CMYK print fading after first wash?

[tse1990]

We did a CMYK test print that turned out great but after taking it home and washing it in hot water and regular drying, the print faded. We used epic inks and had our gas dryer set to 370-4*. Printed on white gildan 2000s.

It should be noted that the shirts washed in cold/cold and cold/warm are holding up much better. But you can't control how people wash their clothes. Is there a way to prevent fading? What happened?

Thanks!

[zanegun08]

I may just be making things up because I haven't done a ton of CMYK ( I want to try those new WOW Virus where they do the separations )

But it could be more of the shirt is fibrillating through the print, making the faded look.  Have you tried the same thing on a tighter / ring spun, more wash fast tee to see if you get different results?

Also another thing is you could lay down a barrier base white, or clear base, which is also supposed to help with dot gain.

[Frog]

I may just be making things up because I haven't done a ton of CMYK ( I want to try those new WOW Virus where they do the separations )

But it could be more of the shirt is fibrillating through the print, making the faded look.  Have you tried the same thing on a tighter / ring spun, more wash fast tee to see if you get different results?

Also another thing is you could lay down a barrier base white, or clear base, which is also supposed to help with dot gain.

I thought that fibrillation is generally when unprinted fibers come up through a plastisol layer. With waterbased inks, those fibers should be dyed due to the inherent penetration.

[Frog]

We did a CMYK test print that turned out great but after taking it home and washing it in hot water and regular drying, the print faded. We used epic inks and had our gas dryer set to 370-4*. Printed on white gildan 2000s.

It should be noted that the shirts washed in cold/cold and cold/warm are holding up much better. But you can't control how people wash their clothes. Is there a way to prevent fading? What happened?

Thanks!

No, you can't control how they wash them but you can always point out the care instructions on most labels.
Though I still didn't think that a warm wash should fade cured ink.

[Ross_S]

I'd say you are seeing fibrilation.  One thing to note with the inks and chemistry that they are translucent and your probably using 305's because of the detail.  So your not going to see the same results as say printing a red through a 150 on a white shirt.

If your looking for a way to prevent it one trick is to print a clear base over it or use Faux transfer.  This will basically seal the print.  Good luck but don't go beating your head off the wall over something that really can't be controlled once it leaves your shop.

[tonypep]

I may just be making things up because I haven't done a ton of CMYK ( I want to try those new WOW Virus where they do the separations )

But it could be more of the shirt is fibrillating through the print, making the faded look.  Have you tried the same thing on a tighter / ring spun, more wash fast tee to see if you get different results?

Also another thing is you could lay down a barrier base white, or clear base, which is also supposed to help with dot gain.

I thought that fibrillation is generally when unprinted fibers come up through a plastisol layer. With waterbased inks, those fibers should be dyed due to the inherent penetration.

Somewhat true although epic inks are plastisol

[Frog]

I may just be making things up because I haven't done a ton of CMYK ( I want to try those new WOW Virus where they do the separations )

But it could be more of the shirt is fibrillating through the print, making the faded look.  Have you tried the same thing on a tighter / ring spun, more wash fast tee to see if you get different results?

Also another thing is you could lay down a barrier base white, or clear base, which is also supposed to help with dot gain.

I thought that fibrillation is generally when unprinted fibers come up through a plastisol layer. With waterbased inks, those fibers should be dyed due to the inherent penetration.

Somewhat true although epic inks are plastisol

Yeah, brain fart, Caught that after the fact as well. I focused on the reference to Virus.

[tonypep]

Thats OK Andy, its Friday

[tse1990]

Thanks for the replies so far! Interested in trying a clear top coat the next time to see what happens.

[tse1990]

I'd say you are seeing fibrilation.  One thing to note with the inks and chemistry that they are translucent and your probably using 305's because of the detail.  So your not going to see the same results as say printing a red through a 150 on a white shirt.

If your looking for a way to prevent it one trick is to print a clear base over it or use Faux transfer.  This will basically seal the print.  Good luck but don't go beating your head off the wall over something that really can't be controlled once it leaves your shop.

Unless it fades on 'em en masse and they want their money back 

This is hypothetical. It would be great if we could sell cmyk prints to customers and get better at it!

[Frog]

I'd say you are seeing fibrilation.  One thing to note with the inks and chemistry that they are translucent and your probably using 305's because of the detail.  So your not going to see the same results as say printing a red through a 150 on a white shirt.

If your looking for a way to prevent it one trick is to print a clear base over it or use Faux transfer.  This will basically seal the print.  Good luck but don't go beating your head off the wall over something that really can't be controlled once it leaves your shop.

Unless it fades on 'em en masse and they want their money back 

This is hypothetical. It would be great if we could sell cmyk prints to customers and get better at it!

I might also consider keeping a sample print and laundering it a few times following the label's care instructions, and see if there was a big difference with one (or many) they bring back for this problem. Heck, you may even want to consider including a small insert of care instructions like I do with inkjet transfers

[mk162]

The print is still there, it's just under the fuzz.  A top clear on it would help a bunch.

White ink has really good matte down properties, so overprint it in white.