The Discharge Project

[sqslabs]

I've been meaning to do something like this at my shop since I started using discharge inks, but it never made it to the top of the to-do list.  I was thinking a bit about it today when it struck me that having an open source database compiled of many results outside of my own would, I'd imagine, be pretty beneficial to anyone who uses discharge inks.  And so The Discharge Project was born, and this is what it currently looks like:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgdPJ7c6eSh6dFZ4bVBSTFVXZzZ5eFNvX3JyVk9vQ0E&usp=sharing#gid=8

Not very impressive... yet.  But that's where you come in.  Whenever you use discharge ink, write down your results and email them to TheDischargeProject@gmail.com.  I've even made a little form that you can print out which will make keeping track of everything a bit easier, you can find it attached to this message. Every time someone submits their info, the database grows. And if enough people decide to share their info with the project, we should be able to compile a pretty strong database of what type of results to expect going into a job.  Which has the potential to save lots of t-shirts.  And sanity. 

I realize there is a lot of info out there about this type of stuff, and we all have a pretty good idea of what has worked for us.  But having it all in one place could definitely take things a step beyond.  And whether you submit info or not, the database will always be available for viewing by anyone at any time.

Interested to hear what everyone thinks, so please feel free to share your thoughts.  I put this together pretty quickly after a very long day today and am sure I probably left some things out. 

Thanks for reading.

UPDATE 09/2014: The Discharge Project has combined forces with Gilligan's "Grand List of Emulsions", and both are now available in one tidy spreadsheet.  It is also now fully editable by anyone, so you can add your own entries to either sheet without having to email them for entry.

[TCT]

Sweeeeet! Awesome idea!

[Dottonedan]

Excellent contribution.  Just fantastic!


Didn't Pierre and a few others start one like this using Google Docs for a similar item. Screen mesh maybe or was it inks in general?  Anyone still add into that one?

[Frog]

I seem to remember that Gilligan dd something

[ericheartsu]

very cool! if i can remember to update this i will!

[sqslabs]

Thanks guys.. I'll keep the thread updated and if the project actually takes off, will register a domain specifically for the database to make it quicker and easier to navigate to.

[Screened Gear]

This is a good idea but with the way shirts change and the inconsistencies of discharge may not be too reliable. For the results it would be more useful to have more of a description. Maybe a 0 to 10 scale with description. So red nexlevel would be like an 8 with the description being leaves a little pink tint.

[Homer]

This is a good idea but with the way shirts change and the inconsistencies of discharge may not be too reliable. For the results it would be more useful to have more of a description. Maybe a 0 to 10 scale with description. So red nexlevel would be like an 8 with the description being leaves a little pink tint.

great idea, this is really cool...nicely done.

Gilly set one up for emulsion I believe....

[sqslabs]

This is a good idea but with the way shirts change and the inconsistencies of discharge may not be too reliable. For the results it would be more useful to have more of a description. Maybe a 0 to 10 scale with description. So red nexlevel would be like an 8 with the description being leaves a little pink tint.

I agree on shirts changing, which is the main reason for the date column.  Looking at the most recent results will always give the best info, but seeing mixed results over time would also be a sign to proceed with caution.  I believe that if enough people submit info, we'll start to see some patterns pretty quickly and can begin to color code each shirt model/color based on the results.

As for the other concern, I've added a "Partial" option to the results category, as well as a notes column for additional info in those cases.

[tonypep]

I have one for most brands. Sorry not allowed to share but grade from N/A to A+. Still get the occasional country of origin issue but it's pretty rare.

[sqslabs]

UPDATE 09/2014: The Discharge Project has combined forces with Gilligan's "Grand List of Emulsions", and both are now available in one tidy spreadsheet, so update your bookmarks as the old one will no longer be updated.  The new sheet is also now fully editable by anyone, so you can add your own entries to either sheet without having to email them for entry.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgdPJ7c6eSh6dFZ4bVBSTFVXZzZ5eFNvX3JyVk9vQ0E&usp=sharing#gid=8

[acescreen]

Very Cool!!! It's a great thing to be in a place where so many people are willing to share info.