STOP CURING YOUR SHIRTS WITH A FLASH DRYER

[printinator]

They are just running them at a higher temp. I set my dryer at 300 degrees or so and run the belt slow. They run their heaters on high which is probably 7-800 degrees.

Fact:  This dryer, with this heating element, fully cured discharge pigmented ink -  Union Ink brand,  in 60 seconds.  Tunnel length is not an issue. . time under the heat is the issue and 60 seconds in a 8 ft oven is the same as 60 seconds in a 16" tunnel.

[printinator]

I look at it this way.  You can "cure" natural/clear discharge much faster than pigmented because there is no pigment to set.  As others have stated recently in a curing waterbased thread, pigmented discharge can be fully discharged but not fully cured and the color will wash out.  With the natural discharge once you discharge the fibers you're good to go.  Now I'd like to see those numbers on pigmented discharge to a full cure.

Curing pigmented discharge takes just a few seconds more than natural/clear discharge.  It depends a lot on the brand of Discharge being used.  In this case, Union Ink products was used.  And, after the 60 seconds with pigmented discharge and washed the garment was fully cured with no loss of ink

[printinator]

cute.... will help some garage printers... Good marketing

You bet it will.  Basement operations are curing runs of 400, 2 oolor plastisol jobs, with a flash dryer.

[printinator]

Yeah, I felt they were pulling a little bit of a fast one when they said "it wash tested just fine"... well it wasn't pigmented so of course it wash tested fine.  Add pigment and that is when the problems with wash testing shows up.

And I know next to nothing about discharge (hell, I know very little more about plastisol   )

Not pulling any wool over anyone's eyes.  Fact . .this test used pigmented discharge, Union ink brand.
Washout test was perfect

[printinator]

cute.... will help some garage printers... Good marketing

Absolutely correct. . this is a perfect application.

[printinator]

I'd say 20-25 units is what it would drop to for a pigmented discharge.  Of course, the market this product is designed to help has no business doing discharge anyway, as it is likely the small time garage/home printer who has insufficient ventilation to begin with.

The dryer operates on 120V or 240V, depending which voltage is ordered.  Think in terms of a Carnival, Outdoor Fair, etc.  The dryer weighs 85 lbs and is easily transported from place to place.  Yes, you can vent the dry at the top and an external fan if necessary in a basement operation.

[printinator]

Looks like a flash dryer with a belt, but then again aren't the big units bigger flash dryers with bigger belts etc.

D

Perfect. . .any flash dryer could be converted to a Conveyor Dryer. . all you need is a conveyor.  This "Flash Cure Unit" (aka D-100 Dryer) is very different. The heater Hi-output-high efficiency 16" wide heater with 6.35 watts per square inch . .very tight coil pattern, unlike other flash or heater units.  And the dryer has reflective heat shields which make it very efficient

[printinator]

Its hard to get down on Vastex they are a stand up company that has a specific niche they stick with and are successful at.

Look at the head line to this post it states "Stop curing with a flash" Well guess what the tiny dryer does exactly as advertised, it is a great step up for a small printer that is using a flash to cure with. My opinion they did a great job at what they were aiming for.

Thanks Inkman996. . you hit the nail on the head.

[printinator]

I think that the main legitimate issue being brought up in this thread is the implication that this dryer is sufficient for use with the current trend of waterbase and discharge inks.

The answer is yes. . not for runs of a 1000 units, but now the basement, garage, boy scouts, church group, fraternity groups have the ability to produce garments with a variety of ink systems in limited production runs

There are tens of thousands of potential customer who could use a unit like this . . even it they don't have deep pockets.

[printinator]

Just throwing out that I was not downing Vastex,  I also think they do a great job.  I have a Vastex BigRed 30 Conveyor Dryer and I love it.  It cures discharge very well but I keep my shirts in the tunnel for about 2 minutes a piece.  I do think you need to be very upfront in your claims though as newer printers who are going to typically buy these could be mislead.

I think you know Vastex. . .they produce top of the line, extremely well engineered manual printers, dryers, exposure unit. . etc.  They would never overstate a claim and in fact they actually reduced their claim by 25% to say that 110 plastisol and 50 discharge shirts per hour. 

[printinator]

Printinator. What's the longest dwell time in the tunnel the motor can produce.?

Belt speed on the D-100 is 0 to 12 ft per minute

[Frog]

I can personally attest to the usefulness of these "mini-me" dryers, having used a four foot Ranar Scamp when I started. Many use these for start-ups, and then keep them for emergency spares, or, as mentioned, for on-site printing.

[printinator]

I can personally attest to the usefulness of these "mini-me" dryers, having used a four foot Ranar Scamp when I started. Many use these for start-ups, and then keep them for emergency spares, or, as mentioned, for on-site printing.

Thanks Frog. . .great idea!!

[Hegemone]

Thanks.

[printinator]

Thanks.

Zero to 12 ft per minute