Joe Clarke's Ink

[Onewithpez]

Sorry the auto correct had some fun with my last post. You should get the point.


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[AntonySharples]

It's getting hotter than 330.  It expands when it gets too hot.  Make sure you have the proper temp, has to stay lower than 330.

[blue moon]

It's getting hotter than 330.  It expands when it gets too hot.  Make sure you have the proper temp, has to stay lower than 330.

yup, very short flash times and make sure you are not overcooking in the dryer!

pierre

[Colin]

wait.... 330 degrees is "To Hot"?

Most everyone must be overcooking inks then.......

[Printficient]

wait.... 330 degrees is "To Hot"?

Most everyone must be overcooking inks then.......

Ding Ding Ding.  We have a winner.  99 issues out of 100 on dark garments is too much heat.

[jvanick]

I just learned this weekend in a conversation (with some industry experts) that it's impossible to 'over cure' most plastisol inks ... well at least not without starting the shirt itself on fire.

You can have them puff up, or remelt, but the inks won't over 'cure', and won't become brittle.

[mimosatexas]

depends on the ink!

I have had some whites that need a solid 340 to cure to the point where they will pass a stretch test, and I have had some that will pass it all day long at 300.  Some poly white will pass the stretch test at 280 even with a super thick deposit... Temps measured a foot or so into the outfeed of the tunnel with a laser temp gun.  I religiously use the temp gun on every print run I do...

disclaimer: Stretch test has always worked the best for me when it comes to judging prints.  If they can pass that right off the belt, they will always pass wash tests etc as well in my experience.  Fail the stretch test, fail the other tests too.

edit: Just wanted to add to jason's comment about over curing.  The only bad thing about over curing is puffing or extra gloss as far as I have seen.  Definitely never seen a brittle print even with random dryer temp spikes (which do happen on my ancient National dryer).  The worst that will happen is the underbase will bubble a bit and the final hand is rough, but usually even then it isn't too noticeable and will only happen on a handful of shirts during the spike.

[Colin]

Yes, to much heat is always a problem.

My comment is focused on this:

We run our dryer - Sprint 2000 HO - at 330 degrees with a one minute dwell time.  All dryers have a natural flux in temp.  This is why we will not run below what we do.  The possibility of the ink not hitting full cure temp is not something we allow.

Yes, some inks have a lot of puff in them.  You will really notice that if you run hotter than 330.  For the inks that have small amounts of puff in them:  You have to look realllly hard to notice it.

For the cotton whites we currently run:  You will not notice the puff.  To give Sonny a nod - if we see any its because our flashes were running for to long and I look very sternly at the press ops.... -.-

So tldr:  if you are able to really notice the puff in a COTTON white at 330 cure temp.... maybe that cotton white is leaning on puff to much for its opacity.

p.s.:  The longer an ink is at fusion temp - the stronger its physical bond to whatever substrate it is on.

p.p.s.:  Yes, you can make an ink brittle - it just takes 15 minutes plus and it depends on its chemistry balance..... Yes I have done this.

[Onewithpez]

Thanks for all of the input, Joe contacted me and informed me of the same. I will work on dialing in my cure for this ink, I have a small dryer so it can be finicky.


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[Printficient]

depends on the ink!

I have had some whites that need a solid 340 to cure to the point where they will pass a stretch test, and I have had some that will pass it all day long at 300.  Some poly white will pass the stretch test at 280 even with a super thick deposit... Temps measured a foot or so into the outfeed of the tunnel with a laser temp gun.  I religiously use the temp gun on every print run I do...

disclaimer: Stretch test has always worked the best for me when it comes to judging prints.  If they can pass that right off the belt, they will always pass wash tests etc as well in my experience.  Fail the stretch test, fail the other tests too.

edit: Just wanted to add to jason's comment about over curing.  The only bad thing about over curing is puffing or extra gloss as far as I have seen.  Definitely never seen a brittle print even with random dryer temp spikes (which do happen on my ancient National dryer).  The worst that will happen is the underbase will bubble a bit and the final hand is rough, but usually even then it isn't too noticeable and will only happen on a handful of shirts during the spike.

The problem with a stretch test is it is dependent on the amount of stretch component in the ink.  Some inks have little to none of this component and will crack when fully cured.  Some fabrics stretch way more than most inks will so again NOT a cure test.  The definitive cure test is and always will be washing half the garment multiple times.  Failing this a crock test is a better indicator of cure as it is not dependent on stretching.

[Joe Clarke]

Thanks for all of the input, Joe contacted me and informed me of the same. I will work on dialing in my cure for this ink, I have a small dryer so it can be finicky.


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oneewithpez - (great name) glad to hear you got my response today. I just read your post and am confident I can help you. Why don't you mail your phone number, I am in press in the AM but will gladly give you a call tomorrow afternoon?

If you are willing to give me specifics I believe I can return practical specifics which will solve the problem.

Thank you,
Joe

[Onewithpez]

Joe you actually replied to my email on the same subject today. I thought I sent a response but I just checked my phone and it didn't send. I will send my contact info in the email.


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