Question about QCM inks

[Rockers]

I`m in the middle of organizing QCM`s WOW inks for our printshop here in Japan. Found a distributer and he tells me to rather go for the QCM XLOB inks and add reducer. He said as well that the WOW series is just XLOB inks which have been reduced. Well I can`t really imagine that, unfortunately QCM are very slow in replying to emails so I thought I`d rather ask here for some opinions/advice.

[alan802]

I can tell you that just adding reducer to the xolb doesn't help it with wow printing.  The QCM wet on wet base 1030 works for changing the xolb into a wow ink, and I've tried a ton of additives for this very thing you're trying to do. 

[Rockers]

Cheers. I was pretty sure our distributer has not much of a clue. So in your opinion I should rather go for the real deal, the WOW inks or will the XLOB inks be as good as if we use them with base you have mentioned?

[IntegrityShirts]

Alan is correct in that reducing or adding softee base to XOLB inks does not improve WOW printing by an acceptable amount.  Make sure your distributor can get the WOW base before making the jump to solely XOLB inks. One of my QCM suppliers said that they aren't making the WOW base anymore and even said to use softee as a replacement for WOW printing, which is very incorrect.

[Colin]

Alan is correct in that reducing or adding softee base to XOLB inks does not improve WOW printing by an acceptable amount.  Make sure your distributor can get the WOW base before making the jump to solely XOLB inks. One of my QCM suppliers said that they aren't making the WOW base anymore and even said to use softee as a replacement for WOW printing, which is very incorrect.

I talked with Melisa Cambridge from Rutland last week about what your distributor told you regarding the clear.

According to Mel, Rutland is not discontinuing the WOW-1001 halftone base, whch is also the QMX-1030 clear base.

Remember both product names, the WOW-1001 halftone base and QMX-1030 clear

Also remember, while the XOLB inks are very opaque, ALL inks start to loose opacity once you add a clear ink to them.  So be careful with how much you add.  You may find that you still have to scrape ink on longer runs... many variables involved at that point

Good Luck!

[alan802]

I personally would go with the xolb and base it with the wow 1030 AS NEEDED.  What I did with all of our xolb inks was take about 1/3 of the gallon and put it in a separate bucket and based it down with the 1030 and labeled it "wow" and I kept the other 2/3's to use on dark garments with UB's that didn't require wow printing.  I basically got two distinctly different inks by doing that.  If you go with the wow inks only, you'll be some what limited and you won't have the latitude that you'll get with the xolb and wow base.  I also use the "wow" colors on light garments and sim process stuff.

[MeLC]

Yes, Colin is correct in that the WOW-1001 Halftone has not been discontinued. If you have any QCM product questions feel free to email me direct MelissaC@Rutlandinc.com and I will reply as soon as possible. Thank you. 

[brandon]

Hey Rockers,
Feel free to message me. We use QCM's XOLB and WOW's with great success. We do not use the XOLB for our sim process or index jobs. All wow inks. And yes, the halftone/wow base does help but you do not need that much. Proper mesh selection and tension not to mention pressure and one stroke is all you need. If you have any questions get in touch. Have a great weekend I am out of here!

[IntegrityShirts]

Alan is correct in that reducing or adding softee base to XOLB inks does not improve WOW printing by an acceptable amount.  Make sure your distributor can get the WOW base before making the jump to solely XOLB inks. One of my QCM suppliers said that they aren't making the WOW base anymore and even said to use softee as a replacement for WOW printing, which is very incorrect.

I talked with Melisa Cambridge from Rutland last week about what your distributor told you regarding the clear.

According to Mel, Rutland is not discontinuing the WOW-1001 halftone base, whch is also the QMX-1030 clear base.

Remember both product names, the WOW-1001 halftone base and QMX-1030 clear

Also remember, while the XOLB inks are very opaque, ALL inks start to loose opacity once you add a clear ink to them.  So be careful with how much you add.  You may find that you still have to scrape ink on longer runs... many variables involved at that point

Good Luck!

Thank you Colin for clearing that up.  I was on the phone for a week every other day with this supplier that was "contacting their qcm rep" and she kept telling me the halftone base was discontinued.  I will find another distributor and also try ordering it as the qmx-1030 base.  I'm on the east coast coast in rural VA, so I picked the closest dealer to me in hopes of making them my main supplier over atlas.  Doesn't make sense to order something from a distributor half way across the country when Rutland makes it in my back yard!

The nightmare job I printed last time with xolb white that I mixed black to make 4 shades of spot gray for a tee has just reordered more of the same this week.  So I'd like to either get a gallon of wow white and make shades of gray or get the clear and add a little to prevent subsequent screen pick up.

[Colin]

I would recommend getting a gallon of the QMX mixing white and mixing black.

The reasoning is: The pigments are measured for color reputability, so from batch to batch the colors are the saem .  The RFU colors are not, so if in a year, you have a new bucket of black and white, the potential exists for the colors to shift at the same mixing percentages.

Plus the inks print really nice by themselves.

Remember:  You can always email Melissa or give her a call if you need your question answered right away.

[MeLC]

Alan is correct in that reducing or adding softee base to XOLB inks does not improve WOW printing by an acceptable amount.  Make sure your distributor can get the WOW base before making the jump to solely XOLB inks. One of my QCM suppliers said that they aren't making the WOW base anymore and even said to use softee as a replacement for WOW printing, which is very incorrect.

I talked with Melisa Cambra from Rutland last week about what your distributor told you regarding the clear.

According to Mel, Rutland is not discontinuing the WOW-1001 halftone base, whch is also the QMX-1030 clear base.

Remember both product names, the WOW-1001 halftone base and QMX-1030 clear

Also remember, while the XOLB inks are very opaque, ALL inks start to loose opacity once you add a clear ink to them.  So be careful with how much you add.  You may find that you still have to scrape ink on longer runs... many variables involved at that point

Good Luck!

Thank you Colin for clearing that up.  I was on the phone for a week every other day with this supplier that was "contacting their qcm rep" and she kept telling me the halftone base was discontinued.  I will find another distributor and also try ordering it as the qmx-1030 base.  I'm on the east coast coast in rural VA, so I picked the closest dealer to me in hopes of making them my main supplier over atlas.  Doesn't make sense to order something from a distributor half way across the country when Rutland makes it in my back yard!

The nightmare job I printed last time with xolb white that I mixed black to make 4 shades of spot gray for a tee has just reordered more of the same this week.  So I'd like to either get a gallon of wow white and make shades of gray or get the clear and add a little to prevent subsequent screen pick up.

The WOW-1001 half tone base is available! I apologize for the miss information you received, unfortunately there have been a lot of changes over the last year and maybe that has confused people.

Have you contacted a distributor closer to you?
Were you able to order and receive the products you needed?
As for your nightmare job: Which XOLB-White were you using? Printing on? Manual or auto?
Let me know what made this such a pain, and maybe I can suggest some products or info so that things run smoother.

Please feel free to use me as a contact, and resource; at least to eliminate the possibility of miss information. You can email me through the forum, or directly at: MelissaC@rutlandinc.com   
toll free: (800) 438-5134 ext. 290 
direct: (253) 863-0234.

Best Regards'
Melissa Cambra