What am i doing wrong on this foil job

[Mark @ Hurricane Printing]

So i have my brand new hotronics stahls auto open clam shell....temp has been calibrated and i am using Crown gold foil and ..and foil adhesive ink.

I am following the steps exactly as indicated for aplying crown foil...but I keep having little parts of foil not adhering and in the same spot...its a simple image with text and the text has the double quotes on each end....and one of the double quote marks will not keep foil stuck to it....im losing my mind...I hve to re-order and reprint 13 shirts out of 24....the foil in that one spot just wont stick.

So what am i doing wrong you thing?

Also, let me ask...can i hit that one spot with foil again?...say I put my teflon sheet over the area already foiled...and in that one spot put new foil on it and press it again? Can that work? I didnt think of trying as i was doing it..i just shut everything down in disgust and called it a night....figured id ask the question here first.

[Prosperi-Tees]

If it is on the same spot everytime I would look at if you are getting enough ink or adhesive down in that area.

[Evo]

If it is on the same spot everytime I would look at if you are getting enough ink or adhesive down in that area.

And make sure you have smooth, even coverage. Voids in the ink will lead to voids in the foil and bad adhesion.

And sometimes when in doubt, add more pressure.

[Mark @ Hurricane Printing]

I've added more pressure...im almost maxed out on pressure.....and i doubt its lack of ink...im using a 110 mesh and squegee-ing about 3 times.

[Mark @ Hurricane Printing]

what about my other question of re-applying foil to those areas that didnt take the first time? can i do that?

[blue moon]

what about my other question of re-applying foil to those areas that didnt take the first time? can i do that?

you can and if there is ink in the area it will stick, but the texture will change on the rest of the foil. Press one on a scrap shirt and see what happens when you heat it up twice.

As mentioned previously, you should rub the shirt with a rag and let it cool down completely before peeling.

pierre

[Mark @ Hurricane Printing]

what about my other question of re-applying foil to those areas that didnt take the first time? can i do that?

you can and if there is ink in the area it will stick, but the texture will change on the rest of the foil. Press one on a scrap shirt and see what happens when you heat it up twice.

As mentioned previously, you should rub the shirt with a rag and let it cool down completely before peeling.

pierre

i do let it cool down...spec says 375 degrees...medium to heavy pressure....8 seconds press....let cool for 30 seconds..remove foil. ..i stop watch it to the second, so my method is by the book. I do not rub it down with a shirt though...i remove the shirt from the platen because the pad maintains heat in it and i feel it will prevent the shirt from cooling down in 30 second....when the press auto opens...i start stop watch...and at about the 10 second mark i begin to lightly remove the shirt from the platen...set it on kitchen counter...at 30 second mark i remove the foil.....and those dang quote marks on one side of the text just dont take the foil...some do and some dont..out of 24 shirts only 11 are 100% perfect. I have to order 13 shirts and redo them now but may be able to save some if the second press routine works.

I think the issue is the quotes that keep coming off are so small in diameter that its hindering the adhering reaction. I have no idea....when i get home this evening i will try the second press experiment.

[blue moon]

what about my other question of re-applying foil to those areas that didnt take the first time? can i do that?

you can and if there is ink in the area it will stick, but the texture will change on the rest of the foil. Press one on a scrap shirt and see what happens when you heat it up twice.

As mentioned previously, you should rub the shirt with a rag and let it cool down completely before peeling.

pierre

i do let it cool down...spec says 375 degrees...medium to heavy pressure....8 seconds press....let cool for 30 seconds..remove foil. ..i stop watch it to the second, so my method is by the book. I do not rub it down with a shirt though...i remove the shirt from the platen because the pad maintains heat in it and i feel it will prevent the shirt from cooling down in 30 second....when the press auto opens...i start stop watch...and at about the 10 second mark i begin to lightly remove the shirt from the platen...set it on kitchen counter...at 30 second mark i remove the foil.....and those dang quote marks on one side of the text just dont take the foil...some do and some dont..out of 24 shirts only 11 are 100% perfect. I have to order 13 shirts and redo them now but may be able to save some if the second press routine works.

I think the issue is the quotes that keep coming off are so small in diameter that its hindering the adhering reaction. I have no idea....when i get home this evening i will try the second press experiment.

if the area is too small you are going to have problems no matter what you do. Without a doubt, the shirt has to be room temperature when you peel the foil. If it's still warm it will not peel as cleanly. Also, we P/F/P the glue and do not run it through the dryer or flash it. Just plop the foil on it and press.
You will need a good thick layer for the foil to work well. Glue actually works better for us than the regular ink. Clear gel seems to work pretty well, but it has to be thick, too.

I would not be ordering more shirts, you should be able to fix this.

pierre

[Orion]

...another option is to mirror the image and print the adhesive directly to the foil, run it through the dryer to gel the ink film, now you have a foil transfer.

[tonypep]

Running the foil through the dryer may cause it to tarnish somewhat

[sweetts]

I am thinking uneven heat on the press. I had this same issue with a lesser brand press and it had a spot near the one corner that was 15 degrees cooler. Are you 100% you have even heat.

[Mark @ Hurricane Printing]

I am thinking uneven heat on the press. I had this same issue with a lesser brand press and it had a spot near the one corner that was 15 degrees cooler. Are you 100% you have even heat.

am I 100% sure? No.....BUT it is brand new!..this is the first time I used it on a job..I DID turn it on a few times to learn how to use it but never applied to a job until last night....its 2 weeks old. I did get temp strips from Stahls and tech support walked me thru over the phone how to calibrate the heat...so I know my digital read out is spot on....when I attempt this second hit tonight after work I will shift the shirt to a different location....PLUS i will shoot my temp gun on the area in question.

[mimosatexas]

I posted this in another thread recently:

For foil we press longer than recommended and at a higher temp, then while still hot we use a pestle (the handheld part of a mortar and pestle) wrapped in a single layer of tshirt material and rub/press all over where it should be adhering, focusing on the details.  Wait until everything is at room temp and pull from least detailed to most detailed side of your print.  Slow and steady and it should work fine.  We usually p/f/p with 156 mesh for the adhesive.  The end result has almost no hand and great detail.  Also using crown typically.

waiting until the foil is completely cool really is key.  If it is at all warm still, it will not pull as cleanly.  We have had much better luck with printable adhesive than with plastisol.

Is the spot where it isn't adhering the same spot on the press or on the design.  If you offset the design does the same spot on the design have issues?  If so, it is definitely a screen issue, probably something like not enough adhesive going down.