Standard plastisol vs. phthalate free which one do you prefer?

[Rockers]

If it would not be for regulations, customer demands etc would you rather print with standard plastisol inks compared to phthalate free ones most of you are using these days?
Just wondering as we are considering switching but in our part of the world there is no customer demand our even knowledge about phthalate free inks. I'm wondering as well about things such as print ability and cost of course. Right now for example I'm sitting on 70 gallons of Wilflex Olympia white which is not phthalate free but prints much easier then most of the phthalate free whites we have used so far. Do other colors behave similar?

[tpitman]

As I buy new inks, I've been switching mainly to International Coatings and some QCM. The IC inks really print nicely, and have decent opacity.

[Doug B]

  We do a lot of school stuff so we don't have a choice. To me, QCM prints as good as the old
plastisol. I also use some Wilflex Epic for PMS matching.

[stitches4815]

I use Union ink, their inks seem to be runnier.  The ink prints nice but don't do a fill stroke, I had ink outside the image area and it looked fuzzy around the edges.  Once I cleaned the screens up and did just print strokes it looked great.  I prefer the standard plastisol but I am converting over to the phthalate free stuff.

[3Deep]

I've had some phthalate free white inks and a few colors, the white I didn't like so well the colors print fine, but aren't the ink companies changing the inks anyway, I 'm thinking they have a certain time to supply all phthalate free inks what by 2015 or something.

Darryl

[screenprintguy]

We've gone all Pthalate free, Honestly I don't see too much of a difference in much of what we use. Any Unions that we use, we only use their Maxopaque and it's just as thick as ever, cures actually a little faster, at least it seems to. Wilflex Epic MX system inks seem really nice, very soft hand, very accurate to pms match. Whites, we haven't used a white with Phthalate for a few years, maybe 4 or 5 back, and it was Bright Tiger, which anyone who used that knows that stuff will plug a roof leak, lol. I've noticed it seems the Phthalate free white's, not Phthalate compliant, but the actual whites that document, Phthalate FREE, are a lot smoother/thinner, which we don't mind. As of now our favorite Phthalate Free white is Street Fighter by Rutland, we are having great results. I did try a sample of International Coatings "Legacy white", it was really really nice. Melray Industries is pushing it as an all around white to use. I can say, it does cure at 275, and even though it isn't rated for poly, we tested on a couple 100% poly jerseys we had in the box and it didn't bleed, I thought I was being given the yap yap, but red ST350 didn't bleed. It probably would have made it as our white, but my wife wants a Phthalate FREE, not compliant white.

[Gilligan]

I use Union ink, their inks seem to be runnier.  The ink prints nice but don't do a fill stroke, I had ink outside the image area and it looked fuzzy around the edges.  Once I cleaned the screens up and did just print strokes it looked great.  I prefer the standard plastisol but I am converting over to the phthalate free stuff.

Yeah, you do have to be careful with some inks.

We have come to appreciate a Super Troopers quote for those times:

I walk in the shop and find one of those prints and say "What happened here?" and my printer says:

 "What? That little guy?  I wouldn't worry about that little guy."

[easyscore]

I think I might have to have myself a Super Troopers/Beerfest movie marathon.

Meow I have to get back to work.

[tonypep]

You know what I'm going to say

[ScreenFoo]

Awww--I read this thread just to see Tony's smart ass remark.  And there wasn't one. 

:disappointed:

I miss the consistency, but I doubt that is only pthalate vs non...

[brandon]

Yeah, with water base you are good to go. And regarding plastisol we have been free for over several years as we were a QCM shop only until we switched to Rutland. Nothing against plastisol but I prefer to print water base any day of the week. Funny thing is once I got the printers used to it they just love the printing on dark garments with no underbasing hence no flash.

[Sbrem]

Phthalate free, as it IS the law, so it doesn't matter which I prefer, I have to eventually switch. I go back far enough to when there was lead in the ink; now that was a white you could count on, but, it was full of lead, so... Though we are loving discharge as we start to change some attitudes about it.

Steve

[tonypep]

Overcoming the attitudes is probably the biggest obstacle for WB/DC (close second is accurate color formulation, distant third screenmaking, proper curing equipment not to be overlooked). I've mentioned before that many of our printers were trained in WB from their very beginning and find plastisol distasteful and not user friendly.

[Sbrem]

I find it funny that they would find plastisol not user friendly. I started out using air dry inks on a Filbar; clean up every time you stop for a break and or lunch, and at the end of the day, no matter where you were in the run. When I started on tees using plastisol, I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven. Changing the attitudes of our employees toward the discharge (and my partner too, though he's starting to really like it) was easier than I thought once they started seeing the results. Right now though, they are trying to reclaim Murakami HV with the sensitizer added; tough stuff. Gotta figure that out...The smell still permeates the shop and offices, but we're working on it...

Steve

[Rob Coleman]

Phthalate free, as it IS the law, so it doesn't matter which I prefer, I have to eventually switch. I go back far enough to when there was lead in the ink; now that was a white you could count on, but, it was full of lead, so... Though we are loving discharge as we start to change some attitudes about it.

Steve

Just a point of clarification - phthalate-free is NOT the law.  The legislation states that printing on "child-care articles" - which is defined as anything used to facilitate the feeding or sleep of a CHILD 3 YEARS and YOUNGER - must not use any of the six listed phthalates.

Now, most retailers and major brands have gone beyond this legislation and specified that all children's wear either be compliant to this legislation or be completely phthalate-free.  Most of the major brands have either converted to phth-free or still sell just a few whites or bases that use phthalates.

Using non-phthalate plasticizers generally lowers the gel temperature of the ink, which is normally a good thing  However, people with multiple flashes and who flash way too hot can sometimes experience a gelling of ink in screen due to this variance.  Buy a $40 temperature gun and monitor your flashing.  White inks can generally be flashed 210 and below.  Don't go hotter!