We,re using neorip, viper xpt 6000 and epson f2000. The white ink is bleeding thru colors on dark shirts. We are using 30grams of epson pt. 30 seconds after pt at 330 & 90 seconds @ 330. We did'nt have this problem in the beginning. I was wondering if the pretreatment can get watered down with nightly clean ups? Or if I'm missing something obvious. Also, we are using clear plastic containers for our pt. is pt light sensitive in liquid form?
White ink bleeding through color on Epson
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Try to cut your pretreat back to around 20 grams. Did you cut your PT 1:1 with distilled water. 1:3 for use on white or light shirt. UV lights can affect PT but probably not the issue. Can you clarify your curing process maybe a pic of your problem . Really 30 grams should not hurt your print. Pt is for the white to stick to shirt, not the cmyk to the white.
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Probably not PT. White dots can be caused by a wicking of the white thru a fiber to actually be above the cmyk, then when pressed spreads. Do u know the exact temp of the press, not what the readout says. Full contact probe, strips, verified ir gun(not very reliable).
Besure to brush the pretreatment, be sure it is dry, not sticking to paper. I cure 45-60 seconds. The paper should slide off the shirt. Use light pressure to cure ink if paper wants to stick it is not drying. 90 sec should be fine. Paper will stick just very slightly more on ink. On pt it should actually slide off.
Besure to brush the pretreatment, be sure it is dry, not sticking to paper. I cure 45-60 seconds. The paper should slide off the shirt. Use light pressure to cure ink if paper wants to stick it is not drying. 90 sec should be fine. Paper will stick just very slightly more on ink. On pt it should actually slide off.
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As Randy said you need to brush the PT with a brush or roller after sparying but before heat pressing.
Search keyword "fibrilation" on this forum. This is a common issue especialy with low quality shirts.
Search keyword "fibrilation" on this forum. This is a common issue especialy with low quality shirts.
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You can use a high quality paint brush, common brand is Wooster sold at Home Depot, Lowes. 4" wide or so. Whatever you can get. Then after PT and before curing, i.e. wet, brush the pt in one direction, usually down from neck. Then cure. CH shirts are excellent quality, so that is not the issue but you can still get the dots. Even with Doing all the above I occasionally get a dot here and there. Also hovering the press for 10 secs or so before letting all the way down, hover about 1/2" off the shirt. Then lift and place the kraft paper on and press very very lightly. I usually only do this on High Res mode where a lot of white was put down.
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Using a roller makes a notable difference compered to a brush, so I would always go for a roller.
Hovering for 10 before placing the kraft paper also creates better finished results.
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I see this a lot on the Brother if I over pre treat, so I would defiantly try less pre treat.
Also try less pressure on the heat press, I think you get better results using less pressure and longer curing times than Epson recommended settings.
Also check the temp of the heat press, they can lie to you, you can buy a infa red temp device for $30-$40.
I take it the problem only displays after pressing the final print, if not it could be just to much white going down and pooling.
Best regards
-David
Also try less pressure on the heat press, I think you get better results using less pressure and longer curing times than Epson recommended settings.
Also check the temp of the heat press, they can lie to you, you can buy a infa red temp device for $30-$40.
I take it the problem only displays after pressing the final print, if not it could be just to much white going down and pooling.
Best regards
-David
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As Dave said, this can happen with too much pretreatment, but it may or may not be the problem. There are several things that could be happening.
1) Too much pretreat: If this is the case, look very close at the white specs. If you have a loop or a magnifying glass, look as close as you can. If it's too much pretreat, there will be little holes where the white specs are. If there aren't holes, chances are its not too much pretreat.
2) Not enough pretreat: This can happen if there isn't enough pretreat and binders to matte the fibers down. If this is the problem, typically you will see the white not being white enough, even at two passes. If it looks patchy or not a solid white, then put more pretreat on.
3) The shirt itself: Some shirts are just not good to use with DTG. No matter how much pretreat you put down, the fibers don't like to lay down. If you have all variables in line with the correct procedures and you still have these issues, change the shirt style.
4) Not enough pressure in drying pretreat: After you pretreat your garment, it's better to put a lot of pressure on the shirt in the drying process. The more pressure, the better the white. The problem is with more pressure, it can leave a more defined marking, so you will want to do very light pressure for about 10 seconds to lift the moisture, then heavy pressure until it dries.
5) Wrong kind of paper: Some people use paper when drying pretreat. Some types of paper are better than others. If you are using paper, lifting it off the shirt after dried can pull the fibers back up. We use teflon. I don't like the teflon sheets, they are harder to handle. If your heat press can have a teflon cover, I'd put one on it. The teflon works great for drying pretreat but when curing shirts with white ink, use a sheet of parchment.
In all the time I've printed, I've never used a brush or roller to matte fibers down. People do it successfully, but I've always looked at it as a waste of time when I'm trying to do production. If it works for you to use a brush or roller, go for it. Using techniques as described above, I can get a great print with no fibers sticking up.
Good Luck!
1) Too much pretreat: If this is the case, look very close at the white specs. If you have a loop or a magnifying glass, look as close as you can. If it's too much pretreat, there will be little holes where the white specs are. If there aren't holes, chances are its not too much pretreat.
2) Not enough pretreat: This can happen if there isn't enough pretreat and binders to matte the fibers down. If this is the problem, typically you will see the white not being white enough, even at two passes. If it looks patchy or not a solid white, then put more pretreat on.
3) The shirt itself: Some shirts are just not good to use with DTG. No matter how much pretreat you put down, the fibers don't like to lay down. If you have all variables in line with the correct procedures and you still have these issues, change the shirt style.
4) Not enough pressure in drying pretreat: After you pretreat your garment, it's better to put a lot of pressure on the shirt in the drying process. The more pressure, the better the white. The problem is with more pressure, it can leave a more defined marking, so you will want to do very light pressure for about 10 seconds to lift the moisture, then heavy pressure until it dries.
5) Wrong kind of paper: Some people use paper when drying pretreat. Some types of paper are better than others. If you are using paper, lifting it off the shirt after dried can pull the fibers back up. We use teflon. I don't like the teflon sheets, they are harder to handle. If your heat press can have a teflon cover, I'd put one on it. The teflon works great for drying pretreat but when curing shirts with white ink, use a sheet of parchment.
In all the time I've printed, I've never used a brush or roller to matte fibers down. People do it successfully, but I've always looked at it as a waste of time when I'm trying to do production. If it works for you to use a brush or roller, go for it. Using techniques as described above, I can get a great print with no fibers sticking up.
Good Luck!
this seems to happen to me alot as well, when curing the print will come perfect off the machine but when using kraft paper it sticks to the ink so im also trying to work this out . i found hovering helps a bunch on curing . i do it for like 30 seconds then use kraft paper to cure
i use kraft paper for pretreatment. parchment paper to cure.
Hi jarid. Is it need to dry the shirt first after pretreat on shirt and the print and then cure again with heat press after printing?
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You should heat press the pretreat first before printing. You want to both dry the pretreat and press down the fibers of the shirt. You also need to heat press the shirt after printing to dry the ink which gives the print washibility.
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As already stated, you will want to dry the shirt after pretreating. This could take 30-60 seconds depending on how much pretreat and what temperatures you are using. You will also want heavy pressure. The more pressure you have, the better the white will be. If the shirt is leaving a mark from the pretreat, you can bring the platen and let it sit on the shirt with minimal pressure for 10 seconds to release the heavy moisture. If you are using teflon to cover the shirt, wipe it off, then put heavy pressure on the shirt until it stops steaming.
We keep the temperatures the same between drying the pretreat and curing. When curing, Epson recommends 338 degrees F for 45 seconds when not using white ink and 75 seconds when using white.
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Some of the newer pretreats such as Image Armour, need to reach 325 degrees to activate the bonding of the chemicals, just drying will not work. Same with inks. This different than 8-9 months ago, well the pretreatment is different, the ink has always been like this. So if your heat press does not achieve this temp your results will be inconsistent.
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You should regularly check your heat platen temperature for accuracy. This will help avoid customers coming back with washed out prints. Use a pyrometer with a probe to get accurate readings.
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