[justinswinston]

Hi everyone,

Just had my first print run last night and it was a huge success. Registration on my press was spot on and I had no issues with drying ink.

One thing I was wondering is the shelf life of discharge inks. I have a yellow and green Brite White Discharge from Matsui that is already activated. I believe it will discharge for another 24-36 hrs after activation, but is it no good after that?

Can old, activated discharge be used to just print the color it is on lighter garments after the shelf life or is this junk now?

What a waste if it is....

Cheers,
J

 

[Diver86]

Refrigerate after use.

Our customers regularly use Matsui discharge inks for several "weeks" after activating with the Agent.

Of course it depends on how long it has been room temperature. Think of it like "milk"........ When your done with it, return it to the fridge. If you leave it out, it will expire much quicker.

Once it 'starts' to smell like rotten eggs, toss it! Don't try to salvage it, it's really inexpensive ink and not worth trying.

 

[justinswinston]

Thanks for the info....I'll perform the sniff test and see how it goes.

 

[tpitman]

After my first test of Matsui discharge, I put the mixing tub outside, uncovered, overnight because it stunk so much. For the heck of it I did a test the next evening and it printed perfectly.

That said, you should only mix as much as you need for the moment. You can mix your colors into the base as much as you want, but don't add the activator until you need to print, and then only as much ink as you'll use. Not much sense in trying to see how long you can stretch it, as it only takes a few moments to parcel out the ink you need then stir in the appropriate amount of activator.