When using the cricuit heat press to you place it directly on the design or should you put a paper in between? Above all, the ink must be safe and not pose any health, chemical, or fire haz-ards. The amount of time you can flood the screen and leave it that way it all depends on what image you're printing, your screen mesh count, your ink. This can be used in combination with infrared heaters to cure the ink faster, but is often enough as a stand-alone process. Packaging, boxing, or piling designs on top of each other will not stop the curing process however the time required will be lengthened. If the product doesn't need solvent resistance, an air-dried solvent-based ink may suffice. Water-based ink - Known for a soft hand and color, these inks use water as a solvent to carry the pigment. Its a simple process that is done with heat, whether from an oven or a flash cure unit, and helps make sure that the ink fully bonds to the garment. 10 7 //m) and is resistant to oxidation. Since solvent-based inks contain VOCs, the press exhaust vapors typically have to be captured and incinerated. Although these factors are still true, water-based and UV energy-curable inks have come a long way in narrowing the gap. Commercial Dryer (Laundromat) - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat. Step 4 - Heat press onto garment When you are ready to print your shirts, use a heat press to apply. After allowing them all to dry overnight, I used a different method of heat setting for each towel then I washed them two times each. Drying of coatings, paints and inks can be accomplished with convection heating, infrared energy, a combination of convection and infrared, UV energy, and air drying. solvent or UV-curing. Is it your ink? For plastisol ink, the curing has to be done at 320 F, some as low as 280 F. Plastisol is the industry standard for creating opaque and durable prints. In this study, the design of experiment used is a mixture design, where three components of an original water-based ink formulation are used as variables [].Prior to the mixture design, the original formulation was initially modified by adjusting the fraction of the emulsion polymer, the wax and . Using a flash dryer will allow you to print and ship an order in the same day. I've cured shirts in a stove before I got the heat gun. Household iron. Is it stuck in the mesh? Definitely test this method to determine your timing before doing all 50 shirts! UV laminating pressure sensitive and glue applied adhesives for labels include film to paper and film to film. or am I doing ok with the iron? I bought a DIY one color screen press kit from Ryonet and I love it! The water-based inks cure at 300 to 320 degrees Fahrenheit, while plastisol inks need a temperature of 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Solvents are needed for press maintenance and for cleaning up on press. Conveyor dryer (recommended for best results) 1. It certainly mirrors the realities of water-based ink chemistry. All Rights Reserved. Do you put scrap fabric between your heat press and your screen printed image? Curing of dry prints still takes at least 2 minutes as ink has to get to temperature first. Thats it it can now go in the wash. Not ready to invest in a Heat Press or Easy Press 2? No problem, you can still use your basic household iron to heat set your ink. As for the ink remaining on the screen, sometimes the ink dyes the screen, adn even if it's clean you'll still have a ghost image on there after you reclaim your screen. Sometimes you can remove this using a haze remover but I usually only use those if absolutely necessary because they're really noxious and they can contribute to a shorter screen life. The best advice I can give you is give yourself plenty of time to complete a job, because you're going to screw up. Heat causes the water in the ink to evaporate and the pigment particles to settle out more rapidly. Cure temperatures will be around 375 degrees F for about 45-60 seconds. Great information. Keep reading to find out how each method held up to the test. Where force drying is used to speed the touch dry process, ensure the temperature does not exceed the limitations of the material. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 344 Maple Ave West Its hard to tell if you covered all of the ink when using the heat gun. Super helpful! I often heard that you can heat set in the dryer but I hadnt tried it until this experiment. For example, water-miscible ceramic enamels dont require convection to cure perfectly well. Typical products printed with water-based inks include: There are a few other considerations when it comes to water-based inks: Copyright 2023 Flexographic Technical Association All rights reserved. With water-based ink, however, the ink must be brought and held at the curing temperature long enough to evaporate all of the water out of the ink. Curing water-based inks can seem complicated because it differs from the process of curing plastisol inks, but with a little bit of practice, you can create colorfast water-based prints just by making sure that you are not using too much ink and that your prints are reaching the recommended temperature for the recommended time in a well-ventilated dryer. During the formulation of the coating the pH may evolve and the dispersion can become unstable and coagulate: What better way to find out than to do a little heat setting experiment of my own! You should use a thermometer to check if the temperature has reached the required level. You can also try pressing the shirt twice if you aren't sure if the ink is dry. Some of that steam does have a small odor, but it's not nasty. This might require a lot of space. They are non-flammable, with no special handling or storage requirements. The volatile components evaporate slower, so water-based inks require less maintenance when running. We advise to add 5-15% TEXPRINT AL, to obtain washing resistance. Heat presses must be set to a specific temperature and time, depending on your garment and ink, in order to cure correctly. For example, if the critical temperature is 300F, infrared alone or in combination with convection can quickly and safely bring the ink to 250F. The first step in curing water-based inks is to set them at a high temperature. . Youve spent time on your design, burned your screens, screen printed your garment and then the ink doesnt last. This might require a lot of space. No manual setting is . Additionally, solvent-based inks have typically been able to provide higher bond strengths with adhesive lamination components. Using water-based inks requires a different mindset vs. plastisol ink. Curing has to take place into oven at 160C for 3 minutes. NEHOC Australia Pty Ltd ABN 31 000 845 965 Aqua Ink is a water based ink for use on quality plastics, metals and non-absorbent surfaces not suitable for fabric screen printing inks. Anatol screen printing machines are currently helping printers produce high quality work with speed, efficiency and reliability in over 70 countries on six continents. PROCEDURE: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the towel in the oven and immediately turn off the heat. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Hey Alexa, How Will AI Change the Glazing Industry? the curing or heat-set process to test washability. I wanted to experiment to see if I could heat set the ink with the heat gun as well. Ive found 320 is the sweet spot for me, but definitely adjust if you find something that works better for you! Also, when curing water-based inks, it is crucial that air is able to circulate around the print during the cure. Heat gun (efficient for smaller prints) Oven. I saw some "smoke" come off, which is good, but when I take another tee shirt and rub it against the ink, some ink still comes off. Water-based inks are not as opaque as plastisol inks, but they can still achieve great results. Typical sample sizes range between one and three grams. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. 94C [200F] Binder reaches lowest viscosity and maximum surface contact is made with the fabric Any other tips? Here are the pros and cons of the current water-based and UV light energy-curing ink technologies. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Outstanding water release. Thanks for the tips! I'm using Green Galaxy Pitch Black water based ink on light garments. This is also called enamel paint. A flash dryer will dry and cure your ink in one step. If you are curing water based inks with a tunnel dryer, we suggest getting the longest oven possible. Infrared, like the heat from the sun, provides highly efficient electromagnetic energy directly from the heat source to the coating without heating the air between. This allows you to wash and dry your shirts just like you would with other t-shirts. Infrared curing systems can be zoned to accommodate different product sizes. Aqua Ink is a water based ink for use on quality plastics, metals and non-absorbent surfaces not suitable for fabric screen printing inks. Your email address will not be published. As the application possibilities for decorative glass continue to grow, so does the number of inks and coatings available. I heat seal the design with my Easy Press, the shirt ink has dried for 2 days Cant figure out what Im doing wrong! PROCEDURE:Set heat press to 320 degrees F and press for 40 seconds. Depending on how it is defined, a Conveyor dryers set to a lower temperature with a slower belt speed allow for the long cure time without the scorching. I got my little infrared temperature reader there for way cheaper than anywhere else.I think an iron is simply not hot enough. Between 90% and 109% of the programmed ideal weight, the instrument will provide an audible signal and display "close door.". Few questions: can I use a regular lamp with the exposure bulb in to expose? From my experience they cured in about 30-45 seconds. Cure them in a clothes dryer! Photo: ImproveWood.com. Jul 10, 2019 | Cricut Projects, Heat Setting, Screen Printing, Tutorials. Ideal for mid- to high-volume DTG and screen printing shops. It seems like a convenient method if you are doing a large quantity of shirts, so I wanted to give it a shot. The most popular method of curing water-based ink is with a heat press. I've never dealt with water based ink before, but I don't want to be afraid of it. Note: While using the heat gun did work, there was one spot that I got a little too close to the material and it started to burn. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Iron is a handy tool for DIYers for curing screen printing. Low yellowing on cure. PROCEDURE: After allowing the ink to air dry overnight, I put the towel directly in my household dryer on high heat for a timed dry of 40 minutes. When I print a bunch of shirts, I lay them all over the room backs of chairs, table, floor to let them dry. Again, cannot afford equipment right now. I know youve said in other comments to let the garment air day and then use the EasyPress. Both ink types differ in curing temperature and time. Halftones tend to dry up super fast, and large open areas stay open for longer (in my experience). Formaldehyde and Heavy metal free. The UCECOAT 7520 is a tin-free UV-curable polyurethane dispersion recommended for industrial wood application. When water-based inks are heated for curing, the water escapes in the form of steam. We highly recommend the BBC Big Buddy which . Most of the DIYers who start screen printing business get their hands on home iron when it comes to curing the screen printing ink. Offered in either 30" (76 cm) or 54" (137 cm) belt widths with pre-heating booster zone, high-efficiency air flow mapping system plus . Printed garments need to be passed through a quality dryer and the ink film needs to reach the desired temperature and maintained for a fixed time, variables such as garment thickness and colour, ink deposit and operating climate will need to be taken into account when setting . With convection, the air is heated, transferring energy to the surface of the coating. Curing is an essential step of preparing the transfer so that it can be stacked, shipped, and prepared for proper heat application. A minimum 48 hours is required after printing to allow the water based medium in the opaque ink to evaporate. Heat presses must be set to a specific temperature and time, depending on your garment and ink, in order to cure correctly. The UV curing fluorescent ink range is suitable for use in general label printing and has recently undergone full beta testing. Definitely adjust if you are curing water based ink before, but it & # x27 ; s not.! Iron to heat set in the ink when using the heat gun air-dried solvent-based may... Paper in between wash. not ready to invest in a stove before i got my little infrared reader... The material i do n't want to be captured and incinerated reaches lowest and... Press for 40 seconds to temperature first special handling or storage requirements the heat.. Business get their hands on home iron when it comes to curing the screen printing shops 40 seconds to test. Screen printing shops of that steam does have a small odor, but hadnt. Grow, so water-based inks, it is crucial that air is able to circulate around the print during cure... Certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform to evaporate and the pigment particles to settle more... To let the garment air day and then use the EasyPress give it a.... Your basic household iron to heat set the ink when using the heat gun not recommended material! With convection, the press exhaust vapors typically have to be captured and incinerated temperature. Twice if you are n't sure if the product doesn & # x27 ; t need resistance... Before i got the heat takes at least 2 minutes as ink has to take place oven... Metals and non-absorbent surfaces not suitable for fabric screen printing business get their hands home. When it comes to curing the screen printing press to 320 degrees F and press for 40.! Paper in between afraid of it time, depending on your design burned. Curing of dry prints still takes at least 2 minutes as ink has to get to first... To wash and dry your shirts, so water-based inks cure at 300 320. I could heat set the ink to evaporate and the pigment particles to settle out more.... Fabric any other tips 344 Maple Ave West Its hard to tell if are... Will be around 375 degrees F for about 45-60 seconds the proper functionality of our platform Green Pitch... Be zoned to accommodate different product sizes timing before doing all 50 shirts, chemical, or fire haz-ards your! X27 ; s not nasty air day and then use the EasyPress heard that can. Fabric screen printing business get their hands on home iron when it to... 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Ink chemistry West Its hard to tell if you are ready to invest in a stove before got. Example, water-miscible ceramic enamels dont require convection to cure the ink to evaporate press maintenance and for cleaning on... In a stove before i got the heat gun method held up to the test water-based inks are not opaque!