Wilflex Epic bases

[Rockers]

We finally will switch to the Wilflex Epic PC system but I`m still not certain which of their bases is the best for printing onto 100% poly tops. There is the Epic Athletic LB base.But is that for 50/50 garments or 100% polyester tops? On the other hand the Epic Performance base might be an option but I think that works only with their Equalizers and not the PCs. Have I overlooked a base?
As for wet on wet and general purpose printing onto cotton tees the Epic Mixing base has been recommended to us. Any other base we should get as we will have to fill up 1 cubic meter of container space.

[MarielAviles]

Rockers,

You can use Epic Ath LB Base if you're going to print on 50/50 and poly and it has a little bit of odor because it has peroxide as part of the components.  However, it may not have the stretch you need if you have to print on some of these new performance athletic garments.  I would recommend Epic Performance base and or Epic Top Score base.  The Performance base has a little more enlongation and the Top Score has a matte finish.  Both Performance & Top Score base will cure @ 290 degrees and are formulated to work with PC's.

Please reach me at mariel.aviles@polyone.com.  I would like to clarify any other questions you may have a let you try these bases.

[jvanick]

Epic Performance is some amazing stuff... super fast flashing, low cure temp, and it stretches amazing right out of the bucket... we just printed 60 pieces of pilates wear (tanks and hoodies from LuluLemon, talk about stressful, printing on $60+ blanks), and the prints went down like butter...  Of course, it's probalby one of the most expensive bases from Wilflex that you can buy, but the printability and final result are amazing.  I'd love to run this stuff on all my jobs, but it's just too pricey.

[dirkdiggler]

Epic Performance is some amazing stuff... super fast flashing, low cure temp, and it stretches amazing right out of the bucket... we just printed 60 pieces of pilates wear (tanks and hoodies from LuluLemon, talk about stressful, printing on $60+ blanks), and the prints went down like butter...  Of course, it's probalby one of the most expensive bases from Wilflex that you can buy, but the printability and final result are amazing.  I'd love to run this stuff on all my jobs, but it's just too pricey.

agreed!

[Rockers]

Rockers,

You can use Epic Ath LB Base if you're going to print on 50/50 and poly and it has a little bit of odor because it has peroxide as part of the components.  However, it may not have the stretch you need if you have to print on some of these new performance athletic garments.  I would recommend Epic Performance base and or Epic Top Score base.  The Performance base has a little more enlongation and the Top Score has a matte finish.  Both Performance & Top Score base will cure @ 290 degrees and are formulated to work with PC's.

Please reach me at mariel.aviles@polyone.com.  I would like to clarify any other questions you may have a let you try these bases.

So in case we opt for the Performance base we can run our dryer on a lower temperature, that should compensate more then enough for the higher price of the base itself.

[ZooCity]

What Mariel said.  I would pass on the Athletic base and stock Performance or Top Score.  My understanding is Performance and Top Score are essentially the same thing but the formulated the Top Score base to work out for the small shops with short outtakes on their dryers- less tackiness out the back and sticking together, etc. 

I agree that these bases smell bad, like worst plasi smell I've ever encountered and it's still there after cure so head's up if your clients are particular and will get spooked by the strong chemical odor (smells like a barbershop to me). 

Great ink however!  The ability to mix small batches with your PC system will really pay off here.  You'll be able to offer pantone matches on performance wear painlessly. 

[Rockers]

Epic Performance is some amazing stuff... super fast flashing, low cure temp, and it stretches amazing right out of the bucket... we just printed 60 pieces of pilates wear (tanks and hoodies from LuluLemon, talk about stressful, printing on $60+ blanks), and the prints went down like butter...  Of course, it's probalby one of the most expensive bases from Wilflex that you can buy, but the printability and final result are amazing.  I'd love to run this stuff on all my jobs, but it's just too pricey.

How about the Top Score Base. Does offer the same print characteristics as the Performance Base. Just asking cause you said the Performance Base went down like butter. Has the Top Score Base the same "spreadability".

[jvanick]

not sure about the top score... never tried it.

this weekend we ran 100 pcs of performance hoodies on the javelin with the performance white, and amazing results yet again.  No modification, straight out of the bucket and we were getting great prints from the first one to the last one.

what I'm wondering about is how the performance will 'wear' on standard shirts after dozens of washings... if it stretches well and takes a lot longer to get the cracking that many standard plastisol shirts get, I might start running it normally on those jobs that I know people will be wearing the shirts day in and day out (think pizza shops, warehouses, construction sites, etc...).  Would be a good step up on my competition...  I'm gonna run a few sample shirts the next job, mark them, and then wash them in hot water, cold water, etc and see how they hold up.

[Rockers]

Does it look very glossy after it's been cured?

[mk162]

jvanick, go ahead and try it, but i doubt it will make it last any longer.  ink companies know their markets pretty well and would have already marketed the ink for this purpose.

that being said, if you are concerned about the ink lasting longer, you can add a little stretch additive to ink and that should help it remain flexible longer.

also, some 50/50 inks would cause terrible ghosting on shirts stacked on top of them.  we had it bad on some royal beefy's years ago.  what a pain in the neck.  i would imagine that 100% poly ink would do the same.

[Colin]

Ghosting only happens if you are using an ink, typically a white ink, that has Peroxides in the formula.

Peroxides help to "Bleach" the garment under the print assisting is bleed resistance.  However, if the ink is not in the dryer long enough to have a complete and total chemical reaction, the peroxides will come out of the dryer still active.  When hot stacked on top of susceptible garments, you will see Ghosting.

There are at least a few low bleed inks on the market that do not have peroxides in them.  They have achieved bleed resistance through better chemistry.

[noortrd]

hi colin do u still in qcm.?

[MarielAviles]

Top Score has more of a matte finish.

[ZooCity]

Mariel, is Wilflex going to replace Performance with Top Score?  And my understanding is the two inks are compatible and can be mixed together, is this correct?

[MarielAviles]

No. We will continue to carry both.  Epic Performance has the best stretch, but Top Score has good stretch as well. Performance has a glossy finish vs. Top Score that has a matte finish and better opacity.  They both cure @ 290 degrees. Top Score gives you the flexibility of purchasing it in quart size containers for all their premix colors. 

They're compatible to be mixed, however, you will compromise the bleed resistance and the opacity properties if you add the stretch additive.  I would advice you to ALWAYS test for bleed resistance if you do that.