Press to print plastisol transfers

[jvieira]

So, our supplier has stopped printing plastisol transfers, which is a problem for us. We already print 1 color transfers in house on a small Ryonet Silver Press (best press ever bought, considering cost and return) but are now having the need to print up to 3 colors (+ underbase).

I am looking at a M&R Kruzer as an option. Would definitely need to get some vacum pallets for it but it shouldn't be a problem (would only need one anyway).

As a bonus, we would have a manual press for other jobs we can't do on the auto.


Does anyone print transfers in house? If so, how do you go about it? What equipment do you use?

[mimosatexas]

There are two ways to print multi color plastisol transfers efficiently. The cheaper way is to print one color at a time and put the sheet through the dryer after each color, printing all of one color at time. For this you need any press and one vacuum platen. The faster and arguably better way is to use something like the m&r surevac system, which means you have vacuum plates on all the arms of your press and simply flash between colors. To use this system you need a press that supports the ability to rotate the plates with the vacuum engaged. The kruzer can't do this, but I believe the sidewinder and chameleon can. I haven't used this kind of a system, but the concept is sound. Maybe rich or someone who knows more about it can chime in.

[Maxie]

Most of the printers I know doing quality transfers use a flat bed printer and print larger sheets with multiple transfers on them.
As mentioned, each color is printed and put through the oven.
Is flashing accurate enough?   If you over flash the transfers won't adhere.

[ZooCity]

Vacuum platens on all heads is cost prohibitive and I've found flashing transfers on press to be problematic regarding paper curling and warping due to heat gain/loss.

If you pre heat quality transfer paper and keep it at that temp multi color,  printing one color at a time on a single platen is no problem.  The stable temp is key though.  Work quickly color to color or use a hot box.

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[jvieira]

To use this system you need a press that supports the ability to rotate the plates with the vacuum engaged. The kruzer can't do this, but I believe the sidewinder and chameleon can.

Do you mean the Kruzer cannot rotate the plates or it cannot rotate them with the vacuum engaged?
I went to youtube and could not find a Kruzer during production to see this feature.

We use quartz flashes in our shop, I believe we could have a stable and consistent approach to flashing them. I'm not a fan of putting these sheets through the oven for every color, it just takes too much time and the margin of error increases a lot.

Of course I could be wrong

[Maxie]

Is there such a thing as a carousel with vacuum plates that turns?
I have a flat printer i built, I can sent a photograph if you are interested.
Vacuum bed with a screen holder on top.
Whatever system you use you'll have to learn how to work with transfer paper.
If you don't pre heat it it will shrink under the flash and your registration will be out.
I print mainly numbers and one color prints for caps with my transfer printer.

[jvieira]

We have a small manual (1 color, 1 station) for our transfers, it's the transition for more colors that i'm wondering how to go about.

If you don't mind, I'd love to see a picture of your setup, Maxie.

[Maff]

We resort back to spray tac when printing transfers , but it holds down the transfer paper fine, but does need to be reapplied every sheet.  We usually have to change the pallet tape before hand, so we have a clean and flat surface.  We print them on our 6/6 manual.

I can see how how a dedicated vacuum platen would work better. But for our needs,  we've just learned to work around the imperfections of our situation and can print fine detail size tag stuff no problem.  (although in recent years we've switched back to direct printing size tags because it's just faster and less hassle for us)

On the rare occasion that we print multi color transfers, we send the paper through the dryer first to pre shrink them, and we flash each color and keep a real close eye on them. Using our 6/6 allows us to print multi color transfers easy and quick.

[starchild]

Is there such a thing as a carousel with vacuum plates that turns?
I have a flat printer i built, I can sent a photograph if you are interested.
Vacuum bed with a screen holder on top.
Whatever system you use you'll have to learn how to work with transfer paper.
If you don't pre heat it it will shrink under the flash and your registration will be out.
I print mainly numbers and one color prints for caps with my transfer printer.

Yes M&R has it for the Sidewinder and Chameleon..

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[jsheridan]

Most of the printers I know doing quality transfers use a flat bed printer and print larger sheets with multiple transfers on them.

 6 up at a time was how i used to do them and fed em into a dryer.. then back around for the next color all done with a M&R saturn.

[colintas]

Hi.
Please check out the following link. TAS offer a great vacuum system, ideal for plastisol transfers as you will see and the machine converts back to a conventional carousel simply by changing the pallets. With our legendary registration accuracy and reliability I truly believe we can offer you a great solution.
I look forward to hearing from you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT3X8YyhCes

[GaryG]

Most of the printers I know doing quality transfers use a flat bed printer and print larger sheets with multiple transfers on them.

6 up at a time was how i used to do them and fed em into a dryer.. then back around for the next color all done with a M&R saturn.

This is how we did them- Saturn and Eclipse. To the art dept., I said why so many 14 color designs!
It takes days to finish a run. That included a last Wilflex adhesive screen that gelled on back side of design in place of powder.
We would do sample transfers for the autos on a 12 color M&R manual.

We even had a Take Off system, whipping them off the presses. it was fantastic!

On thread topic-
You could even do them on a manual with a slight bit of spray tack and the little 3 point registration c guides.
Build a cardboard box to keep warm in between dryer runs with a small heater... on low setting.

[mimosatexas]

I don't use a warming box, but I'm also in central texas and the shop is usually 100+ anyway.