Union Inks

[3Deep]

I'll have to check with Tubelite here and get a qt of each white you talked about and try them out, Diamond white years ago just didn't cut it with me, I might have a half gal stack somewhere in the shop, I'm betting it's hard as a rock now more than it was when I first bought it.

[ebscreen]

I've been using Beckmar lately  http://www.beckmar.com/

I'd completely forgotten about them. A recent nightmare with McLogan has me gunshy with SoCal.
(they sent me the wrong particle size glitter, which, thanks to your suggestion, the IC tech suggested
I check. They then replaced it with right size wrong color.)

[Rockers]

Over the years I have not found a better white as far as opacity, smooth matte finish and very soft hand especially how cheap it is in Wilflex LB Quick White. I have never used Union Inks so I do not know what would compare.

In a side by side test the new union eclipse white kicked the crap out of the wilflex quick white. Back in the day I found the union whites to be horrible but whatever changes they have made seem to have worked. We haven't done much printing with the new union whites but the testing we have done with them showed very promising results.

That Eclipse white is a poly/cotton white that cures at around 284F if I remember that right. Tested it a while ago and was well impressed, as well on how well it holds up on 100% poly shirts.

[JohnMageeUnionink]

Was gonna say the exact same about the West Coast. Some of my favorite inks but not
well represented out here.

We should have you pretty well covered on the West coast. I cover the bay area on up north to Vancouver. Near Oakland you have Midwest Sign and Supply in Hayward. There are also Midwest branches in Portland and Seattle. I will have to ask Javier Posada which suppliers represent us in SOCal.

With out trying to speak for Midwest, not knowing what they would like their message to be- I feel comfortable sharing that Inventory issue are being addressed aggressively.


That's good to know that you are out here. Midwest does carry some Union inks but stock can be iffy.

[Frog]

I have to echo this sentiment. While Midwest may well be addressing their inventory issues today, it was yesterday that soured me on them.
In this business, one needs suppliers on which they can depend. eb and I are neighbors and we have seen our local, and semi local folks let us down often enough that we now often either deal directly with manufacturers like CCI or venture out of our area to folks with better grasp on keeping stock.

Bottom line, I miss Tubelite.

[1964GN]

Mercury Low Bleed PLHE1050 is a really interesting product that I feel is another important tool for any custom shop. This is a non-traditional low bleed in that it has a different chemistry that does not utilize blowing agents. The hand and matte down are amazing. When printed properly you can get a hand and opacity that could pass for a high end water-base. We refer to Mercury as our "boutique" style ink.
Speaking printer to printer, I have customers that love this ink on tri-blends because of it's fiber matte down and fast flash. I also have customers that have replaced their athletic white with Mercury- but I cannot yet verify the success of that choice. It is not as strong a dye blocker as Eclipse or Diamond, but this product definately has value to custom shops.

Disclaimer: I am not the ink guru in the shop. That would be Mike the owner but I don't let him post LOL

We finally got a 5-er of Mercury in and printed a run yesterday using it (Gildan 8800's). Flood and opacity were extremely good. So far this looks to be our new LB white

[JohnMageeUnionink]

Mercury Low Bleed PLHE1050 is a really interesting product that I feel is another important tool for any custom shop. This is a non-traditional low bleed in that it has a different chemistry that does not utilize blowing agents. The hand and matte down are amazing. When printed properly you can get a hand and opacity that could pass for a high end water-base. We refer to Mercury as our "boutique" style ink.
Speaking printer to printer, I have customers that love this ink on tri-blends because of it's fiber matte down and fast flash. I also have customers that have replaced their athletic white with Mercury- but I cannot yet verify the success of that choice. It is not as strong a dye blocker as Eclipse or Diamond, but this product definately has value to custom shops.

Disclaimer: I am not the ink guru in the shop. That would be Mike the owner but I don't let him post LOL

We finally got a 5-er of Mercury in and printed a run yesterday using it (Gildan 8800's). Flood and opacity were extremely good. So far this looks to be our new LB white

Thank you for the feedback. The more I can hear back from users in the field the better!

[TheEZGrip.com Squeegee 2 Ergo Upright Handles]

For my white ink, I only use Union White EF Brite Cotton PADE 102701. I prefer the thicker consistency, easier to control on the screen. I attempt to make a small mess in the screen and with Union EF I can do that, no problem.

[dirkdiggler]

can you add a dealer in GA that stocks and represents your inks?  Impossible here, is it because this is Wilfex's backyard?

Your local supplier would be Texsource. Let me know if you need anything else. Your Rutland/Union rep for Ga would be Max Price.

And that my friend is the problem!  I would be willing to bet sales in our area show that.  To bad for Rutland and Union down here.

[cbjamel]

Was gonna say the exact same about the West Coast. Some of my favorite inks but not
well represented out here.

We should have you pretty well covered on the West coast. I cover the bay area on up north to Vancouver. Near Oakland you have Midwest Sign and Supply in Hayward. There are also Midwest branches in Portland and Seattle. I will have to ask Javier Posada which suppliers represent us in SOCal.

With out trying to speak for Midwest, not knowing what they would like their message to be- I feel comfortable sharing that Inventory issue are being addressed aggressively.


That's good to know that you are out here. Midwest does carry some Union inks but stock can be iffy.

I am in Western Colorado so Midwest is my Wilflex, Union rep, and there stock sometime is good not great, sometimes sucks. I will get better buy from Valley litho than Midwest but I have an account with Midwest. Or i can do Denco for International Coatings.
Shane

[Maxie]

John, please post details of Rutland whites, have they also been improved?

[Frog]

I need some feedback.
Obviously this should have its own Manufacturers section, but the question is, with the amalgamation of three ink companies, should they be rolled together in one, or should there be a Rutland section, a Union, and a QCM each with their own?
In this instance, John's opinion will carry considerable weight, but all can contribute their two cents.

[JohnMageeUnionink]

I need some feedback.
Obviously this should have its own Manufacturers section, but the question is, with the amalgamation of three ink companies, should they be rolled together in one, or should there be a Rutland section, a Union, and a QCM each with their own?
In this instance, John's opinion will carry considerable weight, but all can contribute their two cents.

I think both I and the RG Group would prefer that they are 3 different categories, Union and Rutland are so mechanically different and QCM and Printop are pretty unique. But, I will go with whatever makes sense for the board. I can invite on a Rutland expert and Myself or another of my colleagues can field QCM.

[Frog]

We actually already have a Rutland section

[Colin]

For various reasons - I think having Rutland Group reps responding to Rutland Group products would be ideal.  There are some product crossovers that may be better responded to with some group ink knowledge.