Issues with Plasticharge?

[mimosatexas]

I have a client who orders the same design frequently (3 colors and white).  I have always printed them with discharge for a few reasons (challenging underbase being one of them).  The only issue I have with traditional discharge is that I can't premix the inks in bulk and add the activator later only as needed for each run due to the inks separating and color shifting while on the shelf.  I have tried 3 different discharge systems for this exact job and none "just worked".  Sericol was the closest as it is a RFU so the pigments didn't clump or shift, except the inks needed boosting anyway, which meant more mixing prior to printing.  I'd like to try out plasticharge, but didnt know if there were any issues I should be aware of related to plasticharge.

[Nation03]

I don't have a ton of experience or knowledge on plasticharge. I run it usually with white ink and have nice results. I messed around with it a few weeks ago with a light orange color and the color that came out of the dryer was completely different then the actual ink color. I'm not sure if color accuracy is a problem for plasticharge or if I just did something out of the ordinary.

[Sbrem]

I don't have a ton of experience or knowledge on plasticharge. I run it usually with white ink and have nice results. I messed around with it a few weeks ago with a light orange color and the color that came out of the dryer was completely different then the actual ink color. I'm not sure if color accuracy is a problem for plasticharge or if I just did something out of the ordinary.

certain colors need differing amounts of activator, I think it was less activator for reds and some yellows, but one of the other guys will know that. There are more than a few discussions on this here. We use the plasticharge mostly for whites.

Steve

[mk162]

I like plasticharge.  The main thing with your high opacity inks is this.  Toss out the 50/50 rule.

We mix them 60% ink/40% additive and then add 4% activator to the total weight.  We just ran some on 50/50's where a straight discharge base didn't work.  we had to put too much pigment in for the base for the top colors to work that we ended up going plasticharge base with a plastisol highlight.

I know a lot of people don't like it, but I think it's a really nice system.

[Frog]

I find a lot of trial and error to get close to the colors you want. They really turn pastel.

[mimosatexas]

definitely need to avoid pastel-ing.  This is basically three shades of orange/red.  The pastel issue was my main problem with the sericol RFU system.  I guess the worst that can happen is I test it...

[tonypep]

Plasticharge systems are hybrids. Original intended use was back in the days before DC color formulations were available. And yes, because the colors are diluted as much as 50% they are limited. Vibrant, rich color not really an option

[mimosatexas]

Alternatively, how are people mixing discharge in bulk and not having issues with shelf life?  Within about 6-8 weeks no matter what I have tried (filtering, putting a layer of water/plastic wrap at the top, storing in the fridge, adding and not adding additives, etc) the inks experience pigment clumping and color shifts, or simply stop activating well when it comes time to print.  This guy orders about every 6 weeks to every 3 months.  Would love to have a years worth of ink ready to go...

[tonypep]

What system are you using? Ambient storage temp? Never had those issues.

[mimosatexas]

identical issues with CCI and Matsui bases and pigments.  Sericol was fine, minus the fact that the ink just can't hit the colors needed without adding pigments and then having the same identical issues.  I have tried storing at fridge temp (40ish) and "room" temp which fluctuates from around 72 to 85.

[Orion]

Plasticharge systems are hybrids. Original intended use was back in the days before DC color formulations were available. And yes, because the colors are diluted as much as 50% they are limited. Vibrant, rich color not really an option

Tony are you speaking of back in the Pavonine days? When Union came out with white plasticharge back in the '90s we used it as an underbase with plastisol overprinting. We had limited success because of dry-in issues on our underbase screen. If only I knew then, about DC, as to what I know now we would have success with it.

Plasticharge has a use for some jobs, but as Tony stated the colors lack vibrancy.

[TCT]

So we stock/save probably 4 dozen or more RFUs for discharge. Reds for some reason don't store well for us. I was going to say it's odd that you had issues with keeping RFUs until you said they were shades of red/orange.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

[tonypep]

Plasticharge systems are hybrids. Original intended use was back in the days before DC color formulations were available. And yes, because the colors are diluted as much as 50% they are limited. Vibrant, rich color not really an option

Tony are you speaking of back in the Pavonine days? When Union came out with white plasticharge back in the '90s we used it as an underbase with plastisol overprinting. We had limited success because of dry-in issues on our underbase screen. If only I knew then, about DC, as to what I know now we would have success with it.

Plasticharge has a use for some jobs, but as Tony stated the colors lack vibrancy.

Miss the Pavonine (Charlie Leach)era. Something like 30 pigs including 2 or 3 browns (primarily for fleshtones.

[mimosatexas]

So we stock/save probably 4 dozen or more RFUs for discharge. Reds for some reason don't store well for us. I was going to say it's odd that you had issues with keeping RFUs until you said they were shades of red/orange.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

Yep.  Havent had as much issue with other colors, but of course these three orange/reds are the only 3 I actually use frequently enough to warrant premixing in bulk.  The idea of course is to save time and increase color accuracy across frequent printings.  Those tiny amounts of DC can be a pain to mix exactly, even with my gram scale going to .00 and a lot of care.  Just frustrating there isnt a better solution.

[CCI]

I have a client who orders the same design frequently (3 colors and white).  I have always printed them with discharge for a few reasons (challenging underbase being one of them).  The only issue I have with traditional discharge is that I can't premix the inks in bulk and add the activator later only as needed for each run due to the inks separating and color shifting while on the shelf.  I have tried 3 different discharge systems for this exact job and none "just worked".  Sericol was the closest as it is a RFU so the pigments didn't clump or shift, except the inks needed boosting anyway, which meant more mixing prior to printing.  I'd like to try out plasticharge, but didnt know if there were any issues I should be aware of related to plasticharge.

Have you tried CCI's T-Charge ?
Its a RFU system, no mixing pigment, you can mix your colors in batches of your desire, and when you are ready to print just activate what you need for the job.