Temperature strips, what are your little buddy settings?

[Appstro]

I have been trying to dial in my little black buddy with these:
http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/product/THERMOLABEL5?gclid=CI7khLrPo70CFUJrfgod9koA1Q

I set the belt speed at 35 and the strip came out with just the edges of each square on the strip turning black.
When the temperature is reached the squares should turn black completely....
So I turn the speed down to 33 and run the same shirt through again, same strip..... now they are all black.
So I run a new shirt through with a new strip and the squares all turn black.
So I turn the speed up to 35 and run another shirt through and the squares are black...
So I turn the speed up to 40 and run a shirt though....now the edges of the squares are black but not completely changed.
And so it went until I used up all but 3 strips.....
WTF???

Am I doing something wrong here?

My gut tells me that the shirts are good between 35 and 40 speed,.

What are you running your little buddy at for 100% cotton t-shirts?

[sben763]

Did you put the strip under a in deposit inside a shirt.  If not you wasting time as if your running strips thru on the belt of a shirt your not gauging the temp the ink is reaching.

[jvanick]

Also, the chamber itself will warm up as you run more shirts through...

as a general rule: the IR heat from the panels warms things, not air

that's one of the reasons why production-quality dryers have temperature controls to monitor the temperature inside the chamber.

while changing the dwell (belt speed) will affect how hot a shirt gets, it will not keep consistent temps when entering production (first shirts out will be cooler than the final shirts).

for typical white ink on cotton, I try to hit 345-350 or so on the surface of the shirt as measured with an IR gun, around 315-320 on the inside of the shirt under the ink with the donut probe.  (I figure if I'm hitting 320 inside, the ink for sure is cured all the way through).

of course poly and performance fabrics are a whole 'nother deal.

I'd recommend an IR probe AND a donut probe if you can afford it.  (as well as a temperature control for your dryer)

[blue moon]

IR also fluctuates as the panels are cycled on and off. Temp gun is your best bet while on a budget. Use the temp strips to confirm the readings from the gun.

pierre

[Frog]

First off,  the instructions right there on the Ryonet site, say nothing about placing the strips underneath, where they will do a more accurate reading. I learned that myself through similar painful trial and error, with an even smaller dryer, an old four foot Ranar Scamp. (I also learned to cut the strips down the center to double my stash.)

As for your experience with two different readings at 35, was the dryer warmed up on the first reading? (I'm guessing 15 minutes at least)

Your little dryer will also be especially susceptible to temperature fluctuation by drafts.

The guns, which run anywhere from $20-$125, can be very helpful, but once again remember that is a surface reading, and a reading of 320 does not mean that the entire ink layer has reached that temp. You will learn a relationship between your reading and the actual ink temp.
I see a momentary reading of about 380 the instant before a shirt exits my tunnel.

In the end, the washing machine is your friend, and the only true test.

[kirkage]

Frog,

I am glad you said 380 right at the end. it still freaks me out to let the surface get to 380 but that is the sweet spot for curing in my dryer. I think some people are mislead by the IR gun readings. I would love to take one apart and somehow mount it inside the dryer for a "drive by" temp reading.