[spiderx1]

I recently got my hands on a new pretreatment that is about to be released. I have started tested all aspects of the pretreat and hopefully be able to post some definitive results soon. But what is it all about. Well it claims to increase washability by 50%, Plus be easier to use. In that respect it is referring to the fact that it is more tolerable of the amount sprayed on the shirt.
What do I know so far. It definitely increases washability, how much? Not sure yet but so far I would have to say a 50% increase is conservative with closer to 100% increase, but have not got there yet.
With the classic pretreatment you start to see significant loss at around 16-20 washes. With this at that point it still looks great. Seems much less sensitive to a little to little or a little to much sprayed on the shirt making it less sensitive to inconsistencies of a pretreat machine due to some nozzle clogging or wear and tear. Also in the past I have talked about hang drying to prevent pretreatment failure and increasing the tolerability of the pretreat. With this one press drying appears to be just fine and probably should be. This is just a first look at what appears to be an amazing new product that, if test continue well, will increase productivity and make your shirts much more durable, a problem we have all encountered way to often in the dtg world. Here is the website that just went on line and I expect a lot more info to be released via the media very soon.
Image Armor Pretreatment for DTG inks, Let you know what I find out soon. This is like christmas coming early.

 

[abmcdan]

What company / who is behind this? Sounds great

 

[spiderx1]

Should be released later this week. Did you check out the website?

 

[EricDeem]

I've been testing this new pretreat also and so far so good. I've come to find that using more is not an issue like before. I don't have pricing info but using more also leads to higher consumable expenses. Lets hope the pricing is competitive or better than DuPont since using a lil extra is more security to the wash quality. I have a couple shirts with 8 washes and no issues yet...I'm going to keep washing until I find the failure point.

 

[abmcdan]

Should be released later this week. Did you check out the website?

I did and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some. Pretreat is a critical and hard part for new users.

The more struggles we can eliminate the better for DTG printing as a whole.

 

[23spiderman]

definitely interesting. my process is working well right now when printing on Keya shirts. this new pretreat will need to be priced well for me to want to switch as i'm already getting 15-20 washes with no problems. i did subscribe so i can be in the loop. thanks for the info!

 

[spiderx1]

Yes, it appears that a heavier coat is better but really not required. So far it just means you can overdo it a bit without everything flaking off.

 

[sean815]

subscribed to their list. Interesting!

 

[EricDeem]

I used this new PT on an order of 100 pieces for a group I am involved with. I figure this will really put it to the test! The shirts I used were an Athletic Heather from LAT and the prints look great. I did have a slight discolored PT box after curing on this color but I have used it on Royal Blue, Black and Turquoise colors with much less of a noticible box. As I understand it, a new light shirt PT option will be available soon too which should eliminate the box I had on the Athletic Heather! Hopefully I will be asked to test and evaluate it as well.

 

[102557]

Very Impressed with Vipers new pretreat. It eliminates the small application window that we currently are accustomed to and the wash-ability is unbelievable. If there is a dtg product of the year award they have my vote! Reminds me of this interview at about 6:55 in Scott Fresener Interviews Brian Walker - FespaFabric Barcelona - YouTube , is Scott a fortune teller?

 

[23spiderman]

where this comes in handy is once the shirt passes from me to the customer. one issue i've seen is that MY shirt washes and lasts a long time. the same shirt, printed at the same time, same pretreat, etc., in my customer's hand...sometimes doesn't wash as well. since we can't control how each of our customers will launder their items, a more durable pretreat would be great. so far, Keya shirts have tremendously helped this problem.

so to be clear, we now have TWO new pretreat formulas coming out? Viper & Image Armour?

 

[sean815]

where this comes in handy is once the shirt passes from me to the customer. one issue i've seen is that MY shirt washes and lasts a long time. the same shirt, printed at the same time, same pretreat, etc., in my customer's hand...sometimes doesn't wash as well. since we can't control how each of our customers will launder their items, a more durable pretreat would be great. so far, Keya shirts have tremendously helped this problem.

so to be clear, we now have TWO new pretreat formulas coming out? Viper & Image Armour?

Viper makes image armour. Look closely to the bottle, you can see their logo.

 

[g.lupo]

In going to take a look at it I haven't had any issues do far but nothing wrong with trying something new.

 

[102557]

I think there claim to fame will be the "entire life span of the garment" it looks like they have easily doubled and maybe quadrupled the current life span, Along with eliminating the steep learning curve for new users on PT application! Its easily seen by wash testing and comparing the different products head to head at the same time. I have done a ton of wash tests thru the years and its common that when a dtg printed shirt reaches its life span its graphic has a disintegrating effect, this product doesn't yield the same effect the image is still intact! Its no contest they have the it product. Imho.. wondering what the price point will be?

 

[tankueray]

OMG did you look at the MSDS? It's got Deionized Dihydrogen Oxide in it! That stuff is dangerous. Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division - dihydrogen monoxide info

(Sorry, couldn't help myself. I just wasted 5 shirts and I could really use this stuff right now...)

 

[spiderx1]

OMG did you look at the MSDS? It's got Deionized Dihydrogen Oxide in it! That stuff is dangerous. Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division - dihydrogen monoxide info
You do realize that's a fancy name for deionized distilled water right.

(Sorry, couldn't help myself. I just wasted 5 shirts and I could really use this stuff right now...)

You do realize that's a fancy name for deionized distilled water right

 

[GreatWhiteHope]

sounds very promising....Dupont ink specific? only?
Looking forward to pics when you have them

 

[tankueray]

You do realize that's a fancy name for deionized distilled water right

Yes, I'm a scientist. It's a really old joke.

 

[spiderx1]

Sorta thought so but a lot of people may not understand it as a joke. Thanks for clearing that up. Good printing!

 

[EricDeem]

WOW - This stuff rocks! I have washed a couple shirts now close to 20 times and they show very little deterioration to the print. I used an American Apparel 2001, LAT 6901 and Cotton Heritage 1044 which are all light weight ringspun shirts...which the lighter weight makes bonding the ink to the fibers more difficult. The cotton fibers themselves are beginning to breakdown due to the excessive washing, however the prints still look great!

Do they show some cracking? Yes.
Do I think its a PT issue? No.
Do I think that the cotton fibers breaking apart is causing the ink crack and not the PT? Yes.
Would I recommend this PT to other DTG users? In a heartbeat!

My confidence level in what I am providing to my customers has gone thru the roof! While there is still a learning curve to getting good PT results...the curve has been flattened out substantially!!