glue! I was completely unaware that you are supposed to mix the ink with another ingredient to make it thinner! I've never seen that anywhere, so i didn't know. After the very first squegee stroke, i couldn't even see the screen. It was just completely caked. So for the hell of it, i did a few more strokes. Lifted the arm to see the shirt, and it was bad. Looks faded. Obviously ink way to thick to come through my 110 mesh properly. DAMN! oh well. Guess i'll stick with that speedball water based ink.

 

one is not waterbase, and its not a mess you just need to know how to use it also a 110mesh screen will allow the ink white in with out any trouble

 

All the mesh i have is 110. and that ryonet white is some nasty thick sticky stuff! Won't wash out of anything! Took me hours to get it off my hands alone! Read up on some good helpful things to try to use that crap, and watched all the videos they have about it on their site but we'll see. lol
I'm still waiting for my water based fabric inks to come in. And you guys are right about the speedball acrylic, it does work on fabric, but after 1st wash it fades like it's 10 years old. not good. I'm very anxious to try the other stuff! The actual fabric inks.
I read somewhere else on here, that the water based fabric inks will come out looking like the Ed Hardy, Christian Audigier & Affliction style shirts. ("Soft-Hand"?) is that really true?...if so, that's very cool with me! I actually hate that raised rubbery feel of the other crap.

 

Yea... Most waterbased inks i've used have nearly no hand at all... in other words you can't feel the ink on the shirt once it's been cured and washed. It's the best way to have a completely invisibly soft hand.

 

Use a good waterbased ink like the Enviroline from Ryonet and go get a $20 heat gun from Home Depot to dry and you'll be set.

 

if your using plastisols you'll really want to stir it well (most colours) till it thins out, try a drill with a paint mixer attatchment and stir till its soft and creamy..white is a thick one that needs to be stirred well..especially with an additive.

 

Thanks guys for all the help! I truly appreciate it! I tried the Speedball fabric ink last night. Much thinner in texture compared to the speedball acrylic. Very cool though! I will definitley get the bigger sizes of the Enviroline inks from silkscreeningsupplies!
It's funny when i tried to iron the fabric ink on the shirt yesterday, it smeared just like the acrylic did. lol
I'll get that heat gun thing i guess. Try that. I'm open to try anything at this point.
I actually thought about stirring the hell out of that Ryonet white before i used it. I never will again, but i actually thought about it, just didn't do it. My mistake. I asked the guy from the company, and he said i could also use an additive to thin it, but most people don't. so...i'll stick w/ the water based inks. They seem wicked easy, and very cool to work with!
Thank you guys again for being so incredibly helpful!

 

I will definitley get the bigger sizes of the Enviroline inks from silkscreeningsupplies!

You can't/shouldn't use an iron on the enviroline inks. Heat gun, at a minimum, is required.

It's funny when i tried to iron the fabric ink on the shirt yesterday, it smeared just like the acrylic did. lol
I'll get that heat gun thing i guess. Try that. I'm open to try anything at this point.

With the Speedball fabric ink, let the ink completely air dry first. Then iron, after covering the print with a sheet of paper or foil. There should be no smearing at that point.

 

I always use heat gun. do not overheat because the ink will evaporate.

 

Okay, i just got the heat gun in today. it's a nice one from Wel-Built. It says 300 degrees, or 500 degrees option. Which one do i use for a shirt?...and for how long?..AND HOW CLOSE TO THE SHIRT!?!? lol
Also, was wondering, has anyone ever used a heat gun to dry the plastisol inks?, or won't it work? Was just curious about that. I was actually thinking about going to plastisol inks because evrytime i do a fabric ink shirt, 1st wash it looks nasty old and faded.
Sorry for all the questions. Not only a newbie with silkscreening, i'm also a moron.

-J

 

Use 500, you'll cure faster. When i first used a heat gun, I bought a 900 degree one. Cures even faster

Yes, you can use a heat gun to cure plastisol, although not as reliably as with water based. With plastisol, you need to make sure all sections of the design reaches 320 degrees. Miss a spot and it will run in the wash.

 

I put the shirt on a hanger sholder hieghth in front of me, hold the bottom front of the shirt out (so air flows through) and put the gun ahout 3 inches off the design. This works great for me, the key is to keep the gun slowly moving across the design so you don't scorch it. Don't let the gun stop over one spot for more than a second or two. You should see steem come out of the colar.

Some times I also trough a whole batch of shirts in the dryer to make sure all the moisture is out.

 

I've never used a heat gun before, ..actually, I don't really know what that is -- like a mini heat press?

If the ink won't stand up to the touch of the iron put something in between them, like another tshirt. This way it gets as hot, without the ironing touching the print. If ink comes up when your ironing though, your probably not waiting long enough before you heat set them. Let them air dry a little more, or put them in front of a fan (more air = more dry). Don't more the iron around, press, lift, move, press, lift, move. Even if the shirts set enough, thinner inks that build up too much under the screen are likely to run.

Also, I sometimes don't even heat set the shirts. Some water based inks will heat set in the hotter setting of a nice new clothes dryer.

On that note, permaset is really nice. It thickens up almost like plastisol (not as well), and heat sets really nicely.

 

a heat gun is like a hair dryer on crack.

 

I have been using the heat gun method...holding it about an inch above the image and moving across it VERY slowly. Seems like a pain in the butt to have to do this to every shirt...very time consuming.
Think I might buy an iron.
Anybody have any input on using my household oven for drying shirts?

 

Seems like a pain in the butt to have to do this to every shirt...very time consuming.
Think I might buy an iron.

I don't think you'll find that an improvement.

Anybody have any input on using my household oven for drying shirts?

My input would be do not do it. Ink, and especially t-shirts, contain a lot of chemicals that are best not ingested or breathed.

Heating them in an enclosed space with poor ventilation that you prepare food in is not safe.

 

To cure waterbase ink properly you need to evaporate all the water moisture from the material.
To do this you need to turn the water into steam. Then you need to blow the moisture(steam) away.

Use Iron or Heat gun.
When you iron the shirt, you will force the moisture of the material to the surface, that is why the shirt feels wet. But you won't have any devices to blow the moisture away.
I don't have a heat gun but I think it is a heavy duty hair dryer on steroid.
If I am correct, then we have moving hot air which can reach 135C, water moisture to steam and get blown away by the heat gun fan.

WARNING: don't over heat your ink. you can destroy it. Curing ink is like cooking. throw a frozen meat onto the BBQ with high flame. burnt on the outside but cold inside.

Hope it helps.

 

Invest in a heat press and a heat gun. You can always do heat transfers with it. The heat press will work alot better than a home iron.

 

Hi There. I just got registered in this forum.

I'm having a problem. Yesterday I printed my very first T shirt using Fabric Screen Printing ink that came with the speedball kit. Print came out without any problem but today I washed the T shirt and ink was washed away. I read above messages and I got this word CURE? How to cure the print and why do we do it? And how does it affect? Is it ok to use fabric ink that used without mixing it with water?

 

Follow the instructions on the Speedball ink container. It tells you how to heat set (cure) the print using an iron. If you don't, your ink will wash out.

 

Try a halogen oven http://www.t-shirtforums.com/screen-printing-equipment/t137980.html

I haven't used it for drying because I haven't decided on the materials to use for my oven enclosure. However, insofar as flashing waterbase and plastisol inks, its pretty much a done deal. It works beautifully.

I don't really see why curing will be a problem but hope to get to that part soon.

Works rally well compared to a heat gun. Cheaper, more durable (according to those who have been using it), faster, and more effective. You can set the temp although my temp on the shirt is always 20-30F higher. Maybe because the sensor is on the oven top and hot air escapes through the top vent or cool air.enters from the open space at the top reaching the sensor first