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I am having a consistent issue where my printed t-shirts sticks to itself upon first wash. Trying to loosen it results in bad "tears" in the print and discoloring (see attached).
I noticed this more with the larger sized prints or very detailed prints which require more ink, like photographs or cartoons.
Printer: Ricoh Ri 2000 (Printer was sent in and serviced by Ricoh in September 2022).
Heat Press: Insta Swing-away Heat Press Model 221 (it's old, from late 1990s).
Pretreatment: Image Armor Platinum for Dark Garments (I've previously used a 1:2 mixed ratio of the OEM Epson Ultrachrome Pretreat solution with distilled water, had same issue).
I use a pretreat machine (one with slide-out try to lay the shirt down and thread the hoop through) to spray 1-2 passes of the pretreat over the shirt.
I move to the heat press and let it hover about 1-2" inches over the pretreated shirt for about 60 secs to help dry. Then I lay a clean teflon sheet down over the shirt and press for 30-40 seconds @ 330* F on medium pressure (about 30 ~ 40 PSI). Sometimes if it comes out still a bit damp I press in intervals of 10 sec till the shirt is dry and I don't see any visible steam/moisture escape after lifting the teflon sheet.
After printing on the shirt, I have tried two different methods:
1. Letting the shirt air dry for a few hours or even overnight; heat press w/teflon sheet @ 330* F for 90 seconds on medium pressure (30~40 PSI).
OR
2. Immediately pressing it w/teflon sheet @ 330* F for 90 seconds on medium pressure (30~40 PSI).
Comparing the two, immediately pressing the shirt after printing I've noticed results in some of the print transferring onto the teflon sheet.
Wash Method: Shirt was washed inside out with cold water and with other dark garments.
The photos are from immediately after I took the shirt out of the washer.
This one wasn't as bad, but there was discoloration, with the blue fading to show the white ink layer beneath it - this was on a ink-heavy print:
Any advice to fix this issue would be much appreciated. Thoughts?
I noticed this more with the larger sized prints or very detailed prints which require more ink, like photographs or cartoons.
Printer: Ricoh Ri 2000 (Printer was sent in and serviced by Ricoh in September 2022).
Heat Press: Insta Swing-away Heat Press Model 221 (it's old, from late 1990s).
Pretreatment: Image Armor Platinum for Dark Garments (I've previously used a 1:2 mixed ratio of the OEM Epson Ultrachrome Pretreat solution with distilled water, had same issue).
I use a pretreat machine (one with slide-out try to lay the shirt down and thread the hoop through) to spray 1-2 passes of the pretreat over the shirt.
I move to the heat press and let it hover about 1-2" inches over the pretreated shirt for about 60 secs to help dry. Then I lay a clean teflon sheet down over the shirt and press for 30-40 seconds @ 330* F on medium pressure (about 30 ~ 40 PSI). Sometimes if it comes out still a bit damp I press in intervals of 10 sec till the shirt is dry and I don't see any visible steam/moisture escape after lifting the teflon sheet.
After printing on the shirt, I have tried two different methods:
1. Letting the shirt air dry for a few hours or even overnight; heat press w/teflon sheet @ 330* F for 90 seconds on medium pressure (30~40 PSI).
OR
2. Immediately pressing it w/teflon sheet @ 330* F for 90 seconds on medium pressure (30~40 PSI).
Comparing the two, immediately pressing the shirt after printing I've noticed results in some of the print transferring onto the teflon sheet.
Wash Method: Shirt was washed inside out with cold water and with other dark garments.
The photos are from immediately after I took the shirt out of the washer.
This one wasn't as bad, but there was discoloration, with the blue fading to show the white ink layer beneath it - this was on a ink-heavy print:
Any advice to fix this issue would be much appreciated. Thoughts?