Author Topic: What NOT to do. Under cure example.  (Read 2011 times)

Offline Dottonedan

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What NOT to do. Under cure example.
« on: December 28, 2012, 12:19:11 PM »
What NOT to do. Under cure example.


This was done 2 yrs ago. The clean shirt is the original printed tee that was shipped. I think this was for 10,000 shirts.


My son wheres this tee still today just for "something" clean to wear now and then. Knowing him, it's been worn/washed about 24 times since he got it.


Truthfully, it started breaking down after the first wash. I sent one that had been washed 2 times back to the printer who did it. They didn't respond. It's an order gone and given out to kids at the con but Microsoft paid good money on that 10,000 unit order. Nobody ever complained from Microsoft, I expect it from the attendees since it was a freebie. Still tho. Man. Big mistake if they were to have to pay to get that re-done.


This is the kind of order and mistake that can bankrupt a small business that tries to take on a big order like this.
Artist & high end separator, Owner of The Vinyl Hub, Owner of Dot-Tone-Designs, Past M&R Digital tech installer for I-Image machines. Over 35 yrs in the apparel industry. e-mail art@designsbydottone.com


Offline jsheridan

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Re: What NOT to do. Under cure example.
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2012, 12:30:55 PM »
welcome to the world of big contract freebie giveaway printing.

it doesn't matter what happens to the shirt as long as the order was paid in full.

microsoft  doesn't care, the printer doesn't care and the agent who handled the account don't care.. they all got paid and went to the bank.

I have a bunch of Ecko shirts that I got when I was in NY.. not a single one of them still has all the ink on the shirt, it's all washed aff except for the foil areas.. i know for a fact it was the dryer, as it was an ancient precision that had heat leaks and the belt was going to fast. Didn't matter cause not a single shirt ever went back to ecko... they all went direct to retailers where they were sold to the end user who didn't really care.

in the end.. check your dryer temp and cure.

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Offline inkman996

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Re: What NOT to do. Under cure example.
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2012, 12:40:37 PM »
We worked closely in the beginning with a straight contract shop here in CT. I wont mention their name but they run several autos two shifts. A few times I was in their place I would over hear them say all the time "Speed up the belts we have to get these out" No concern of curing at all just get them out the door plain and simple. We got into screen printing because of them, They had an almost half million print job for AT&T and offered 125k of it to us if we bought an auto. So we did and we ran this job, dead lines got so tight they would call and actually tell us speed up the belt till the ink is not wet to the touch only WTF!

So I bet this type of crap is still done to this day, shops taking on orders to large or to many other jobs on the plate at the same time, being contract printing for cheap they could not care less about cure as long as its dry to the touch and looks good.
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Offline Frog

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Re: What NOT to do. Under cure example.
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2012, 01:02:19 PM »

This is the kind of order and mistake that can bankrupt a small business that tries to take on a big order like this.


Or start huge fashion trends  ;D
That rug really tied the room together, did it not?

Offline tonypep

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Re: What NOT to do. Under cure example.
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2012, 02:02:32 PM »
I spent some time up at Ecko's facility in NJ. The had PALLETS of misprints. All that density ink (they were stacking layers) would collapse and fall like a failed souffle. Moreover, the ink deposit was so thick it would be dry to the touch but not cured. Ecko closed the facility years ago for reasons I can't discuss but that was part of it.

Offline jsheridan

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Re: What NOT to do. Under cure example.
« Reply #5 on: December 28, 2012, 02:39:19 PM »
I spent some time up at Ecko's facility in NJ. The had PALLETS of misprints. All that density ink (they were stacking layers) would collapse and fall like a failed souffle. Moreover, the ink deposit was so thick it would be dry to the touch but not cured. Ecko closed the facility years ago for reasons I can't discuss but that was part of it.

Sending a $20 dollar shirt down a $5 dollar dryer..

I heard some stories about those days, big part of why all the density work was sent to china, cheaper and it looked better.

I was once tasked with reproducing a china made ecko fine letter density print.. what a project that was.. in the end used 6 HD screens and we had to revolve a  formula..  :o
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