First time printing blend.....HELP

[Denis Kolar]

After convincing my customer to go with Charcoal color and 100% cotton shirt, they changed their mind again
They want to print on Dark Heather Gray, which is off-course, a 60/40 blend shirt.

Printing black and white on the shirts, white will be a low bleed ink.
Any pointers on printing blend shirts, except to watch on the temperature.

[mk162]

You should be good, just keep an eye on temps.  But low bleed inks will handle that fine...I've also not had much problem with the dark heather gray.

Start your temps low and work higher.  It's better than the other way around.

[Gilligan]

Obviously I'm no one to speak up on this (but when does that stop me)... but I'd think that color shirt seems fairly safe.

I managed to make it through some 50/50 navy's and came out ok... I'm sure you will be ok.

[Fresh Baked Printing]

Print like 100% cotton. No need to use a low bleed ink.
I've always wondered why heather's and safety colors always have poly in them?

[mk162]

easy...safety color because cotton tees cannot hold the pigments as well as the poly can.  Unless they are pigment dyed, which costs extra...the high vis dyes are made for poly, not cotton.

Heathered colors because the poly will not absorb the dyes as well as the cotton..thus making the shirts look heathered.

[Frog]

Obviously I'm no one to speak up on this (but when does that stop me)... but I'd think that color shirt seems fairly safe.

I managed to make it through some 50/50 navy's and came out ok... I'm sure you will be ok.

A couple of notes

1. Bleeds can show up as late as two weeks later. Ask me how I know (and why I have avoided white on 50/50 red for fifteen years)!
2. Blue bleeds are not only less offensive and noticeable, but can actually brighten the appearance of the white. In fact, adding a pinch of blue to white (as bluing to laundry) has long been a trick. It was even suggested to help mask the pinkish bleeds possible on red and it's cousins.

[Shawn (EIP)]

Obviously I'm no one to speak up on this (but when does that stop me)... but I'd think that color shirt seems fairly safe.

I managed to make it through some 50/50 navy's and came out ok... I'm sure you will be ok.

There is that rare occasion that fabric wont bleed until a few days later. Printed black 50/50 Gildan Ultra Blend hooded sweatshirts once, 5 color prints, looked great sent them out. I happened to have a screw up at the shop. 3 days go by and the customer complains that print looks cloudy, found my screw up hoody in the bin sure enough the black dye bleed turning everything grayish. Just because it looks great fresh out of the dryer doesn't mean anything, I'll use a 50/50 under base on anything 50/50 that's not white or light heather. I suppose it's possiable that I packed them before letting them cool down, trapping the heat , same deal with one in the bin.

[Screened Gear]

 50/50 shirts are always fun. You never know how much they will bleed. The smell they give off in the dryer is almost enough to not want to do them. I had a order of black Gildan 2000s (100% cotton) that bleed like crazy. I was printing large mediums and smalls. The Smalls all bleed. I knew something was wrong. I felt the fabric and smelled it. It was a 50/50. I knew it. I took them back and got new shirts from the distributor. They felt the same and smelled the same. They bleed also. It took sending the shirt to Gildan for them to admit the shirts were miss labeled.

[Gilligan]

This job was one of my father-in-laws bass club buddy's shop.

Though we are still waiting on the check (yeah yeah... friends and family, what are ya to do) he hasn't said anything about them.  I even prefaced that if there were any problems we would make them right as it was our first time doing the 50/50's.

Could be why I don't have a check yet.

[RICK STEFANICK]

i love the smell of 50/50's going down the dryer in the fall with the door open.. that fresh air mixed with the 50/50 's coming down the dryer is the true smell of a print shop. ..My wife thinks i am crazy..

on another note, ususlly its undercured shirts that will migrate a couple days later, its called post migration. the shirts got just enough heat to start the migration process. common problem alot of people chalk up to wrong ink,too much heat etc.