Adidas Climawarm 100% Polyester Fleece Hoodies.

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Adidas Climawarm 100% Polyester Fleece Hoodies.


Chapter 1

They shrink under flash.

The end....

[Frog]

So, next time you'll either run 'em through the conveyor, or flash 'em before printing?

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

I guess I'll choose the conveyor. Do you think one trip'll do it?

Last time, I tried the flash to pre-shrink these (late this past winter) and it didn't seem to help too much. They were all over the place...even with "web spray" for adhesive.

This batch simply HAS to work better! 

[Frog]

Unfortunately, the web spray that was(is) the old stand-by for fleece was not the spray with heat resistance (a mist that isn't very good on fleece)
You may want to look into the waterbased performance fabric adhesive , but a little pre-shrinking still could not hurt.
http://tekmarltd.com/products/bulk-adhesives/tekmar-tb-ez-high-tack-adhesive-for-performance-fabrics/

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

I have contacted Tekmar with this question, but while waiting for the answer, I'll ask it here. Can I apply TB-EZ (or a similar product that works well with this material) WITHOUT the fancy application gun?

For my usual CCI waterbased adhesive, I just dribble...  (beginning to hate that word) the mixed adhesive from a Ketchup bottle and smooth it out with a 3" foam brush. I mix it 50/50 with water in the bottle beforehand.

I don't want to spray or mist any more adhesive, NEVER EVER AGAIN...unless commanded by God himself, and then I'll be hesitant unless the garment is constructed of 100% Teflonius Unimprintium.

But I gotta print these slick pieces of crap somehow... very, very soon. And it'd be real nice if the plates didn't look like they weren't put in register by a blind drunk.

[Maxie]

You can use the glue without the spray, dilute and roll it in.
How much do they shrink, might have a problem with the customer.

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Maxie, the underbase on the  top row of copy AFTER SHRINKING (with a flash) is fully an eighth of an inch out of register.

(Are you guys metric in Israel? At least 3mm of underbase is peeking out.)

[Colin]

We do not dilute the tekmar waterbase glue.

We use a mustard/ketchup bottle and dribble out about an inch circle then, use a plastic "card" to spread it over the entire 16x22 board. 

Warm the boards up and you are ready to rip!

As for shrinking of the garment..... do you have a power setting available on your flash unit?

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Yes, I do have a power setting on my Gauntlet with Omni flash, but not on my manual.

[Binkspot]

We use a low cure fast flashing white for the UB, get flashing down to absolute min or just order transfers.

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

I read somewhere transfers aren't real great for these items. Something about making the polyester melt enough to leave a "shiney" area, and that the edge of the transfer leaves a visible line.

Dunno what to think....

Anyways, I printed the shirts. Ran them through the tunnel dryer first, used a different spray tac--CCI Top Bond and made sure the pallets were plenty sticky. All but one came out alright. I'm ordering the Tekmar stuff for next time.