Screen printing on Dri Fit clothing like Under Armor.

[Mark @ Hurricane Printing]

I was asked if I could print on the work out clothing like Under Armor type clothing..the "dri fit" form fitting..I looked up the Nike "Dri-Fit" line of clothing on line and the shirts are made of a "polyester, spandex and nylon blends".

How would I print on this? Are there special inks required? Heating process?? Can I put them on a conveyor belt to dry??? I have no clue on how to handle this. Any insight would be helpful. I do not have the job yet but I want to be prepared if and when it does come my way.

[mk162]

I recommend either a poly ink or a silicone ink for these.

We have also been having great luck with Rutland's Low Cure Additive and dropping our dryer temps.  The best poly white out there is from OneStroke...be prepared to sell a kidney though.  Mustang white from Xenon is good too, you need to add some dulling powder or have them do it, it's too shiny for me.

Most of the other poly whites out there are so tick you will break your squeegee blades.

[Frog]

Yeah Mark, you have two issues on some of these. The tendency for the polyester dyes to sublimate into light color inks at high dryer temps, and adding stretch for the ones with spandex.

The new silicone inks from NazDar are meant for just these issues, with lots of stretch as well as low curing temps built in. They are a little more involved, however with both higher pricing, and the need for a catalyst, and a limited mixed shelf life, so you will also charge more.

On small runs, I still often use heat seal materials. (Nylon, though rare, does require special ones)

[pwalsh]

I was asked if I could print on the work out clothing like Under Armor type clothing..the "dri fit" form fitting..I looked up the Nike "Dri-Fit" line of clothing on line and the shirts are made of a "polyester, spandex and nylon blends".

How would I print on this? Are there special inks required? Heating process?? Can I put them on a conveyor belt to dry??? I have no clue on how to handle this. Any insight would be helpful. I do not have the job yet but I want to be prepared if and when it does come my way.

Mark:  Silicone inks are going to give you the absolute best performance in bleed resistance, durability, and stretch ability of anything that’s out there. If having the ultimate in stretch ability isn’t the number one performance factor then I would highly recommend that you look at the new Wilflex Epic Top Score inks from PolyOne. 

These easy to print inks have a nice matte finish, meaning that the prints wont stick to each other comming out of the dryer, and will cure at temperatures less than 300 degrees F.  In addition you can complement the Top Score inks with the Epic Poly White and Epic Performance Under base Gray for those especially bleed prone fabrics.  Your local Wilflex Distributor should be able to hook you up with a trial / Starter Kit for the Top Score inks.

[Gilligan]

Since on the topic.

What does everyone think about: Rutland EL9746 Super Poly White?