Rather than using iron-on vinyl, you can screen print at home! You can use the heat gun to set the ink instead of the press, but I usually press just to be sure. But for business, it's not that efficient as it is comparatively slow. Equipment. Required fields are marked *. Thank you so much for any and all of your help. For the oven, have you found that all the design has to be visible, or could you roll a tea towel up and assume the heat gets into the middle layers? But don't get confused by the evaporation. thanks for your interesting report about the printing process. I have bought all the necessary equipment to make my first shirt, but I'm not sure how to properly heat set the shirts. BigRed 4D Series dryers are slimmer and more powerful for curing DTG, water-based inks, plastisol or discharge, and/or DTF adhesives at high rates. Or should I still stick to 320 for 40secs? UV coatings tend to be more costly and are not as commonly used. Ideal Weight. 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 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. There are a few other considerations to keep in mind to ensure that your water-based inks cure properly. Once the water has accomplished its job . You will receive a link to create a new password via email. Ceramic inks are also available with a UV medium that dries the coating in a matter of seconds, using ultraviolet energy. One of the reasons I love screen printing over HTV, is how the garments hold up in the wash. Moreover, paints and adhesives need almost no solvents and, in most cases, less energy is consumed. For example, water-miscible ceramic enamels dont require convection to cure perfectly well. Above all, the ink must be safe and not pose any health, chemical, or fire haz-ards. 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. When using an Air Flash dryer, you're often able to flash dry water-based Inks with the same speed and efficiency as plastisol inks. Do you know if there is a time limit on when you have to heat the design? You could use the sun if you needed to! I typically will do a run of about 30-40 shirts at a time. This could be prevented by keeping the heat gun a little further away from the material and moving it around constantly (like a hair dryer). While curing water based screen printing ink it requires evaporation and long dwell time at the temperature of 300 degree to 360 degree Fahrenheit. 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. I've cured shirts in a stove before I got the heat gun. Put the shirt on a pan with the graphics facing up. The best way to cure your ink is to use a UV curing system however, if you are working on the cheap, try these tips that will help build consistency and quality in your ink. The temperature required must be hot enough to firstly evaporate the water based medium, then set the pigments (minimum 150C depending on the material to be heat set), a household iron, Ink Setting Heat Press or commercial tunnel dryer are recommended. How the ink or coating is applied to the glass has a large effect on the optimum drying method. $10 at a fish store. water-based textile prints. The only way around this problem is by using heat transfer paper instead of regular T-shirt material. This option is great for printers using a forced air flash dryer. Thank you!!! If I have a heat gun and use that to speed up the drying of my Speedball Ink, do I still need to wait to heatpress or can I do that immediately after the heat gun? 66C [150F] Water begins to leave the ink Ink preparation. No manual setting is required, however by allowing air movement over the design for at least 48 hours you will ensure a full bond by allowing the water based medium to evaporate. My method of choice will still be the heat press or Easy Press 2 because they are the quickest. 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. Before you can do anything at home, first you are going to need the right products and materials to do so. Douglas Canfield is president of Casso-Solar Technologies LLC, a designer and manufacturer of machines for the glass industry to dry decorative inks, coatings and paints; as well as laminate glass with and without an autoclave. If the product doesn't need solvent resistance, an air-dried solvent-based ink may suffice. You will also need a lower mesh count. Also, water-based inks have a higher surface tension than solvent-based, so wetting and adhesion on some substrates can be challenging. 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. Just don't get your mylars wet after you print them because it will ruin them. Cleanup is easy with soap and water. An oven is a machine that most people have in their homes. Here, you have to check the datasheet from the manufacturer of each plastisol ink you use. Or is this simply the way it looks after the ink is washed off the emulsion? 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. Drying Tunnel . You can put it in the machine without it cracking, fading or even washing out completely. ( Im using speedball fabric ink). How the ink or coating is applied to the glass has a large effect on the optimum drying method. Its hard to tell if you covered all of the ink when using the heat gun. Hey there, Does the fry time effect if the shirt will fade or not? Your email address will not be published. When I print a bunch of shirts, I lay them all over the room backs of chairs, table, floor to let them dry. We do not recommend force drying the item as this may result in cracking the ink structure and weakening the curing bond. I usually just use the heat gun to speed up drying between layers of ink or when Im doing multi-color shirts. Learn More. Revolutionizing the screen printing industry through cutting-edge technology and quality service. The following is a guide to the heat setting process and explains why prints should be heat set for 2 minutes to ensure permanent bonding. I purchased a heat gun to speed up the ink drying process when using my screen printing press. They generally have a lower level of water, chemical and solvent resistance than solvent-based or UV light energy-curable inks. Excess water-based ink doesnt serve to make your prints any bolder because there is only so much ink that the fibers of your substrate will hold. If you are curing water based inks with a tunnel dryer, we suggest getting the longest oven possible. Why? Too much heat or too little will result in improper adhesion or cracking. Brown paper will also help to distribute the heat more evenly and reduce scorching. He only told me that he uses water based inks for his shirts. As in, do you hold it a certain space away from the shirt, go over an area for a specific amount of time and move on the the next area? The AnatolVulcan conveyor dryer gives youprecise control over belt speed and temperature, along with the air circulation you need for curing water-based inks. In addition, UV-cured surfaces are long-life and resistant to . Im using speedball ink and I have a heat press. It slowly starts to wear off with every wash. What could have happened? The design is very thick. Water-based ink, while not completely free of plastic, is mostly water-soluble and absorbs into the fabric. Open and use a soft bristle brush to apply the finish to the surface and the back of the design element. Commercial Tunnel Dryer - 120C degrees for 6 minutes, 160C degrees for 3 minutes, 180C for 2 minutes. Recommended drying time is 5 days before wearing or washing the garment. It just releases steam. I have a Ryonet kit as well and print with waterbase inks. RESULT: After washing the towel once, I noticed some fading. Additionally, many brand owners favor more environmentally friendly technologies when it comes to producing their products. The temperature of the dryer will not get hot enough to damage the item or burn the ink. If you look closely, youll see some faint burn marks on the white material around the est 2005 part of the design. I don't know much about your printer but make sure your ink output is the highest possible, and print with rich black settings (using all CMYK and not just the K cartridge. I have a few shirts that the design has faded some after 2 washes! Then, I put them in a clothes dryer on high for a bit. Is your closet full of t-shirts with the vinyl starting to peel off? pH (For Water-based or Dispersion) Water-based acrylic resins are usually neutralized with acid or basic buffers to improve resin stability. Ink will be touch dry within 10 minutes. Your tutorials and blog have been a valuable tool for this newbie to screen printing! Cure them in a clothes dryer! (See Fig. At 150celsius the water will start to evaporate but not totally cure. Aqua Ink is a water based ink for use on quality plastics, metals and non-absorbent surfaces not suitable for fabric screen printing inks. Privacy Policy. Lots of questions, please feel free to answer any or all of them, detail preferred! Your email address will not be published. It is important to let them dry properly or the ink will fade when you wash them. I've never dealt with water based ink before, but I don't want to be afraid of it. For the screen, I'm using a wood screen and the emulsion Ryonet provided with the DIY kit. Plug into normal mains power and the HOTBOX is super convenient to operate in tight workplaces, as the unique feature of the HOTBOX is that NO steam or hot air . Infrared curing oven benefits include increased line speeds and production throughputs, precise control of the heaters elements, multiple heat zones control, fast and efficient heating, and reduced floor space requirement. Packaging, boxing, or piling designs on top of each other will not stop the curing process however the time required will be lengthened to over 7 days. If stopping, you must clean the screen or ink will dry and block the design. 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. Is it stuck in the mesh? We advise to add 5-15% TEXPRINT AL, to obtain washing resistance. I used to use an iron and then bought a heatgun, but both take awhile. Thank you! The flash dries the ink on top of the screen, but theres still ink trapped inside the screen. I would suggest heat pressing twice as mentioned above. Commercial Dryer (Laundromat) - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat. Enamel paint is oil based and is usually glossy. Plastisol ink typically cures at a temperature around 290 - 330 degrees Fahrenheit while water-based inks cure at above 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Be sure not to leave the heat gun in one place too long or it will burn your material! However, water-based inks can be catalyzed when running to provide a high level of product resistance. If I'm curing by myself, should I get through the stack of shirts I'm printing first, clean the screen, and then cure at the end? Required fields are marked *. My exposure unit uses lights for coral aquariums. Curing a screen-printed shirt in an oven is not recommended, but it works . 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. You will also need a lower mesh count. Applying heat to your shirt makes the ink permanent. Hi and Thank you for all of your wonderful information here! If you dont heat set Speedball fabric ink before you put your item in the wash, the ink will not hold up. They are non-flammable, with no special handling or storage requirements. UV light can also be combined with other types of heat application for even faster drying speeds. Both ink types differ in curing temperature and time. I hope that makes sense. Im excited to report that you can use a heat press, Easy Press 2, household iron, oven, or heat gun to get good results with your Speedball Fabric ink. The hand is so soft on some water-based prints that it appears to be just dyed fabric. However, it's important the material you're painting is also oven safe and won't release toxic chemicals (e.g. I will definitely use it in my next project. I'm just hobbyist working out of my home, my biggest orders will probably be 50 shirts, if that big. Because water . You can try speeding up the drying process using a heat gun (like this one: https://amzn.to/2ZKPzmQ). After 30 minutes, turn the oven off, but leave the mugs in the oven. Since only 5 of the 6 results were successful, I wanted to share a 6th method for curing your fabric ink. Household clothes dryer - Can not be used as temperature is not hot enough. Join my email list and be the first to know about new techniques and project ideas! There are at least six methods that can be employed to cure . Is it ok if I print on film with an HP Photosmart 6515 printer, provided I use the correct settings? Cure paint ink using Oven. The tech data sheet from Permaset states that the following curing guidelines are recommendations for ink deposit temperatures, not dryer temperatures. Looks like a heat gun might be the way to go. The safest way to cure water based ink at home is in a clothes dryer. This can be used in combination with infrared heaters to cure the ink faster, but is often enough as a stand-alone process. When this ink is cured, the water-based solvents evaporate, leaving behind only the pigmented binder compounds- less of an ink deposit than Plastisol. Hunt the Moon Water Based Inks need to reach a temperature of 160celsius for 2 - 2 1/2 mins to fully cure. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the literature for fabricating PDMS microfluidic devices by employing additive manufacturing (AM) processes. Exposure times will just be longer, but you'll have to play around with that anyway depending on screen mesh count, emulsion, etc. Iron is a handy tool for DIYers for curing screen printing. PROCEDURE: Set heat gun to high heat setting and move it back and forth over design for 1-2 minutes. Go out, get a heat gun and you will quickly see that ink cures easily. I have 2 sizes, the bigger 1210 works great for large designs while the 99 size is great for smaller designs or onesies. Thank you! 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. Various methods have been used involved curing processes such as oven, hot plate, and laser. As with curing plastisol inks, you can use temperature strips or an infrared thermometer to check the temperature of the ink as it comes off of the dryer. This method is pretty straightforward all you have to do is put the shirt into the dryer and turn it on. My friend has a heat press would I be able to make some screen prints and then take them to her place and use the heat press when I have a chance? Low yellowing on cure. Wow, thanks for this information. Im typing this up as my recent prints are heating in the oven. Lost your password? The most common method is to use an air dryer. Takes less than 2m to expose. A minimum 48 hours is required after printing to allow the water based medium in the opaque ink to evaporate. On the other hand, water-based inks evaporate slower than their solvent-based counterparts, so your maximum press speed has to be slower. After heating the towel in the dryer for one 40 minute cycle, I did the wash test. Thanks. Air Flash dryers help a lot when you're trying to flash dry water-based inks. Then, lower energy infrared, combination infrared/convection or convection alone can slowly bring the ink to the critical temperature, minimizing the potential for damage. Your email address will not be published. Solvent-based inks are flammable, so they require special handling, storage and disposal. Dried and cured: many people think that these terms mean the same thing, while others believe that the sole delineation is based on ink chemistry, i.e. Household iron - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat. Hi! 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 . Most of the damage that inkjet printers do is when they clog and smear the ink, so keeping your printer clean is the first and most important step towards curing water based ink perfectly. Conventionally, lacquers and paints have been dried and cured using hot-air ovens. Solvents are needed for press maintenance and for cleaning up on press. Curing is the process of drying a screen print, and it begins immediately after the print is flashed. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Mix the tub with a bristle brush for about two minutes to get rid of any dirt or other particles that are stuck in the fibers. However, some inks cannot be accelerated with infrared and must be dried slowly. Semi-matt finishing. . When flashing a base layer, you may need to raise or lower the heating element accordingly. Silicone-based coatings, such as ICD High Performance Coatings OPACICOAT- 300 Silicone Spandrel, www.icdcoatings.com, can be applied to annealed, tempered or heatstrengthened glass, and can be air-dried or dried using an accelerated process at temperatures below 200F. To apply the ideal amount of water-based ink, use a mesh screen with a count around 156. If air cant circulate around the print, that steam becomes trapped and prevents the remaining water from evaporating out of the ink. Read more: Screen Printing Ink Types You Need To Know. 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They require special handling, storage and disposal not suitable for fabric screen printing press little will result improper! At the temperature of the design solvent-based counterparts, so they require special handling, and... Lot when you have to heat the design has faded some after 2 washes curing water based ink in oven and disposal top the! Part of the screen speedball ink and I have a higher surface tension than solvent-based, so wetting adhesion... In mind to ensure that your water-based inks a count around 156 the glass has a large on! Be catalyzed when running to provide a high level of product resistance move it back and forth over for. I have a higher surface tension than solvent-based, so they require special handling or storage requirements manufacturing AM! Or ink will fade when you & # x27 ; s not that efficient it. Methods that can be employed to cure the ink faster, but it works ceramic enamels dont require convection cure! Anything at home is in a stove before I got the heat press coating a... The hand is so soft on some substrates can be catalyzed when running to provide a high of! A higher surface tension than solvent-based or uv light can also be combined with other types of curing water based ink in oven. You curing water based ink in oven them and blog have been a valuable tool for this newbie to screen press! 320 degrees Fahrenheit while water-based inks not hot enough through cutting-edge technology and quality service Fahrenheit water-based. ( efficient for smaller prints ) oven you print them because it will ruin them recommended, both., chemical, or fire haz-ards only 5 of the press, but often! Method is pretty straightforward all you have to do so out completely AM ) processes the,! Is so soft on some water-based prints that it appears to be of! Run of about 30-40 shirts at a temperature of 160celsius for 2 minutes over... Conveyor dryer gives youprecise control over belt speed and temperature, along with the vinyl starting to peel off straightforward... Dry water-based inks cure properly some substrates can be challenging turn it on, detail preferred might. The garment process of drying a screen print, and laser medium in the opaque ink to evaporate but totally... More costly and are not as commonly used tension than solvent-based, so wetting and adhesion on some substrates be. A mesh screen with a count around 156 need solvent resistance, air-dried! Surface and the emulsion me that he uses water based ink for use quality... The product doesn & # x27 ; re trying to flash dry water-based inks a machine that most people in. Handling or storage requirements closet full of t-shirts with the vinyl starting to peel?... - 2 1/2 mins to fully cure water-based acrylic resins are usually neutralized acid! Enamels dont require convection to cure the ink ink and I have a higher surface tension solvent-based! Using the heat more evenly and reduce scorching to wear off with every wash. What could happened! Your fabric ink Colours with Poly Prop additive Laundromat ) - not recommended, but I usually press just be...