Plastisol Transfers WITHOUT Adhesive Powder?

[mimosatexas]

I have ALWAYS used the adhesive powder when printing my own transfers.  I have tried here and there to go without and had pretty mixed/poor results.  Small detail seems to not want to stick, one transfer will work fine and the next won't etc.

I run them through my dryer, 30 seconds of dwell and they exit at 200F on the dot.  I press with medium-heavy pressure for 8-10 seconds at 350-375F (I adjust based on the ink/garment, but those ranges seem to almost always work).  I use the the Ultrastrip 3000 hot peel transfer paper http://acescreensupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=98 and the same inks I use for direct printing.  NO issues with the adhesive powder.

I would really like to start not having to use the powder though.  For those who skip that step, do you have any tips/tricks/advice?  Am I doing something wrong with my current process, but the adhesive powder is acting like a bandaid?

[Orion]

One thing I see is that the small details will always be a problem without the powder, especially if the transfer requires a low pressure application. If you can get your powder in a fine enough grind, mix it into your ink before printing.

[Frog]

I do very few plastisol transfers anymore, but when I did, seem to remember that some inks were specifically described in their tech sheets as good for transfers. At the time, I was almost exclusively Union.
Perhaps the loss of detailed sections adhering is due to inks not good for this application.

[Rob Coleman]

You can always use a printable adhesive as a last down on the paper instead of the powder.

[aauusa]

We do our transfers the same as you do,  my question is why do you not want to use the powder?  We do not have any issues and feel it is part of the process rather than a band aid.

[mimosatexas]

Main reason right now: I'm low on the powder and have a rush job

Main reason for the rest of the time: it takes up time that I'd love to save.

[Orion]

Main reason right now: I'm low on the powder and have a rush job

Main reason for the rest of the time: it takes up time that I'd love to save.

I'll just file that^^^ in the "Ain't no shortcuts in screen printing" category.

[ebscreen]

Opposite end of the spectrum here, we rarely use the powder. Dwell time and pressure will be the main issues,
read Unions Transopaque tech sheet for directions. Had the pleasure of using that ink the other day, it is what it says,
which led me to thinking, what constitutes a quality transfer ink? My assumption would be a thick heavy ink, not unlike
a white or maybe even just adding some cabosil?

[KevWilso]

I do very few plastisol transfers anymore, but when I did, seem to remember that some inks were specifically described in their tech sheets as good for transfers. At the time, I was almost exclusively Union.
Perhaps the loss of detailed sections adhering is due to inks not good for this application.

Hot split inks is what you are talking about.  Just about every ink manufacturer makes them.  They are typically sold to transfer printers, because direct print shops don't want the added expense of carrying another type of plastisol ink, one for direct, poly, nylon, transfers, list goes on.   Hot split inks have the ability to remelt, which gives you a better transfer and release.  We have access to some really great hot split inks and can order them, but I do not stock them. 

[larryk]

Hot split inks are what we use and never use powder. If someone wants a funky color that we don't stock or can't mix we do it on cold peel. Since the ink is not split like on the hot split most any plastisol will work..... as far as the losing fine details and not sticking a lot of the time that is caused by dryer temps.. the finer the detail the quicker the cure.... or overcure in these instances. You might need to fine tune the dryer for those. That has been our experience and it works for us. We typically do 500 to 1000 transfers a week.

[BorisB]

-Small details will always adhere better with powder, no matter what ink you use. It will improve transfer's adhesion.
-Thick layer of ink helps as well. 60 microns is min.
-Good control over gelling temperature. Choosing good ink is of great help in controlling gelling process. Why? Some transfer inks have large temp. range in which they gel properly, yet some have narrow window within which you need to be. To make things worse not all shades work in same range.  if your dryer is HQ hot air, this is less of a problem. With IR dryers this is important consideration. We had best experience with Wilflex TF super opaque inks (apart from TF super red). Even with our $100 dryer we managed to do good transfers ( back in 1995). Union was slightly more sensitive, Sericol even more, Rutland was useless, but I think they gave up on HS inks, anyway.

[Frog]

Boris' suggestion of thicker ink layers is borne out with the instructions I remember from Union Ultrasoft suggesting much coarser mesh when used for transfers.
http://www.unionink.com/media/22830/plue_ultrasoft_tds_v14.pdf

I always kicked it down a notch when I used it for transfers.

[larryk]

We almost always go with 86 mesh on hot split and 110 on cold peel. Plenty of ink on those babies!

[ZooCity]

We use the powder- mixed into the ink for private labels and powdered onto the sheets for cap transfers. 

Good advice on the thickness of deposit.  We've found that for private labels a 225/40 mesh is the limit of mesh to get a thick enough deposit on the transfer paper and that is pushing it, small details likely would not hold without the powder at that thickness.  We try to use a 150 mesh for all transfers but those private labels always have tiny details and clients don't want to pay for a first down clear, which is what I would prefer to see. 

[BorisB]

Chris, you've got some fine powder if you can print through 225/40 and not clog screen with mixed in powder.