resolute ink cracking

2166 Views 12 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Support2012, May 15, 2012

andreas2000

Discussion Starter · May 11, 2012

i have tried every setting 350f 200 seconds
light pressure and white ink is cracking
330f 180 seconds same resulte and even tried
heavy pressure
please i need help any one with a solution

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Preston

· #2 · May 11, 2012

andreas2000 said:
i have tried every setting 350f 200 seconds
light pressure and white ink is cracking
330f 180 seconds same resulte and even tried
heavy pressure
please i need help any one with a solution

White ink cracking is a sign that it is under-cured. Depending on the ink it will have to reach a temperature of between 300 and 320 all the way thru the ink deposit. Curing with a heat press is a hit and miss ordeal at best and the temp gauges on most heat presses are not that accurate. You can also have hot and cold spots on a heat press that can vary 20 to 30 degrees one way or the other. You may want to try increasing the time in steps until you find the time and temp that will work. And remember when you put a shirt under a heat press you suck the heat right out of the element and it takes time to recover. On my conveyor dryer I have the shirts in the tunnel for around 120 seconds with a temp of 560 degrees in the tunnel.

You may also what to look at which white ink you are using. There are some that are made as what is called "Fast Flash" and these will fully cure quicker at a lower temp than other whites.

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zoom_monster

· #3 · May 11, 2012

andreas2000 said:
i have tried every setting 350f 200 seconds
light pressure and white ink is cracking
330f 180 seconds same resulte and even tried
heavy pressure
please i need help any one with a solution

Try again. Do one with slightly less pretreat. Print another, exactly the same but cure once, let cool slightly and cure again. Wash test, see if this brings an improvement.

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andreas2000

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 11, 2012

because resolute ink is thinner than other inks
is it best to cure at lower temprature
say 290f for 180

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lazographics

· #5 · May 11, 2012

It may help to contact resolute ink and get their info on it. Heres their website:Inkjet Garment Printer Ink Looks like theres a phone number on there you can call.

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andreas2000

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 12, 2012

thanks z i cured at 350f for 150s opened heat press and closed for another 150s and did 3 wash tests and its perfect thanks

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zoom_monster

· #7 · May 12, 2012

Andreas, That is great news. Your next job is to find a "sweet spot" that will not impact production as much. The reason you were not getting a proper cure is that the ink does not reach threshold temperature untill all moisture is gone. using a longer dwell time or higher temp alows the "water" to evaporate allowing the temp of the ink film to rise above 212F (100c).

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andreas2000

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 12, 2012

thanks z for your big help

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lazographics

· #9 · May 12, 2012

You should be able to cure it through all the way for 180 seconds with out having to let it cool in between. Let it cool can slow down production if your ever working with large orders. After curing it give it a day and the wash test. By then you will be sure that all the water has evaporated from the ink. Brands of heat presses also make a big difference on how high you have to get the temperature. 350F can scorch most colors of tees.

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OSSKOBRET

· #10 · May 15, 2012

i dont use resolute , i use fast ink 3 but i was unhappy with results after curing . before curing they looked great but after not so much so what i started doing is a hover cure for three minutes and i wont even touch shirt at all at 330-340 and the cure is great and prints are vivid . i dont know if anyone else does this but i would like to know your thoughts.

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lazographics

· #11 · May 15, 2012

I guess I started doing the same thing a few months back. I have the heat press hover maybe about 3-5 milimeters (really just eyeballing it) and I stopped using the silicon curing paper as well. I find the water evaporates better without it from the ink. I have the temperature set to 310 and the prints look more vivid then they have before. Theres also less of the dreaded heat press square on the shirt. Washability is also still great right off the press. I use dupont ink and pretreament and the brand of heat press is Stahls Hotronix. Which is my favorite brand of heat press out of maybe a couple of dozen heat presses I've used over the years and seen customers use while I was out doing installations. Don't know what kind of results you will get if you'd try my methods using a different heat press. For any one who reads this its always best to do a wash test to tell if your curing properly.

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OSSKOBRET

· #12 · May 15, 2012

i do the same for white or light shirts as well i just adjust the time its over the shirt . i started doing this because it seemed that i was crushing the ink and i use my silicone paper thru way to many cycles so this process seems to eliminate all the stuff i did not like . my press is a geo auto release dk 20

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Support2012

· #13 · May 15, 2012

Wade Roan runs Resolute, and is an expert on many machines and a co-worker from US Screen.
Contact him through his website. He will be more than happy to help you out.

Lot's of us former US Screeners are on the forum (Billy included-used to work with him too
and can easily verify he knows his stuff and is a great guy!)

I was the Blazer QC person at US Screen. Machines did not ship until I finished with them.
And have all the documentation about those machines.

Michael

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