Brother Pretrat and press options.

[shirtshack]

Hi we use 2 heat presses to dry the pretreat for our brother machines,the final print is cured through a conveyor dryer, I was always lead to believe it was a 35 second press for pretreat but caught sight of a post where someone mentions it should be twice that.
If this is the case how do you avoid the tshirts looking like they have scorched (shiny iron effect).

What presses are you having good results with?
I have tried stahls fusion, but the moisture leaving the shirt is getting into the touch screen electronics and causing it to fail.
The regular sthals clam press with the auto open function is Ok but the rubber mat adhesive breaks down a bit to easy and I find it takes a little longer than I would like for the press to get back to temp.

I will be looking for a couple of new presses in the coming weeks so some suggestions would be handy..

[JeridHill]

The amount of time needed is only relevant to how much moisture is left in the shirt. If 35 seconds is the amount of time you use and it's dry, then you don't need any more.

If you are interested in a different heat press, the only two companies I recommend are Stahls and GeoKnight. I have the GeoKnight available on my site if interested. The auto pop-up is what seems like the one you would want. If you have any questions, let me know.

http://www.screenerschoice.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=64_65_72&product_id=130

[bulldog]

I have the Stahls Air Fusion with teflon covers on top and bottom. 330 degrees F. Press for 6 seconds at 20psi. Wipe the top cover with an old shirt. Press another 6 seconds at 20psi. Then 30 seconds at 80psi. I could probably go a little less but it works.

If you can't wipe the top plate you could use some kraft paper. I never get shine. Different pretreat but I would think it should work for you too. I wouldn't dry pretreat in a dryer because I think the heat press helps to matte down the fibers of the shirt and gives you a smooth print. You would lose that by a dryer cure.

[shirtshack]

Hi bulldog, that sounds a little finicky, can those air fusions be set to automatic or do you use 2 program settings and switch between them for the 6 sec and 30 sec times?

[bulldog]

You set it up on the menu and then it automatically switches between pressures. You can have many different settings saved that you can switch between.

[shirtshack]

And you have had no issues with moisture getting into the electrics? Maybe the fault on mine was just coincidental and not caused by using it for pretreat.
That twin platen air fusion would be nice with auto swing function, Spray 2 t-shirts lay them on the press, let it do the sequence while loading/ unloading shirts from the brothers, that would speed things up a bit.