The ins and outs of successful discharge printing

[Prosperi-Tees]

Done it before and failed at it. Well maybe not failed but discouraged so the inks have sat on the shelf for over a year now.

Would like to get back in it. Are there any good tutorials to be able to be more comfortable doing it? My struggles were screen dry in, screen breakdown and of course curing.

Side note: I have a bunch of CCI base and white and a complete line of Sericol inks that have been sitting for 18-24 months or so. Would it be safe to use? Most are unopened.

[Underbase37]

The inks should be OK if they haven't gotten to hot in the bucket or the PH balance hasn't gone way off.

As for tutorials, I don't know of many, other than a lot of the great info on here & a few other sites.

 I think the best way to learn is to just get after it, make yourself use it, & keep using it, don't stop until you start making breakthroughs & then still, don't stop there, just keep doing it. My best experiences in printing have always come from my own breakthroughs. Yes you can find a lot of good reading material out there that can give you great insite to the technical side of things ( & you should ) but, direct application has always given me more.

[mimosatexas]

I would get fresh ink simply to eliminate a troublesome variable.  Also, try simply discharge base with activator first to dial in exposure and emulsion exposure/hardening etc.  This will limit the variables as much as possible.  Try big bold designs, not halftones or details.  Get those mastered, then details, then add pigment, and finally whites.  test, test, test.

Also, use a 100% cotton black Anvil 980 or Next Level 3600 so you know the shirt isnt the issue.

[brandon]

Don't skimp on exposure time and your screens in general. Don't short cut anything. Use your exposure calculator and get it dialed in. Do your screens in advance, not the day of. Do not use tape on shirt side of screen. And document what works in your shop.

[Rockers]

I would really suggest as well to test the most popular tees you are using to see if they are actually discharge that well. Something we should have done by now but haven`t and I regret it. Something on my list for winter this year. All those results will go then on our website with the actual garments so customers know right away what shirt in what color will work for discharge. Of course we are not going to do that for all tees we offer but at least for the 5 most popular styles.

[sqslabs]

I would really suggest as well to test the most popular tees you are using to see if they are actually discharge that well. Something we should have done by now but haven`t and I regret it. Something on my list for winter this year. All those results will go then on our website with the actual garments so customers know right away what shirt in what color will work for discharge. Of course we are not going to do that for all tees we offer but at least for the 5 most popular styles.

I've started creating a public database cataloging this type info, which can be found here:

http://www.theshirtboard.com/index.php/topic,12269.0.html

It hasn't seen much interest yet, but I've been keeping it updated with my own findings and will continue to do so moving forward.  So even if you don't want to participate, it may be worth a bookmark.

[sqslabs]

Would like to get back in it. Are there any good tutorials to be able to be more comfortable doing it? My struggles were screen dry in, screen breakdown and of course curing.

If you haven't already seen it, this thread details some of the ins and outs of discharge printing, and has some great input by members of the forum who use it frequently:

http://www.theshirtboard.com/index.php/topic,12293.0.html

[Gilligan]

I would really suggest as well to test the most popular tees you are using to see if they are actually discharge that well. Something we should have done by now but haven`t and I regret it. Something on my list for winter this year. All those results will go then on our website with the actual garments so customers know right away what shirt in what color will work for discharge. Of course we are not going to do that for all tees we offer but at least for the 5 most popular styles.

I've started creating a public database cataloging this type info, which can be found here:

http://www.theshirtboard.com/index.php/topic,12269.0.html

It hasn't seen much interest yet, but I've been keeping it updated with my own findings and will continue to do so moving forward.  So even if you don't want to participate, it may be worth a bookmark.

I did the same thing with emulsion.  It got a bit of attention for a little while but has dropped off.

We could combine the documents.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgdPJ7c6eSh6dFZ4bVBSTFVXZzZ5eFNvX3JyVk9vQ0E&usp=sharing


You will notice my disclaimer at the top.  For whatever reason, gamers were hi-jacking it and using it for some polling purposes.  Really didn't make any sense to do that since google docs/drive is free.  If this happens to you, just go into the history and restore back to where the file was before they hacked it up.  I just don't get why they would waste their time and lose all their data like that. *shrug*

[sqslabs]

I did the same thing with emulsion.  It got a bit of attention for a little while but has dropped off.

We could combine the documents.

I think that's a great idea.. Will PM you about it.

[jsheridan]

Done it before and failed at it. Well maybe not failed but discouraged so the inks have sat on the shelf for over a year now.

Would like to get back in it. Are there any good tutorials to be able to be more comfortable doing it? My struggles were screen dry in, screen breakdown and of course curing.

Side note: I have a bunch of CCI base and white and a complete line of Sericol inks that have been sitting for 18-24 months or so. Would it be safe to use? Most are unopened.

throw it all away and buy new ink (or dump it all into buckets and add cement, mix up then dump the blocks in a few days)

use Diazo Based emulsion* exposed correctly and dried completely. use hardener if you like.
* you can use photopolymer as long as it works with hardener, some don't so you may have to test

use discharge base and start with 3% activator

print into the shirt with triple duro blades

run through a gas dryer for 3 minutes (or electric with forced air)

[jvanick]

I love discharge printing when the customer is cool with the look of it.

honestly, I haven't had too many problems with using older ink...  just used some sericol from last year along with activator that was the same age.

hitting colors can be a trial and error process, but the fact you don't have to underbase, flash, or mess around, is very nice.

last job, I printed Rutland White Plus discharge through a 156 mesh screen, 70/90/70 squeegee, 50psi, and you could see the print on the inside of the shirt... even after curing.  I'm actually thinking of doing a run of shirts where you print from the inside and have it 'fade through' on the outside as a fun group for my band.

[Gilligan]

I love discharge printing when the customer is cool with the look of it. I'm actually thinking of doing a run of shirts where you print from the inside and have it 'fade through' on the outside as a fun group for my band.

This is like that Southpark episode where they say "simpsons did it!"

TonyP did it! :p

[kingscreen]

  I'm actually thinking of doing a run of shirts where you print from the inside and have it 'fade through' on the outside as a fun group for my band.

We did a run of those for Tultex.

[jvanick]

Scott: any special notes to get it to go all the way through easier/better?

[Gilligan]

Scott: any special notes to get it to go all the way through easier/better?

Print your art backwards. :p