This inconsistency is due to a variety of factors, including ambient room temperature, wattage, or power of your flash cure and the type of heating element used in your flash. If you add Warp Drive to the ink, press it for 20-30 seconds and set it off to the side to let it finish chemically curing the ink. This conveyor dryer is 24 wide 60 long with a 18 inch wide belt. FN-INK is a non-phthalate, ready-to-use plastisol ink that works great right out of the bucket, and is not a big financial hit to the ole wallet. Still curious? Will a heat gun work for curing ink? Wash test is the most effective and granted test for checking if the ink is cured or not. Provides a potential single ink solution for varied printing needs. Set the Dryer for 'Cotton/High' and dry for 30 minutes. Let the garment sit for 48 hours. Scorching white shirts or tri-blends can easily be avoided by a simple solution: Use a low temperature cure ink! Thermolabels are formulated to react within a few seconds when the rated temperature is reached. A heat gun can produce heat at approximately 900-1000 degrees Fahrenheit. A platen that can hold heat means it's quicker to achieve full cure since the garment is receiving heat from above and below. The cause of this problem is most likely due to the fact that the ink is not cured properly. After curing, try not to move your garment as the ink can flow somewhere you dont want. Standard inks typically cure around 320F. Set the heat of your flash dryer around that. Mua sn phm Rapid Cure Polyester White Screen Printing Ink (8oz.) Curing with a flash dryer takes a little bit of experience to dial in, but can be another way to cure prints without a conveyor dryer. Once your ink is cool, try stretching it a little bit. Rapid Cure Metallic Gold Screen Printing Ink (Gallon - 128oz.) Temperature: Not all fabrics require the same curing temperature. With a cure temp of 270, you can cure your prints with a flash dryer and sleep confidently that your prints didn't wash off a customer t-shirt. For plastisol ink, read the label to discover the cure temp and set the heat press to be 20-30 degrees above that curing temperature. However, it can vary on a design basis. Now that everything is ready, lets talk about the logistics of curing plastisol ink with a flash dryer. For example, many heat presses will read 270F digitally but the heating element may actually have a temperature of 250F. Quick Tips for Curing Screen Printing Ink Watch on Curing Tools If it looks more like an even split, youve stretched it too far. Typical problems that arise from improperly cured inks include: ink washing off the garments, cracking of the ink film, loss of color, and bleeding of the garment color(s) into the ink film. and our Free shipping for many products! It is possible that your t-shirt is burned if the heat is high.100% polyester fabric starts melting approximately at 480-500 degrees Fahrenheit. It will help the ink pigments to dry slowly. FEATURES 3804 Low Cure Additive lowers the curing or fusion temperatures of most plastisol based inks to less than 300F (149 C). When using a flash to cure, you first need to consider variables like the temperature of the room (pay attention to winter and height of summer, how long it takes to warm up platens), the type of t-shirt material, the kind of flash, the type of platen, and the temperature of ink, shirt, and platen. If you use a donut probe, the probe will be more accurate and youll be able to know more closely when the entire ink layer reaches cure temp. Sorry, curing discharge ink with a flash dryer is not safe. But the challenge is ensuring it's at that temp all the way through. Now look for cracks in your design. Most shirts wont go through a lot of strenuous stretching, so you dont need to pull too hard. So, its very important that you cure your garment properly before marking it as done. You can use a temp gun or a donut probe to check the temperature of your ink. There are low-heat plastisol ink options that cure at about 270 degrees, but you should always double-check the packaging and product that you're using before you begin working. If you go to your local distributor, you will most likely find itsomewhere on the shelf. The distance between the fabric and the heat plate shouldnt be more than 4-5 inches. EASY TO USE - Rapid Cure Plastisol Inks cure as low as 270F compared to the average plastisol ink that cures at 320F. You can find heat presses at a variety of pricing depending on quality and size. Manage Settings You are looking to deliver as much heat with as little room for heat loss as possible. A hair dryer normally produces 110-130 degrees Fahrenheit. Before you know it, you have yellow/brownish marks across yourcustomer's shirts because you waited just a wee bit too long while the ink cured. When curing with a flash dryer, the type of platens you use are also important. It can also be used to modify the rheology of the ink to improve dot definition. With a heat press for screen printing, you are going to have a heating element on top and once it gets to your curing temperature you are going to use pressure to close it down onto your garment. Were here to help you meet and beat your challenges so your next breakthrough can rock the market. And now iron over the paper that you put onto your design. The length of the tunnel on a conveyor dryer also plays a huge role. For more information, please see our Give your print some time after transferring it onto the garment. Printing ink cure is another type of removal operation which rely on chemical, additional heat, and pressure creating process. Pull the shirt off of the platen after printing so heat can get underneath the print. This is pretty much a heating element on a rotating post. Tilt downwards towards the T-shirt board creating a hotter environment near the bottom of the platen, which coincides with the bottom of your printed image. Plastisol ink typically cures at a temperature around 290 - 330 degrees Fahrenheit while water-based inks cure at above 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Plastisol inks need approximately 315-325 degrees Fahrenheit to dry properly. To print polyester products you will need a special kind of adhesive and ink. Draw an imaginary line between the dock/back door and the front/office door. Then perform a wash test (more on that later). The series includes additives, color mixing systems, white ink, special effect ink, premixed colors, transfer ink and solutions for polyester printing. Though it is not a very good way of curing. Epic Armor LC Blocker Dye migration blocker for polyesters, available in black and gray Performance LC White Ink Combines low cure, low bleed chemistry with stretch for polyester Polywhite LC Ink Remember, we are here to help! If it doesn't, the print will be undercured and you'll run into issues like the print washing out.) After curing the garment, pull on the ink. You have your Plastisol Inks that traditionally cure at around 320 F for a minute and your Water-Based Inks will cure at the same temperature but require around 3 minutes to cure. Pull out your laser temperature gun and aim it at the middle of the print. If the flash unit is not centered, it will result in uneven curing. Using Low-Bleed Inks: The Maxopake series includes two low-bleed colors: Low-Bleed Medium Yellow (PADE-2060), and Low-Bleed Golden Yellow (PADE-2048). They are both compact and relatively inexpensive. Our screen printing ink is easier to use with a much longer shelf life of over 12 months. High temperatures can hurt or even burn your tri-blends or jerseys. Please create account through ##customer_email## email. And you must know you cant avoid a very little amount of fading after washing the garment. Perform the wash test for at least three wash-dry cycles. When theyre exposed to air, water starts to evaporate because water based inks include water. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); Screen printing and curingthe ink on cloth. Practice makes perfect, so always test your garments before production. If monitoring the garment temperature, allow it to get slightly hotter than the ink curing temperature to ensure complete bonding. New synthetic and biobased substrates have hit the market and gained popularity with the eco-friendly consumer. So the easiest way to test your ink is to get a temperature gun or Thermostrips. How To Dial In Exposure Times Using An Exposure Calculator, Best Practices to Keep Your Screen Printing Platens in Great Shape, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Wilflex Epic Rio RFU Standard Colors So technically plastisol cures as soon as it reaches it's curing temperature (320-325f). Same questions but if it was a low cure 270 plastisol ink. Its a fantastic way to cure inks because it provides a stable heat source. + Post new Ad Login United States In general, water-based inks take longer to cure. How do you tell the difference between cracking and film split? Why Is It Important to Wear Loose-Fitting Clothing When Exercising. When tested side-by-side, you will see the temperature gun reading 120-150F hotter than the donut probe early in the cure cycle. Plastisol inks will not air dry, so printing through a wide range of mesh counts from 24 threads per sq inch to 330 threads per sq inch is common place. Common problems: Intermittent curing problems where the printed image only fades or washes out of a few shirts. Drop a comment below or email our support team at info@screenprintdirect.com. The ink that is used for printing has a great impact on curing as you are actually drying the ink that you used for screen print. No matter what device you're using to cure, the goal is to completely cure the ink, from the top all the way to the bottom. Water-based inks provide a thin layer of soft and flexible ink on the printed shirt. This much heat is enough for curing your ink properly. These inks cure at 275 - 280F. Use RAPIDCURE20 at checkout for 20% OFFyour first purchase of Rapid Cure! Since a locked stand prevents your forward and back placement from changing, you only have to worry about one variable, and that is right and left for a flash cure panel placement. Now the type of dryer everyone is going to say you need and it's not a lie, if you can afford one and have the room for it then yes lets look for a conveyor dryer for screen printing. The two most common types of ink for screen printing include plastisol and water-based ink. We are always on the lookout for what the next trend will be. There is not a single easy answer. If youre not utilizing the total thermal output of your flash, it can magnify any of the other variables in the curing environment. Let's jump into why low temp cure inks are so popular and why you should consider making the switch. There are many tools that can be used for curing your screen print ink. If you have a lot of air movement in your shopsay your garage door is open or you have a fan blowingyour cure times with the flash can be a little longer and inconsistent. Here are three reasons: You will need to adjust the speed of the belt and heat it accordingly to the garment and the ink you are using. The rise and fall of the ink temperature may be significantly different than that of the garment or the surrounding air. By eliminating these seven deadly sins, you minimize as many variables from the curing process as possible using a flash. Water-based ink cures at 300 - 320F. You want to use both a temp gun and a timer to minimize the variances in curing. Water cools down the space that it's in until it's completely evaporated from a heat source. This allows the molecules to properly fuse to each other as well as to the fabric. Free shipping is applicable in the domestic USA only. I was experiencing some ink washing out after the first wash with some of my shirts (usually White and Black Ink prints and always towards the outer left and right sides) so Im starting to send my shirts through the dryer a couple times. FN-INK was designed by screen printers, for screen printers to be easy to work with. Heat presses are all different so you need to make sure you set your heat press at a temperature that actually hits the inks recommended temperature. The Warp Drive will chemically cure the ink. Gently lay the shirt over the platen and move the flash dryer over the shirt and begin curing. Many factors play into how long it takes to completely cure an ink. Because you need to cure the entire ink layer, starting with warmer platens is best. Ink that looks like cracked, dry earth means it isnt cured properly. The best thing to do is throw your shirt in the washer and dryer to make sure the ink has been cured properly, if not you will get a nice, distressed look once its done going through the laundry cycle. So you can dry your print with a heat gun. The air can force your ink to dwell all over your garment. Different applications or fabrics will require different white inks, which is why Wilflex offers a wide variety of white ink products. After printing is done place the flash dryer over the design. 7600 Series inks . Heat is a machine thats an expert in heat transfer. Our screen printing inks make your custom screen printed designs come to life. But the mixing ratio should be 1:1. An under-cured design will fade after its very first wash. so after your curing is done wash your garment. Different applications or fabrics will require different white inks, which is why Wilflex offers a wide variety of white ink products. A stretch test shows whether or not the top layer of the ink has cured or not. Now when it comes to testing your inks to see if they are cured properly you can do a small stretch test with plastisol inks. Press water-based inks for 3-4 minutes. Check your flash cure unit to see if it has temperature and airflow controls. Text PRINT to 833-689-0588 for deals & tips sent directly to your phone! Some inks, such as glitters, metallics and high densities, are not designed to be printed "wet-on wet". It generally features a motor-driven conveyor system and a heating chamber, exhaust components, and a control system. Luckily, there's still one more option. | Email Fraud Information | California Privacy Rights | Privacy Statement | Site Map | Investors | Careers | Web Design & Development by Upward Brand Interactions. The purpose of a conveyor dryer is to process as many garments as possible while optimizing their quality in a short period. The closer your flash is to the ink, the faster it will cure. We dont recommend rolling your flash around, as the flash panel sits center over the T-shirt board, both left and right, but also forward and back. First, mix Warp Drive, a low-cure additive, into your ink. The popular plastisol inks these days are curing at around 260 - 270. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for White - Rapidcure Screen Printing Plastisol Ink - Low Temp Cure 270F - 1 Quart at the best online prices at eBay! A gentle stretch is enough. The best dryer to properly cure garments is a conveyer dryer like the BBC Little Buddy Dryer or theRanar Scamp Dryer. Remember, the more powerful your flash is and the closer your flash is to the shirt, the faster it will cure the ink or potentially scorch your garment. They should be "flashed" when printing in sequence. Before we dive in, let's note that the temperature ink cures at depends on the ink itself. The greater the distance between the flash cure and the T-shirt board, the less heat will transfer and increase the chances of variance in the temperature from shirt to shirt. You may love to check out our another article on how to heat set screen printing ink with heat press. Make sure that the ink reaches 320 F in order to cure, not just the garment that you are printing on. Youll also want to use the proper size flash unit for the job youre doing. Just because everyone uses it doesn't mean it's the best method. Curing screen printing ink by using specialized tools. 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Common problems: Intermittent curing problems where the printed image only fades or washes out of a few.... Cure an ink making the switch cure polyester white screen plastisol ink cure temp ink ( 8oz )! A simple solution: use a temp gun and a heating element may actually have a gun! Many factors play into how long it takes to completely cure an.! Print some time after transferring it onto the garment temperature, allow it get. The best method, try not to move your garment properly before marking as. Can be used for curing your ink from a heat gun can produce heat at approximately 900-1000 Fahrenheit... Require different white inks, such as glitters, metallics and high densities, are not to.