Performance wear discoloration

[bimmridder]

I don't know if the is the correct area for this, but I'll try. We have been running performance wear lately that is "staining" after it exits the dryer. The shirts are fine going into the oven, and even look fine on exit of tunnel, but in a matter of minutes we will see some light brown "staining" in different areas on the shirts. It may be on the body, front or back and even on the sleeves. The garments happen to be Alo Sport/Bella Safety Orange. Other colors from them aren't doing this. Anyone else having this issue or have any idea what I'm doing wrong? I believe the stains will come out in the wash, but I hate to wash every Safety Orange shirt we print from Alo. Thanks for any input.

[Frog]

Whip out that phone and snap us a pic!

[ScreenFoo]

I don't have any answers for you, but Gildan's safety yellow was doing this exact thing for a couple years right at 300+ degrees--i.e. you could undercure the ink and still get marks on it. 

It has gotten better, but the last batch I did still had very faint marks.
I was thinking about rinsing and drying one and then printing/curing it to see if it was a sizing or other residue, never got around to trying it.

[bimmridder]

Come on Andy, you know I can't take pictures on a rotary dial phone. Plus the cord won't reach out to the production floor. Maybe Sarah at the switchboard can help me? (Honestly, I still can't add a picture to anything here. Never did figure out why)

[Robert Clark]

Dave forgive me for barging in ... BUT .. The ELT would put a end to this problem..

[Frog]

Come on Andy, you know I can't take pictures on a rotary dial phone. Plus the cord won't reach out to the production floor. Maybe Sarah at the switchboard can help me? (Honestly, I still can't add a picture to anything here. Never did figure out why)

Once again, for all or our picture-posting-challenged friends, here's a pic I posted that explains the two ways of doing just that!
And, btw, for this particular posted pic, I used the method illustrated as the bottom choice.

[AAMike]

Is it the temp of the shirt getting too hot? Have you tried paper thermometers?

[blue moon]

Dave forgive me for barging in ... BUT .. The ELT would put a end to this problem..

just to clarify this, ELT cures at as low as 250 and that could be a potential solution. Dave did you try running the shirts without ink on them to so what happens? Could it be glue or fingerprints or something along those lines?

pierre

[bimmridder]

I know ELT is a potential fix, but I can't add another ink line to my system. (that's why I's still stuck hard and fast in the plastisol world, perhaps a topic for another thread. These spots are popping up all over the garment. On the back where no hands have touched it, nor any glue or adhesive. And it's only on this one particular brand and color so far. I know I could just quit offering the color, but that's not the way to go. We have a call in to our supplier to get their take. I'll really try to post a picture or two, which in itself will be a victory for me

[mk162]

ELT isn't really another ink line.  It's plastisol, just really good at it's job.  We use it here for various things, we just have to be careful with oven temps.

[blue moon]

I know ELT is a potential fix, but I can't add another ink line to my system. (that's why I's still stuck hard and fast in the plastisol world, perhaps a topic for another thread. These spots are popping up all over the garment. On the back where no hands have touched it, nor any glue or adhesive. And it's only on this one particular brand and color so far. I know I could just quit offering the color, but that's not the way to go. We have a call in to our supplier to get their take. I'll really try to post a picture or two, which in itself will be a victory for me

run few through the dryer without any decoration and see what happens. If it turns it's on the manufacturer. . .

pierre

[bimmridder]

Maybe I need to educate myself better. I realize that ELT cures at 250-280, but I may also have as many as nine other colors in the print. We do a ton of licensed apparel so we mix every color. Those are done with a PC system that cures at 320 +/-. I can't use those in tandem with ELT due to the difference in cure temps. I know I could bring in another mixing system (ELT) but that is what I'm trying to avoid (sorry Robert and Kelly) Our set up is less than ideal I'll admit. I have two autos feeding each of my two ovens. Slowing down one press slows down two. Making sure temperatures and speeds are coorect is another concern. And do I even mention the 12 temp workers I have here right now?

[blue moon]

Maybe I need to educate myself better. I realize that ELT cures at 250-280, but I may also have as many as nine other colors in the print. We do a ton of licensed apparel so we mix every color. Those are done with a PC system that cures at 320 +/-. I can't use those in tandem with ELT due to the difference in cure temps. I know I could bring in another mixing system (ELT) but that is what I'm trying to avoid (sorry Robert and Kelly) Our set up is less than ideal I'll admit. I have two autos feeding each of my two ovens. Slowing down one press slows down two. Making sure temperatures and speeds are coorect is another concern. And do I even mention the 12 temp workers I have here right now?

my thinking is to run them through at 320 and see what happens. garments should be able to handle that, so if there is an issue even when you have not touched the garment's it's on them.

pierre

[mimosatexas]

I've seen stuff like that pop up before on client supplied stuff, and it is usually some kind of contamination already on the fabric (sweat, oil, detergent, etc) reacting to the heat.  In my opinion, if they are doing this in areas where the contaminant is not getting on the garment due to something in your shop, it is an issue that should be fixed by the supplier or manufacturer.

[Robert Clark]

This maybe one of the biggest misconceptions out there...

 The ELT gives you ...The Screen Printer " the option " to cure the ink between 250 - 330. Depending on the garment. 

  One of the biggest problems with " Todays Garments " is high heat. This is why we developed the ELT to offer you a solution to a specific problem.   It is my theory that the 320 cure time will be obsolete in the next few years. 

  Here at One Stroke Inks, we understand the garments you are printing on. This is not new for us. We strive to keep up with the garment demands and this is how we develop the latest ink technologies. You can argue the point of having different inks in house, but it's inevitable that you will be reducing your temperatures in the very near future.  The kind of fabric concerns you are dealing with today, unfortunately, are here to stay.