Future of silicone inks

[noortrd]

Whats the future of silicone inks. Any pros and cons?. Its alternates to water base and plastisol?.

[Rob Coleman]

Pros:
Unparalleled elasticity AND memory (this last part is important!)
Low cure temperature WELL below sublimation points of polyester dyes means no risk of dye sublimation during curing process.
No plasticizers means that even if skin curing, no risk of post polyester dye migration.
Super smooth hand.
Nothing will stick to it except silicone.
Perfect solution for dye-sub apparel (with use of barrier black)
Iron able.
Great alternative to embroidery specifically on performance polos.

Cons:
Two part system (catalyzed) - once mixed pot life.
Does not have fiber mat down properties.  Works great on smooth polyester.  Fuzzy fabric is a challenge. Traditional smoothing screens will not work.
Certain coatings (amines, sulfur dyes) can interfere with catalyst reaction.
Need greater managerial control / housekeeping than plastisol.

Silicone technology is by no means a replacement for water base and plastisol.  Rather, it as an addendum.  Another arrow in your quiver.  Use the best tools to maximize your production capabilities. 



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[jvanick]

Pros:
Low cure temperature WELL below sublimation points of polyester dyes means no risk of dye sublimation during curing process.

Perfect solution for dye-sub apparel (with use of barrier black)

Rob - can you comment on the conflicting points above?

If the cure is happening below the sublimation point of the dyes, why would you need a barrier black?

---> Asking this because we've successfully done testing with the nazdar white silicone ink on Badger digital-camo (one of the absolute WORST bleeder candidates EVER) and it didn't dye migrate, and even after multiple washes at home still looks great.

[Rob Coleman]

Jvanick- I am mobile and will do my best to thumb type a response.

The key to remember is that polyester dye sublimation is a wholly different phenomenon than the sublimation that occurs with DYE SUBLIMATION INKS. Polyester dyes, even if dyed using low energy dyes, will generally not sublimate at temperatures below 300 F.  Dye sub inks can sublimate at really low temps, many times under the flash.

Now silicone inks are vapor permeable. This means that gasses (I.e., sublimation) will pass right through them in MANY cases. We experienced this with Badger during the development of the ink.  However, if the dye-sub paper was prepared in an offset or printed process (as opposed to digital ink jet), the dyes can be much more intense and may get trapped in the ink film. Hence the use of a barrier black.

Unfortunately there is no way to know this until after the fact. The use of the barrier black is highly recommend on all day sub polyesters. We along with Tom Lopina from Badger printed this method in our booth at SGIA last November and are doing so again at Long Beach in two weeks.

Dye MIGRATION is a different phenomenon all together.


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[jvanick]

Got it, so it's a situation that you *may* be ok without, but if you want to be 100% sure, you really want to go with the blocker.

[Rob Coleman]

Spot on!   


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[Rob Coleman]

And just to be perfectly clear, you do not need the blocker on regular polyesters. It is specific to the dye sub fabrics. You can of course use it if you want as a first down, just not necessary.


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[jvanick]

will it also stop the dye migration or bleeding from people that wash performance fabrics in hot water and dry on hot in their dryers?

[brandon]

will it also stop the dye migration or bleeding from people that wash performance fabrics in hot water and dry on hot in their dryers?

And this right here is a huge problem every one deals with. The end consumer. With today's society almost everyone wants it now now now and on to the next purchase. In the mean time just throw it in the washer and dryer without any care for what they just purchased. Then when the garment itself start to fall apart due to extreme washing temps they blame it on the garment without ever considering their actions. The screen printer's paradox. Keeping the unwashed masses happy with a product that can stand up to their actions while still making money. It can and is done every day but darn it gets harder haha!

[dirkdiggler]

if you use the black barrier, you only need a top white.  Just 1 white and its super bright!  Did the demo at SGIA and that's how it was being done on Badger Digital Camo and the results were amazing.

[noortrd]

If the fabric is light color its difficult to get white on black barrier.