[bomber315]

hey guys im pretty excited and i just gotta tell someone who can appreciate it.

I managed to print a nice white on dark heather grey, with NO flash, lastnight!

After 2 years of just giving up and p/f/p white on dark colors, i recently decided to get the 1 hit white figured out.

I bought a 90dm squeegee, and printed my triangle phoenix white. that changed very little.

Lastnight, i thinned the white with probably 25% curable reducer. I managed to print 88 impressions with very good coverage. I did a fill stroke, a hard push stroke, then 2 easy push strokes. BAM! a nice white!

now to just get it down to a fill and a push like roger jennings.

im excited no more p/f/p!! lets just hope it wasn't a fluke, or the leniency of the heathered shirt.

PS this was all thru a brand new 158 screen from pocono

 

[thutch15]

Congrats... I occasionally get that as well. Still yet to lock it in every time.

 

[bomber315]

yeah i know, i swear a bright white with no flash is like the hardest thing we do.

 

[ScreenFoo]

Congrats! It only gets easier--well, until you get those really cheap linty 100% cotton shirts.

 

[bomber315]

yeah people always say that you dont want to thin your white ink too much because then you will have to p/f/p to get good coverage no matter what... i figured what the heck, if i thin it too much and have to p/f/p it wont be any different than what im doing now. figured if it was thinner it would have a softer hand which would be good. i was pleasntly suprised when it covered in i print

 

[aldenski]

I understand your excitement but there is risk in thinning the product. The ink manufacturers make the ink the way they do for a reason. I could make my press rotate 25% faster than it came but that doesnt make it safe. Thinning ink can risk the cure and longevity of the ink. How excited would you be if your customer called you back and said the ink was flaking off?

In my experience a softer squeegee and a softer platten make for easier "non flash whites" than what you describe. A hard platen can be made softer by using a rubber layer or even a dense foam layer. The foam doesnt stand up to a flash, but thats what you're trying to prevent anyway. A good flood and a slow print stroke usually do wonders with this set up. As always, play with it and see. I often print black poly aprons with a white poly ink with this set up with no flash and they look great. Remember this is just a tool not a method for all.

 

[bomber315]

this is curable reducer, from what i understand it is basically the plastisol, without pigment. anyone else have any experience with this?

i have seen on youtube where people mix like 75% reducer to white ink to print special effects

 

[jkewl99]

hey guys im pretty excited and i just gotta tell someone who can appreciate it.

I managed to print a nice white on dark heather grey, with NO flash, lastnight!

After 2 years of just giving up and p/f/p white on dark colors, i recently decided to get the 1 hit white figured out.

I bought a 90dm squeegee, and printed my triangle phoenix white. that changed very little.

Lastnight, i thinned the white with probably 25% curable reducer. I managed to print 88 impressions with very good coverage. I did a fill stroke, a hard push stroke, then 2 easy push strokes. BAM! a nice white!

now to just get it down to a fill and a push like roger jennings.

im excited no more p/f/p!! lets just hope it wasn't a fluke, or the leniency of the heathered shirt.

PS this was all thru a brand new 158 screen from pocono

Awesome and congrats, I know the feeling of excitement. I have yet to get a good white print without flash, Have not given up yet Just curious if your screen was off contact if so how much space was there?

I recently did a navy fleece pullover and of course they wanted white lettering... I honest had p/f/p/f//p and at that point it looked like it was a caked on ink

 

[ScreenFoo]

Heh.. it could be worse--fleece doesn't tack well and likes to draw up under the flash. They're a pain--at least you got the print on it.

Many (especially old-school) printers have had bad experiences with reducer--specifically "unbalanced" reducer--i.e. plasticizer. Unbalanced reducer when added in excess of recommended proportions, will make ink harder--or even impossible, to cure. "Balanced" reducer, on the other hand, consists of plasticizer along with the PVC resin that bonds upon curing--you should be able to print and cure balanced reducer, as you print and cure RFU ink straight out of the bucket.

It seems unbalanced reducer has all but vanished from the market, perhaps because of peoples unwillingness to read instructions, but if you come across a reducer that is NOT labeled "curable", or "balanced", use it with caution, and it's a good idea to wash test a print before your production run. (of course, even if you DON'T modify your ink, it's not a bad idea to wash test before production, if it's the first time you've used it)

Aldenski makes a good point as well though--control of blade and platen durometer play a huge part in the ink transfer...

 

[bomber315]

i had about an 1/8th inch of off contact... my platen is rock hard, im wondering if maybe i could get better results with some of that 1/8th" rubber i have seen on some platens. On second thought i wonder what effect that would have on the registration.

when you say fleece do you mean like a hoodie or do you mean a thing that is basically a zipper up shirt with a collar that is fuzzy?

 

[jkewl99]

Both,

First was a Hoodie Sweatshirt, other was a fleece jacket. Both were fuzzy as heck and left my platen looking like cousin it from the munsters

 

[bomber315]

oh well i was printing jerzees 29m, and also did 4 jerzees 996m (hoody) all printed well, although for some reason the hoodys got more hand? not sure why, one would think with less off contact they would get less hand