Above all, the ink must be safe and not pose any health, chemical, or fire haz-ards. system for solvent Plastisol inks only. STS Inks has everything you need to get started. Typical sample sizes range between one and three grams. An oven is a machine that most people have in their homes. Water-based inks are more stable on press than solvent-based inks. Water-based ink: Water-based ink are useful when the garment needs to be soft. It'll provide the densest stencil). Do you have videos on the whole process? When discussing drying systems with your paint, ink or coating manufacturer, ask them if their drying recommendations are based on a convection system, infrared system, a combination infrared/convection system, or ultraviolet method. This is a huge time saver as you take on bulk orders. 3. Fortunately, a conversion from solvent-based to water-based paints and lacquers is much simpler in terms of plant technology. Unit 272 I often heard that you can heat set in the dryer but I hadnt tried it until this experiment. Hi! Make sure your printer is clean and you have a good quality, bristle brush. It is important that the drying process produces repeatable results, so that the colors applied can be matched in the future. But you'll learn! Water-based inks are not as opaque as plastisol inks, but they can still achieve great results. Household iron - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat. Required fields are marked *. In adhesive lamination applications, achievable bond strength with water-based inks is typically lower than with solvent-based, so testing and qualifying is needed to determine feasibility. Exposure times will just be longer, but you'll have to play around with that anyway depending on screen mesh count, emulsion, etc. If I should buy the heat gun, what brand? Thank you in advance! Simply mix it into inks, print like normal, and let the garment sit for a couple of days. 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. Its always good to know if something works so a project doesnt get ruined. Print trials to date have shown increased colour strength, allowing lighter aniloxes to be used whilst achieving the same density, as well as showing a smoother lay, resulting in a higher quality label. A $9 heat gun from Harbor Freight will do it. I suggest pressing once for 40 seconds then lift your press to release any moisture and heat before pressing again. The best and most common way to cure water based ink is by using a large, forced air, tunnel dryer but not all of us have the space, money or ability to use top end, factory grade equipment. We will tell you about the process for curing water based ink with air dryer. However, some inks cannot be accelerated with infrared and must be dried slowly. Chitosan-based hydrogels hold great promise for development of 3D printing inks because chitosan is an abundantly available and cost-effective natural polysaccharide with high biocompatibility, biodegradability, and antibacterial activity. There are several commercial silver water- and solvent-based inkjet inks produced by several companies . Heat setting is faster when you can let the design naturally dry for 24 hours/ overnight as some natural evaporation will occur and shorten the heat setting process. Place a heat-resistant non-stick sheet on the print. If you have a heat gun or fan, that will speed up the process a bit. Make sure that you are using the right ink for your printer. or am I doing ok with the iron? While the Mod Podge is still wet, place the design onto the surface and smooth. While water-based inks can be cured with heat guns or flash dryers, most printers recommend curing water-based inks in conveyor dryers because of the length of time it takes to dry the prints. . Check with your ink or coating manufacturer to see if they can reformulate for use with infrared or a combination of infrared/convection. SunStrato Aqualam is a range of water-based inks for flexible packaging intended to be printed on films and laminated with other films or aluminium foil . The best method to cure water based ink at home is by heating the item. . Union makes a waterbased ink called Aerotex, I would use that with the air dry catalyst additive that is made for it, after 48 or 72 (it's been years since I used it) hours, it is ready to wash, no cure. 105C [220F] Water begins to leave the ink rapidly - shown as steam coming up from the design Why? Heat presses must be set to a specific temperature and time, depending on your garment and ink, in order to cure correctly. Commercial Tunnel Dryer - 120C degrees for 6 minutes, 160C degrees for 3 minutes, 180C for 2 minutes. You can also use a heating pad or an electric iron for this purpose. I need tips on how to screen print with my water based ink. UV radiation efficiently cures coatings such as paints, inks and adhesives within seconds. . The times stated above are based on a 70F (21C) day and 70% humidity. I use Green Galaxy, but the cure time kinda sucks. Looks like a heat gun might be the way to go. Open and use a soft bristle brush to apply the finish to the surface and the back of the design element. Heres what weve found to be more beneficial when screen printing with water-based inks: We would like to hear about your curing times for water-based inks, or any tips that youve found to be helpful. I believe this method could work with longer time in the dryer, but more than 40 minutes in the dryer didnt seem very practical to me so I didnt try this test again. Thank you! thanks for your interesting report about the printing process. water-based textile prints. Water-based Oven-curing Coatings Water-borne systems are mainly used for coating appliances and vehicles, as primer or base layer, to provide protection against corrosion and where needed against stone chips. However, it's important the material you're painting is also oven safe and won't release toxic chemicals (e.g. Primarily because solvent-based inks dry fast, allowing for faster press speeds than their water-based and UV energy-curable ink counterparts. Any suggestions on where to get shirts? And how should I use it? In the same boat doing small batches! Drying Tunnel . Amazon has plenty of cheap options from China. A: It could be that the shirt didnt get dry enough before setting the ink. Or some other brand? If you miss a spot, that part may fade. plastics). In addition to the equipment being cheap, the maintenance is also inexpensive. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. You can use oil based paint markers (affiliate link) or oil based paints, or any paint recommended for glass or ceramics. Here are the pros and cons of the current water-based and UV light energy-curing ink technologies. Thank you! Im always willing to try and see what works! Conductive inks are based on complicated formulations of various components. This might sound strange, and maybe not very practical if you are doing a lot of shirts, but you can heat set your project in the oven. Commercial Dryer (Laundromat) - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat. Go to Harbor Freight. your article is so helpful and interesting! It could be that the shirt didnt get dry enough. Make your own DIY t-shirts, bags, and more with your Cricut or Silhouette. Ensure that the moisture escaping from the ink when . Improper curing will result in poor adhesion, he says. Heat presses use pressure and heat to cure the ink on your shirt. So when asked if the ink was at fault the answer is no. Most narrow web and many mid web flexo printers are now using water-based or UV energy-curable inks for printing on flexible packaging films. The use of water-based inks can be a marketing advantage for converters selling to environmentally conscious brand owners and customers. Coatings used on the back of mirrors to protect the reflective properties are often applied using a roll coater or curtain coater, as well. Photo: ImproveWood.com. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), (Link opens website operated by external parties and may not conform to the same accessibility policies. Everything I will discuss in this article involves the final step in the screen printing process heat setting your ink. Depending on how it is defined, a Would that not be recommended? Free Ground Shipping 66C [150F] Water begins to leave the ink Heat setting is the final step in the screen printing process when using Speedball water-based inks. To minimize mud-cracking, siliconebased products dry best with little-to-no air movement. If there is no thermometer, you can test by placing a finger on the screen of your screen printer and see if it feels hot. You can find a great selection of colors at any craft store. Too much heat or too little will result in improper adhesion or cracking. The labels are printed with either a UV or water-based flexo ink, and the UV adhesive is applied on the last station. He only told me that he uses water based inks for his shirts. 16K views 1 year ago A flash dryer is a versatile piece of equipment and can be used in many ways, no matter how small your shop is. A flash dryer will dry and cure your ink in one step. on Orders Over $250. 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. Green Galaxy ink? I used to use an iron and then bought a heatgun, but both take awhile. Halogen bulb (most efficient and most commonly used) Heat press. It may need some tweeking depending on the inks you use but it should get you on the right track. All water-based inks sold at Mclogans have been approved by our company and these inks have gone through many strict tests to ensure that we are selling you the best products. It seems like a convenient method if you are doing a large quantity of shirts, so I wanted to give it a shot. They have air dried for over 24 hours in front of fan on hangers. I hope that makes sense. I have a few shirts that the design has faded some after 2 washes! Then, lower energy infrared, combination infrared/convection or convection alone can slowly bring the ink to the critical temperature, minimizing the potential for damage. It is best to use brown paper over the design to ensure no marks are transferred onto the garment when heat setting [not all irons bases are clean]. Now I use it to heat set my screen printing ink. The Application Process. There are many types of ink on the market today and not all of them will work with the printers you are using. Thanks. This process can ben speed up by force drying using a hair drier or placing the prints in sunlight, however the actual bonding process will continue to take up to 5 days. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. You cure so your ink doesn't wash out, so as long as you cure before they're given away, you can afford to wait. However, have you used the Easy press right away? In the current scenario, UV curable inks have emerged as an ideal alternative to solvent and water-based ink technologies owing to its suitability over a . I know youve said in other comments to let the garment air day and then use the EasyPress. Anatols VOLT Automatic Screen Printing Machine: Exploring the Differences Between AC-Electric and Servo Motors, Types of fleece: advantages & disadvantages, How to Use Post-Exposure to Create Durable Screen Printing Stencils, Tips for Taking High Quality Product Photos at Your Screen Printing Business, Managing Your Screen Printing Workflow: Tips for Scheduling Production More Effectively. If you have access to a commercial heat press, this would be the best method for curing water based ink at home. The major advantage of this ink is the breathability it provides to the garment. Moreover, paints and adhesives need almost no solvents and, in most cases, less energy is consumed. Q: Does the dry time determine if the shirt will fade or not? Do you need to wait 24-48 hrs for the ink to dry to then use the Heat Press? Few questions: can I use a regular lamp with the exposure bulb in to expose? Hey Alexa, How Will AI Change the Glazing Industry? or belt dryer is the equipment employed by most professional screen printers; 160C (320F) for 3 minutes is the cure regime recommended for . The biggest drawback for the home use of plastisol inks is that they need to be cured with an oven or at least a flash cure unit. Add liquid dish soap to the water in the plastic tub until it lathers up and bubbles appear. Iron is a handy tool for DIYers for curing screen printing. Can you tell me from which year the numbers were created for the pie charts? In summary, the basic ingredients of each ink chemistry vary mainly in the type of resin system used, and the method of drying or curing used. Once you have printed all of the shirts, wash your screen and you can start working on the next project while your shirts are drying! 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. What did I do wrong and how can it keep it from running? The temperature you set the garment at is limited by the material. I havent ever had issues with the ink sticking or transferring but that would be the only reason you would want to put something between. Heat presses must be set to a specific temperature and time, depending on your garment and ink, in order to cure correctly. The difference between plastisol ink and water-based ink is especially evident when it comes to curing. solvent or UV-curing. Editors note: This article is the first of a two-part series on inks and coatings. But for business, it's not that efficient as it is comparatively slow. It certainly mirrors the realities of water-based ink chemistry. Q: When using the Cricut heat press do you place it directly on the design or should you put a paper or scrap fabric in between? What Is UV Curing? With a thinner deposit of ink, your cure time will be less 30-45 seconds and a lower curing temp 320 degrees F. Darker colored t-shirts will need more ink to create an opaque print. Once you find the correct temperature and curing time for your test print, use temperature strips to keep your printing productions all uniform. First, be sure that you are not applying too much ink to your substrates. Our LED and UV systems offer the highest curing intensities available for printing and industrial curing today, thanks to patented technologies that are years ahead of competitors' designs. Any other tips? Water-based ink will penetrate fabrics better than plastisol and provide a softer print because much of the ink is made of soft resins and water evaporation during the curing process. 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Glazing Industry but I hadnt tried it until this experiment a small commission at no extra to... Test print, use temperature strips to keep your printing productions all uniform comparatively slow major advantage of this is! And most commonly used ) heat press, this Would be the best method for screen... Today and not pose any health, chemical, or any paint recommended for glass or.! Uv radiation efficiently cures coatings such as paints, inks and adhesives need almost no solvents and, order., print like normal, and more with your ink or too little will result improper... Extra charge to you dish soap to the surface and smooth with air dryer ink -. In this article is the first of a two-part series on inks and adhesives need no... For your interesting report about the printing process press speeds than their water-based and UV energy-curable inks his.