Do you recommend another type from Rutland that IS more versatile

[Dottonedan]

Hello Mel,

Some people LOVE Rutland for sim process,  but I feel (pardon the illustration), but it seems like a one trick pony. Meaning, it's used very well for blending...but thats it. It's not as versatile as I would like my inks to be. I can't modify the Rutland M3's and make them MORE OPAQUE (in the same design) and for basic spot color printing I would switch to some other ink. If I do anything, If using Rutland M3, I have to use a low mesh (lower than I normally would like) in order to get that good opacity. If I underbase it, it's pastel and if I don't underbase it enough, the shirt comes though too much to quick. Tricky balance I say.  Again, if using it simply for sim process (and needing every screen to blend well), it's GREAT! If you have a screen that needs more coverage in the mix, you need to do other tricks to get it to work, like slow the pass, angle the blade down, use a softer blade, all things that you don't normally want to do.

Do you have some additive to make it more opaque or do you recommend another type from Rutland that IS more versatile?

Thanks
Dan

[californiadreamin]

Rutland Paste Thickner M 00333 up to 2 percent.

[T Shirt Farmer]

Does the thickener make the ink harder to clear out of the screen?

[Colin]

Dan,

You want Rutland's Color Boosters.  You can add those to the pms mix to make the ink more opaque through heavier pigmentation.

Conversely, you can use the Color Boosters as a pigment for mixing into Rutlands bases.  This way you can, through experimentation, make opaque versions of PMS colors.  On occasion, you do want to be carefull about over pigmenting your inks.

The only problem is once you start going to opaque versions, the color will shift.  So it's a balance game of "correct color" Vs. opacity.

Just adding a thickener to the ink will kind of work, but it's a band aid solution at best.  A thicker ink deposit will lead to it's own headaches.

Depending on the printers skill set, the flexibility of the customer pertaining to color matches, and the type of printing desired (spot/sim-process/high Vs. low mesh printing) will impact what that shop will need to do to modify their mixing system.

[noortrd]

is ther any representative of rutland in this boards?

[Lizard]

Dan,

Often times we engineer the art so the highlight prints earlier in the print and double base under those areas.

[Inkworks]

Well since Rutland bought QCM, I'd suggest trying QCM WOW series. We love the stuff.

[ZooCity]

Dan, you need a pigment loading system.  Like Colin said, the Color Boosters from Rutland can get ya there.  Wilflex PCs or Equalizers....and I think that's it for PC plasti systems.

[JBLUE]

I use the C3 system by Rutland and like it a lot. I used Wilflex before that and switched because of the ongoing opacity issues that were going on during the conversion of the Epic system. The pigments are curable and easy to overload. Although it would not be that cost effective to do so. The inks are engineered well and we have been happy with them.

[Sbrem]

We use more than one system; for opaques, we've used Union Max Opaque forever with good results. You may save time (money) by having a little of both kinds of inks around as opposed to becoming too much of a chemist and making your own.

Steve

[JohnMageeUnionink]

is ther any representative of rutland in this boards?

Hello all, My name is John Magee. I am a Technical Sales rep for Rutland Group. I represent all 4 of our brands but have the most experience with Union. I am a big fan of Unions triple strength CMYK inks plus Union's hot Magenta. I used to do most of my CMYK on black shirts with a discharged underbase so the 3X CMYK inks were a terrific fit. That's my two cents for now.