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screen printing => Ink and Chemicals => Topic started by: noortrd on April 05, 2016, 01:16:50 PM

Title: Cheap poly white
Post by: noortrd on April 05, 2016, 01:16:50 PM
Is there any cheap polywhite ? All poly white so expensive.
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: mk162 on April 05, 2016, 01:26:13 PM
cheap and good don't usually go together.  Poly whites are about the worst cheap ink to print with.  You need a chisel instead of a putty knife to get it out of the bucket.

That being said, OneStroke 357 is amazing ink.  Yes it's pricey, but it prints like a dream.

As far as cheap ink goes, try Rutland Poly White...Ours sits here unused because 357 prints so well.
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Prosperi-Tees on April 05, 2016, 02:24:11 PM
Rutland Super Poly probably the cheapest but I hate it. Wilflex top score I love and prints excellent and cures under 300
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Shanarchy on April 05, 2016, 02:43:50 PM
Poly ink is the worst. We just started using Wilflex Top Score. Not the cheapest, not the most expensive ($93/gal). But printed VERY well and easily for us.

Miami Ink poly white will probably be coming in on the cheaper side. $62/gal but it prints kinda like glue.
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: alan802 on April 05, 2016, 03:55:24 PM
IN MY OPINION, One Stroke makes the best poly white and they have quite a few choices.  The best bleed blocker is .357, then the Bravo Flex is excellent, but the most affordable and effective poly is probably their Production White.  It flashes so fast and has almost no tack.  Not really any puff either. 
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: kingscreen on April 05, 2016, 04:06:48 PM
We use Top Score and like it a lot compared to others we have used in the past.  Nazdar sells it for $76.77/Gallon, btw.
https://sourceone.nazdar.com/P/3780/LBFF11000-Epic-Top-Score-11000-White
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Shanarchy on April 05, 2016, 04:35:09 PM
We use Top Score and like it a lot compared to others we have used in the past.  Nazdar sells it for $76.77/Gallon, btw.
https://sourceone.nazdar.com/P/3780/LBFF11000-Epic-Top-Score-11000-White

Whoa! Good to know!
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Printficient on April 05, 2016, 05:43:29 PM
I guess my answer to this is what is the cost of the shirt that just bled because of literally pennies worth of ink on it?  If you run poly at the same dryer settings as cotton then it pretty much does not matter how much it is.  Cheap or expensive it will most likely bleed.
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Prosperi-Tees on April 05, 2016, 06:42:41 PM
Wow that's cheap. That's not like Nazdar.
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: LuckyFlyinROUSH on April 05, 2016, 08:06:01 PM
We love Rutland Super Poly white. Very easy to flash print on top of. It has decent bleed blocking ability, but for anything we know is going to bleed we throw down a barrier base. All badger stuff we have a problem with, and any of those new dye sub camo hex designs we have to use a black base.
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Printficient on April 06, 2016, 07:28:23 AM
Another thing you can do is run the shirts down the dryer a couple of times BEFORE printing.  This will basically "relock" for lack of the technical term which escapes my mind at the moment, the dye at the temp of your dryer.  When you put ink on the shirt it will be slightly hotter than without as the ink requires more energy and thus causes the temp of the shirt to be higher.  This is not a solution all the time but does give you a better chance to avoid bleeding.
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Ross_S on April 06, 2016, 08:03:24 AM
One Stroke ELT white.  I dropped Top Score for this ink and haven't looked back since.  Top Score was tacky after flash and the ELT will blow it a way but it's not cheap ($129/gallon)
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: blue moon on April 06, 2016, 08:10:47 AM
some of these choices might not be available in South East Asia where he is located. Also the price of garments and labor is different there which changes the priorities and equations.  .  .

pierre
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: XG Print on April 06, 2016, 09:47:53 AM
IN MY OPINION, One Stroke makes the best poly white and they have quite a few choices.  The best bleed blocker is .357, then the Bravo Flex is excellent, but the most affordable and effective poly is probably their Production White.  It flashes so fast and has almost no tack.  Not really any puff either.

In your opinion would the Production white be a good choice for trying to use on everything?  I've been contemplating buying a 5 of this and using for everything.  Hard to do when the cotton white I have been using runs about $220 a 5 but I would so love to have 1 white for everything.  What do you think?
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: mk162 on April 06, 2016, 11:05:45 AM
I personally would go 357.  About the only thing here it wouldn't block was digital sublimation.

Pierre is right, availability in Asia might be the hard part.  Rutland Super Poly White might be the best choice then.
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: IntegriTees on April 30, 2016, 12:26:51 AM
Any distributors of the top score.357 in Texas?
Is it truly better than the Wilfrex epic performance?
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: jvanick on April 30, 2016, 08:18:38 AM
I find Wilflex Top Score to be too much off-white/slightly yellow for my liking.... Epic Performance is more optically bright.

have never tried the One Stroke 357, but we REALLY like One Stroke Bravo Flex.
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Colin on May 01, 2016, 06:49:04 PM
The 357 is now our go to poly ink.

I personally think its a bit "runny" / lower in viscosity than I want in an ink.  But it prints beautifully.

Just did some Sport Tek 350/360 (cant remember the right number) Charcoal  through a 180S single stroke on the white base and it was beautiful.

I found Top Score would still bleed on trouble garments, and with the effort needed to stop bleeding.... I could use that same effort with regular cure temp inks and make it easier on myself and production...
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: farmboygraphics on May 01, 2016, 08:03:08 PM
741 Poly White by International Coatings. About $88 gallon. Nice matte finish, no tack out of the dryer. Nice if you don't have a catcher. Zero bleed on Augusta maroon and forest green.
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Frog on May 01, 2016, 08:48:21 PM
The 357 is now our go to poly ink.

I personally think its a bit "runny" / lower in viscosity than I want in an ink.  But it prints beautifully.

Just did some Sport Tek 350/360 (cant remember the right number) Charcoal  through a 180S single stroke on the white base and it was beautiful.

I found Top Score would still bleed on trouble garments, and with the effort needed to stop bleeding.... I could use that same effort with regular cure temp inks and make it easier on myself and production...

In those particular "PosiCharge" garments, you don't even need to use your fancy poly inks. I use regular low bleed, but for a demonstration promotion, they have even shown regular cotton white used on reds with no sublimation bleed! That stuff is great!
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Colin on May 02, 2016, 08:50:37 AM
You are correct Frog!

It was meant as a testimony for how clean it printed through higher mesh on poly :)

Very soft and flexible for a poly white as well. 
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Shanarchy on May 02, 2016, 10:15:54 AM

[/quote]

In those particular "PosiCharge" garments, you don't even need to use your fancy poly inks. I use regular low bleed, but for a demonstration promotion, they have even shown regular cotton white used on reds with no sublimation bleed! That stuff is great!
[/quote]

Interesting. I had a SanMar rep at my shop and he was telling me about the posicharge garments. I asked if you could just use your regular white ink on it, and he said you should still use a poly white. Granted he is just a sales rep for a garment distributor, but...what is actually recommended/suggested?
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: Frog on May 02, 2016, 10:29:33 AM

Quote

In those particular "PosiCharge" garments, you don't even need to use your fancy poly inks. I use regular low bleed, but for a demonstration promotion, they have even shown regular cotton white used on reds with no sublimation bleed! That stuff is great!


Interesting. I had a SanMar rep at my shop and he was telling me about the posicharge garments. I asked if you could just use your regular white ink on it, and he said you should still use a poly white. Granted he is just a sales rep for a garment distributor, but...what is actually recommended/suggested?


Here's a thread on PosiCharge (http://www.theshirtboard.com/index.php/topic,15083.msg145058.html#msg145058). It includes two different links to two different San Mar videos.
btw, Pierre says that he has seen some bleed, but I have had no issues.
As I said, I only have used low bleed (Streetfighter) and have had great success. In fact, they are the only colored poly I will print white, as I don't even keep a poly ink in house. (Interestingly, I have been fortunate to not lose more than a couple of jobs over the years as my poly runs have all been either small enough to run vinyl, on light colors, or, more recently, on PosiCharge garments.)
Title: Re: Cheap poly white
Post by: mimosatexas on May 02, 2016, 10:33:52 AM
I still use poly ink on them, just in case. They really are awesome though and I have never had one bleed on me at all.  I try to push every client to that brand when they want those kinds of styles, though still have to use others when they want colors or contrast panels etc that the sporttek doesnt have.

You would think every manufacturer would do whatever they are doing instead of continuing to put out such horrible bleeders like some brands (like the C2 stuff...ugh). The sporttek stuff is cheap too