Curing Issue

[GraemeDeroux]

Hey there,

I have a small dryer, a Cure-Pro 18/30. I have a 35 second dwell time, curing at what is reading on my temp gun as 318 about 3 seconds into the tunnel, and 376 / 380 at the end of the tunnel. My wash tests are coming back fine, not problems.

I am having issues with my stretch test failing. Is this an overcure? I keep getting told it's an undercure issue but my wash test is fine. Whats the deal here? Are they overcuring? Am I flashing too long?

I would really love to be able to have prints leave my shop, passing a stretch test and me whole heartedly knowing that my prints will last. Instead I am left wondering every. Single. Time.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Frog]

There are stretch tests, and then there are S-T-R-E-T-C-H tests. In other words, you can outstretch your ink.
Try five or ten washes and trust those results.

[Prince Art]

What ink are you using? It's been my experience that some ink passes the stretch test better than others. I had some that came apart all too easily, despite curing under the same conditions that works for all of our other inks. It's also my impression that some inks are more lenient in how they are cured, and some are fairly serious when they spec a full 1-minute cure.

[BP]

If your ink film coming out of the dryer is 380 it is over cured and that is why it is cracking.

[Frog]

If your ink film coming out of the dryer is 380 it is over cured and that is why it is cracking.

If being measured with a non-contact gun, momentary readings of 375-390 just before exit are typical. These guns are also only measuring the surface of the ink, and are only giving a learned, relative reading for the entire film thickness.

[BP]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBWmZb2XK6g

[screenxpress]

There are stretch tests, and then there are S-T-R-E-T-C-H tests. In other words, you can outstretch your ink.
Try five or ten washes and trust those results.

^^^^^So  true

Stretch about the same as you would visualize a shirt would be slightly stretched by putting on....or if you're like me and have to stretch out an XL after putting on to fit since the shirts HAVE to getting smaller from the factory because I know for sure my belly is still the SAME, lol. 

I think it's possible to stretch hard enough to break any plastisol ink on shirt fibers....if you really try.

[Frog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBWmZb2XK6g

No one with any experience will argue that a non-contact gun is accurate for our purpose, nor that it replaces a probe actually embedded in the ink layer.
But I will point out that if Mr. Hood were to move the gun a few feet closer, he would be getting a much more accurate reading of the ice cube rather than the air around it.
He is not unaware that the reading gets screwier with distance.
We also do not know the specific Distance to Spot ratio of the meter he is using, (the higher the ratio, the better the meter) but nonetheless, any meter is more accurate as it gets closer.
That said, it still can only be used for its relative readings. What it reads just before exit on a known correct cure, can be a target for future readings.

[GraemeDeroux]

There are stretch tests, and then there are S-T-R-E-T-C-H tests. In other words, you can outstretch your ink.
Try five or ten washes and trust those results.

This turned into the issue. I washed one 4x and it is still perfect. No cracking even!

Thanks for the help.

[mk162]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBWmZb2XK6g

No one with any experience will argue that a non-contact gun is accurate for our purpose, nor that it replaces a probe actually embedded in the ink layer.
But I will point out that if Mr. Hood were to move the gun a few feet closer, he would be getting a much more accurate reading of the ice cube rather than the air around it.
He is not unaware that the reading gets screwier with distance.
We also do not know the specific Distance to Spot ratio of the meter he is using, (the higher the ratio, the better the meter) but nonetheless, any meter is more accurate as it gets closer.
That said, it still can only be used for its relative readings. What it reads just before exit on a known correct cure, can be a target for future readings.

I agree Frog.  If I am not mistaken they also don't read on a pinpoint, but rather take an average of an area, and the further you move from the target, the larger the sample area becomes.  We try and stay under 2" from the garment, usually it's closer to an inch.

[mimosatexas]

I tell my catcher to point it 4 inches into the end of the dryer at 45 degrees with the gun right at the baffle. Closer the better. If the gun reads 20 to 30 over cure temp I have never seen a garment fail a wash test from our dryer and we don't have issues with scorching or dye migration.