Ink made for 100% cotton

[Denis Kolar]

Ink question again 

I'm thinking about going to white that is made to print on 100% cotton only. I'm a small shop and I will try to sell 100% cotton only to my customers. In case I get an order of 50/50 I would have a gallon of different ink to use.

My question is, does someone use white ink made for 100% only? Your experience with it?
And, is the ink any different from low bleed ink other that is not bleed resistant?

Is there any other issues that I could come up width?

Thanks

[alan802]

Personally, I like to have my standard white to have low bleed properties just for versatility but if you are going to be printing on 100% cotton, I don't see any problems going with an ink that has little to no bleed resistance.  We are constantly printing on different things so I like having a very versatile white ink that will print on just about anything, but we're all different and require different tools to get the job done.

[ErinAllenLamb]

Hey There!

There are plenty of shops that use 100% cotton white as their standard white and then have something with bleed resistence if they get blends in.

Generally, 100% cotton white will be lower in cost and easier to work with.  It doesn't have the extra chemistry of the bleed resistence, so it will be very creamy and have a nice smooth finish.

Erin

[Shanarchy]

DK, I was in the same mind frame a few months back. The vast majority of my printing is 100% cotton other than hoodies and a rare job on customer requested 50/50's.

I always used QXM 158 (xolb)

I bought a gallon of Wilflex Epic white (cotton only)

I found it to flow better. A one hit white was VERY close to being passable. However, I have not tried the Epic quick white (lb) to see how they compare. A Wilflex rep at a show told me they will print identical. I will buy a gallon and find out. What I do know is it is $15 less for a gallon and prints great.

Keep in mind my experience with this is on the manual as I have not done much side by side comparison on the auto. And at the point the ink crawl up the squeegee will also play a big factor in my decision process.

[T Shirt1]

We like the Union PADM 1027 Cotton White for 100% and Wilflex Bright Tiger for blends.

.02

[tpitman]

I've kept Union's Bright Cotton White around for years. It doesn't have the opacity of QCM 158 but it sure prints easy. A great ink for white on medium color shirts or underbasing. The last batch of QCM158 came in quite a bit thicker than usual, and on a long run I had few months ago, I ended up using over 2 gallons of a white ink manufactured locally as J&S Ink and sold my my local TW Graphics shop. Through a 158 mesh it yields the smoothest print I've ever gotten. More opaque than the Bright Cotton White, but almost as easy to print.
I don't print a lot of blends, but I was using the QCM158 because it printed so well until I got the last batch. The J&S isn't a squeegie climber like the QCM.

[Denis Kolar]

DK, I was in the same mind frame a few months back. The vast majority of my printing is 100% cotton other than hoodies and a rare job on customer requested 50/50's.

I always used QXM 158 (xolb)

I bought a gallon of Wilflex Epic white (cotton only)

I found it to flow better. A one hit white was VERY close to being passable. However, I have not tried the Epic quick white (lb) to see how they compare. A Wilflex rep at a show told me they will print identical. I will buy a gallon and find out. What I do know is it is $15 less for a gallon and prints great.

Keep in mind my experience with this is on the manual as I have not done much side by side comparison on the auto. And at the point the ink crawl up the squeegee will also play a big factor in my decision process.

I did try QCM 158 and 159 and they seemed a bit stiff and hard to print on manual.

[Sparkie]

I've been using QCM 158 for about 2 years and find it creamy and easy to work with. Depending on substrate and art, I've used it on 86, 110, 137, and 156 mesh. It does tend to build up/climb the squeegee, but all in all it gives me great results on 50/50's, which is 90% of my orders.

Since I now have an automatic, I will be trying the QCM 159 and expect the same, if not better, results.

Dennis, other than not being creamy enough, are there any other reasons you shying away from low bleed white?

[Denis Kolar]

Dennis, other than not being creamy enough, are there any other reasons you shying away from low bleed white?

I wanted something that it is easier to print. If there is no issues with the bleed why to pay extra to have a LB ink? The ink is cheaper. And I'm a small manual shop, and I think that it would be a problem if I had to clean up the ink if I had to switch from a 100% to a 50/50 shirts.

I do not want to stay away from it, I just do not want to use it somewhere where I do not need to.

[Sparkie]

I hear what you are saying Dennis, but what about that one job where the client insists on 50/50. You now have to buy low bleed ink and instead of saving money on 1 gallon of 100% cotton only ink, you are now shelling out more money for a second gallon of low bleed.

If you can stick your guns and print on 100% cotton only, then you are on the right track.

If you are having problems with low bleed white such as QCM 158, then maybe the problem is in the mesh, defective ink, room /ink temp, squeegee pressure/angle.

Next time you're in Lakewood, give me a call. You are more than welcome to stop in and try white in my shop. I'll also let you borrow my donut probe to check your dryer temps.

[Shanarchy]

I don't offer 50/50 tees. They are only by customer request. I feel that 100% 6.1oz cotton tees are nicer and LB ink or not, why chance the bleeding if you do not have to?

That said, you can not avoid blends unless you never print sweatshirts. Also, there are a few customers who insist on 50/50.

There is nothing wrong with stocking 2 different whites if need be. It does not cost you more in the long run. We, as printers, stock many different colors. With white being the most commonly used color it is not going to sit on the shelf collecting dust. All depends on the shops preferences.

[Denis Kolar]

I would stock at least a gallon of a LB white in case I have to print blends, but if I can, I would love to stick to 100% cotton at lest on the Tshirts.
Sparkie, I'll take you up on that. If you are in Strongsville, stop by for a beer.