Printing some bags

[Gilligan]

Soooo, contract customer has a customer who bought $150 bags on Amazon  (a bunch).  They want us to print on them.

I grabbed a cheap bag we had laying around and printed something on it, sent it down the dryer.

It was solid.

Told him, I could do it.

They wanted a sample, ok, print the sample, they say go.

Get it all setup to go through the dryer and it's scratching off pretty easily.

Am I not curing it long enough?  Did I NEED nylabond after all?

I only did about 6 or so at this point.  Should I punt or do I just need to turn up the heat?  I'm probably hitting upper 200's maybe just at 300... hard to tell with the bags.

[Gilligan]

Booksack bags for reference of material.

[royster13]

I know you guys want to print everything that comes your way......But sometimes it does not work out very well....Way too many variables in materials, coatings, etc....Hard to do a lot of testing without wasting a lot of blank bags....

I use American Ad Bag....They are diligent in testing before they put an item in stock for us "brokers" to sell....And if there is any kind of problem, they do not hesitate to make it right...Most of the bags I sell are printed with 2 part epoxy inks or UV cured inks....Little or no heat involved.....

Good luck....

[Frog]

Booksack bags for reference of material.

I have no idea what this means in relation to the material. Are booksacks the same as backpacks?
Some backpacks are poly, some are nylon. Some are waterproofed.

[royster13]

Booksack bags for reference of material.

I have no idea what this means in relation to the material. Are booksacks the same as backpacks?
Some backpacks are poly, some are nylon. Some are waterproofed.

Each of which may require different inks and/or process.....

[Homer]

150.00 bag gets embroidered. Screen printing is for the cheap bags. nylobond is a must for any adhesion issue type stuff...

[Gilligan]

150.00 bag gets embroidered. Screen printing is for the cheap bags. nylobond is a must for any adhesion issue type stuff...

The customer picked bags that can't really be embroidered on.

[Frog]

Amazon is pretty good on returns.
This could be a good teaching moment for you and your client.
Not every item can be decorated the way they wish easily.

[Orion]

Have you considered transfers? We did digital transfers from Stahls on a bag job last week, it turned out well.

[mk162]

You can also use a One Step Nylon ink if that's still made by Wilflex.

Also, wipe the bags down with alcohol first.

[blue moon]

Have you considered transfers? We did digital transfers from Stahls on a bag job last week, it turned out well.

yeah, we do transfers on the bags, too. not worth the headache to print them. . .

pierre

[Gilligan]

These bags don't really fit on the heat press either.

They barely fit on the press!

[Frog]

Gilligan, why is it any tougher to know what temp they are getting just because they are bags? A donut probe shouldn't care, and even a non-contact gun should give the same relative reading as a shirt.

[Gilligan]

Gilligan, why is it any tougher to know what temp they are getting just because they are bags? A donut probe shouldn't care, and even a non-contact gun should give the same relative reading as a shirt.

Well, I have donut probe, temp strips, and IR gun.... they all read different and I never know which to believe.

I'm using temp gun on these.  I was keeping them "low" because they aren't going to be laundered... I never thought it could affect adhesion.  This is why I'm asking about it here.

[Frog]

Gilligan, why is it any tougher to know what temp they are getting just because they are bags? A donut probe shouldn't care, and even a non-contact gun should give the same relative reading as a shirt.

Well, I have donut probe, temp strips, and IR gun.... they all read different and I never know which to believe.

I'm using temp gun on these.  I was keeping them "low" because they aren't going to be laundered... I never thought it could affect adhesion.  This is why I'm asking about it here.

I understand the different readings, and since I use a gun mostly myself, I've learned what "relative" readings mean to actual cure temp. At least with with a nylo-bond type catalyst added, the ink will continue to cross link after its trip through the dryer. So, helps stick and helps cure. If these are indeed a waterproofed nylon, it's a necessity. We still don't know for sure what they're made of.
Otherwise, as has been mentioned, if you have the room to put em, there are even air dry inks.