Low bleed vs. poly ink.

[Rock Road Graphics]

Long story short...been printing just over a year, using Multi-Tech (Lawson) inks.  We use 50/50 shirts and also print on polyester moisture management apparel,  (a lot of champro etc)  very little if any 100% cotton.

I use a poly ink as my white (1397 super poly white).  I have always hated the roughness and fibrillation.  On a whim I ordered a quart of Lava low bleed from Ryonet.   Did a test print just messing around this afternoon and quite frankly it was the smoothest best looking white print I have ever done and it was easy to print with, it is the white print I have been striving for and the hand feel was really nice.

I have yet to actually use it in production, but from what I saw today it is what I am looking for....but.

Am I going to have a problem printing with the Lava low bleed on 100% polyester?  I hate to think of switching between this and a poly white as we do a lot of team parent apparel and will print the same job on a variety of garment from hoodies to moisture management and 50/50 tees.

Thanks for any input on this..

[1964GN]

You can test it on poly but I think you find that that's not very bleed resistant on 100% poly. Odds are your white print on a red 100% poly shirt will turn pink. On poly we use nothing but a ink specifically designed for poly. Our go to is from Wilflex but I don't recall the name of it at the moment "performance poly" maybe?

Also, Lava LB (in addition to most other low bleed inks) will ghost on some 100% cotton colors. We tested Lava LB and ICC Legacy last week on one of our worst ghosters and both ghosted badly. Not all 100% cotton colors will ghost, but why take the chance? A large company near us recently took a $350k hit. You read that right $350,000.00 US dollars. They printed a extremely large order on grey Delta t-shirts for a certain client. They sat in boxes until needed in a hot warehouse. They all ended up in a local land fill.

For us it's 3 whites. 100% poly, 50/50 LB, 100% cotton

[Rock Road Graphics]

So on a job with multiple styles of garments, do you change out whites between the poly and 50/50 garments?  Or should I just stick to concrete like poly ink?

Also, excuse my ignorance, but what is ghosting?

[Frog]

Yep, different fabrics need different inks.
First off, "Low Bleed" does not claim to be "No Bleed", and was never meant for 100% Poly. In fact, I don't trust it on red (and reddish) 50/50.
The dreaded "pinks" can take more than a week to show up.

Your Ryonet ink even suggests  in its instructions to use a dye-blocking underbase when belled resistance is needed, which kinda downgrades its claim as low bleed, so who knows?
Details:
For single print colors, colors will reproduce best over white - light substrate or single white base plate on dark substrates. When direct printing over dark cotton, print-flash-print using lower mesh screens. For bleed resistance, use an under base white such as Wilflex Epic Polywhite.

Poly generally requires its own white and often even a more rigorous special dye blocking underbase of gray. Camo and other sublimated poly can be a bear!

It also says that your low bleed Lava is fine for cotton, unlike the low bleed inks that may cause ghosting as explained here.
http://www.iccink.com/screenprint/howto_fabricdiscoloration.htm

[1964GN]

Even the ICC Legacy claims to be suitable for cotton but I think it has a ghosting disclaimer of some kind on the data sheet.

[Frog]

Yet in their tech tips sheet I linked, albeit quite old, they say that IC whites do not contain any bleaching agents.

The test procedure they describe could be valuable and an eye opener.

[Rock Road Graphics]

So is their a such thing as a smooth printing poly white?  One that doesn't feel like concrete to print?

I have thinned the white down in the past, but then I get people saying not to do that! 

For the record, with the poly white I use, I have not had any bleeding problems.  Just mainly want something
that is easier to work with and has a better feel on the garment.

[Frog]

Favorite whites for poly has come up a lot, albeit usually in the Ink and Chemicals section.
I remember this thread http://www.theshirtboard.com/index.php/topic,18894.0.html, but a search will probably give you more.

[ZooCity]

We run wilflex performance white.  It prints nice once worked a little. No additives in plastisol here but we might put 1 or 2 percent viscosity buster (plasticizer) in this ink if the occasion calls for it.

People like one stroke poly as well might try them out.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[mimosatexas]

triangle poly excel prints like butter. works on everything and is my go to white for comfort colors and blends. works on 100% poly, but isnt bulletproof on bleeders. i typically mix it with a better blocking white on the really bad bleeders or just reach for bravo flex, which also prints like butter but is super pricey.

[Rockers]

We run wilflex performance white.  It prints nice once worked a little. No additives in plastisol here but we might put 1 or 2 percent viscosity buster (plasticizer) in this ink if the occasion calls for it.

People like one stroke poly as well might try them out.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

The price is a real turn off though, especially if he wants to use it as his only white.
We use Epic Bright Tiger, Epic Top score and for nylon ICC 901. Still got some old Wilflex Olympia White hanging around in my shop.