Anyone know WTF is up with Neon Garment dye tees?

[Mr Tees!!]

...Had a customer bring in some Comfort Colors tanks, in neon pink. Started the run, and as they came around, saw that the flash had scorched then all really badly.

...So, we take a blank one and run it thru my dryer (gas dryer, dual belt Boomerang so it goes thru twice normally....10ft chamber @ 360, speed 10, so halfway thru=about 1 min chamber time). As it come out the end the first time, it is still scorched. Checked the garment temp, it hits only 295. Comfort colors sends a document stating to not run these over 320 due to scorching....which is typically the rock-bottom cure temp for our inks. Comfort Colors states that others are printing them, but I don't see how.

...We end up not doing the job. So we take another order for garment-dye, this time its several different colors (2 pcs are neon pink), but these are from SanMars line. I run em thru the dryer once to test, and they seem ok, a bit dark but not blackened....I figure they are just heat-shifted like some red tees tend to do. We run the job, all the other colors run fine EXCEPT the neon pink again, they scorch at the neckline from the flash (which is only 800, 2.5"high at 6 sec, which barely gels the white, and poses no problems any other time).

...Anybody tried printing these, and had some success? Any tips, thoughts, ideas?

[Binkspot]

We have been using poly ink on the neons to eliminate the scorch marks with quicker flash and run through the dryer. Sometimes if you set the garment out in the sun or in the exposure unit if the scorch is not bad it will go away. We pretty much treat them like printing on poly.

I never get that warm and fuzzy feeling opening a box and seeing a bright yellow warning note.

[tonypep]

Choinard has a instruction sheet on how to print/cure these. Try using an LC additive that will allow you to flash/cure these. Have to look for that sheet

[lmlwsp]

We were having the same problem. We knocked our dryer temp down to 350 and things are fine now. We used to know have that problem, it just started about 6 months ago. Below is what I pulled from neon tees site.



Fabric Temperature:

The neon optical and pigment dyes in these shirts are reactive to heat. The recommended maximum fabric temperature is 325 degrees. Printers will need to use temperature strips in order to measure the temperature of the fabric as it passes through the dryer or heat source.

Dryer Temperature:

Dryer temperature should be adjusted to keep the fabric below 325 degrees. Check the dryer for proper clearance. When placing garments on the belt, carefully lay them as flat as possible to avoid high spots that may touch the inside of the dryer or come closer to heat elements. Garments touching a hot piece of the dryer or have elevated high spots may result in discoloration.

Important to note that dryer temperature gauges are not 100% reliable. To achieve a "near the belt" temperature of 325 degrees, the heat element or burner will likely exceed that temperature. Laying shirts flat is recommended. Stacking them via folding can create high spots that lead to scorch spots. It's safer to print a little slower by not stacking the belt than to scorch the shirts.

Dwell Time:

We advise 50 seconds as the maximum dwell time in the dryer. Some have reported success by running the shirts through on 2 shorter passes.

[Lizard]

Yes, twice now with the pink comfort colors but not all of them. Did a run this week and had problems only with the mediums.