96% cotton 4% lycra shrinkage?

[Screen Dan]

We have a job that we screen print and then we have stud transfer sheets we heat-press on top.  We've done this for over a year on the same garment.  This time we found that the 14" tall image was 1.5" shorter in the warp.  Similar losses weft.  Of course the first thought was that somebody masked the wrong image on the screens or screwed up the RIP or art prep...but the RIP'ed image is from last year...the initial run.  Every single piece of art and RIP lines up perfectly down to the pixel...we are confounded.

Now, these are a relatively loose knit 96/4% cotton/lycra blend.  The last time we printed on this same batch of blanks this did not happen...but is there a chance that the right confluence of heat, humidity, flasher temp, dryer temp, etc etc etc....could cause this to happen?

Things have been pretty tense around here as everyone tries to find who to blame...but mostly so we can figure out how this happened and how to keep it from happening again.

Please please please advise.

[Frog]

I can only suggest that next time you run all of these garments once down the belt unprinted to pre-shrink.

I have noted a trend over the last few years, for manufacturers to even quit labeling their cotton as "pre-shrunk". Even when labeled as such, I have always told my custies to expect more.
I'm betting that these are just part of the new wave of slightly lower quality garments that shrink more than they used to.

Of course, changes in your heat settings, etc, could also exacerbate this as you also supposed.

[Screen Dan]

These are private label garments we have manufactured over seas...pre-shrunk isn't even assumed.  But I never expected this much of a shrink.

Has anyone else ever experienced this to this degree?  If I had to guess I'd say the image is 15-20% smaller now.  That's a little more than I would expect from non pre-shrunk cotton...but not outside of the realm of possibility for what feels like a loose ~18-singles jersey knit.

It's not distorted however...though the tonal range is all messed up.  I imagine it's like when you draw on a balloon and then deflate it...increases the density of the halftones.

I guess we might more than we suspect since we usually don't have to register to a design again once it's through the dryer.

I'd be a lot more fascinated with the science behind it if everyone wasn't at each other's throats looking for answers. 

I can only suggest that next time you run all of these garments once down the belt unprinted to pre-shrink.

Will probably have to start there for testing...just to see if we are crazy or not.

[Robert Clark]

Hey guys,

  This is becoming a very common problem with all these garments. And the frustrations will only continue to grow. This is not a sales pitch, but a way to fix the problems at hand. We have spent a lot of time coming up with ways around high heat from the flash units and the dryers. What we came up with is

ELT Zip ( Transfer System ) Fully cure ink on paper and press for 8 sec @ 280, peel immediately. Full release from paper

ELT ( Cures between 250 - 300 ) Very fast flashing. Great bleed protection ! 

The garments of today are not the same garments of last year. THEY HAVE CHANGED greatly. So please do your home work and find out what is going to work best for your shop. But do not close your mind to new technology and new systems.  I will attach some spec sheets for you to look at.

Thanks everybody. 

[BKerfes]

I completely agree with Robert! Using a low cure ink will really help with your garments shrinking. A lot of the standard inks out there cure AROUND 320 which is just too high for special fabrics.
 

[Sbrem]

Hey guys,

  This is becoming a very common problem with all these garments. And the frustrations will only continue to grow. This is not a sales pitch, but a way to fix the problems at hand. We have spent a lot of time coming up with ways around high heat from the flash units and the dryers. What we came up with is

ELT Zip ( Transfer System ) Fully cure ink on paper and press for 8 sec @ 280, peel immediately. Full release from paper

ELT ( Cures between 250 - 300 ) Very fast flashing. Great bleed protection ! 

The garments of today are not the same garments of last year. THEY HAVE CHANGED greatly. So please do your home work and find out what is going to work best for your shop. But do not close your mind to new technology and new systems.  I will attach some spec sheets for you to look at.

Thanks everybody.

I read the pdf for the ink; what could "simply peel and zip" possibly mean?

Steve