plastisol ink help

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sk8rjess
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plastisol ink help

Post by sk8rjess »

so i was recommended by ryan at silk screening supplies to use plastisol for my t-shirts. i tried a few out and i used an iron to dry it. yea, that didnt work too well. then i started using a 1500watt portable heater because i thought it might need heat to dry(which it seems i was right) but then i still have kind of a rough finish, not smooth and professional. is curing with a flash dryer(or oven, or portable heater) how your supposed to cure plastisol?
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d fleming
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Post by d fleming »

Yes. It takes around 320 to 350 degreees to reach cure. Flash is not supposed to fully cure, just get your fresh ink dry enough to get more colors on without making a mess. The conveyor oven is what is used to finish cure.
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Post by sk8rjess »

well is there any other way to completely cure them then after im done? im using an oven, maybe keep it in the oven for a while when the shirt is finished printed?
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Post by d fleming »

Nice way to catch the house on fire. :shock: Can be done I'm sure. I'm sure if you put your mind to it you could come up with several ways to do it. The problem is that if you don't cure the plastisol proper and even, you stand a good chance of either the entire design or part of it coming out in the wash.
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Post by sk8rjess »

ugh thats what im afraid of. do you have any quick ideas? if i knew how a conveyor dryer works i could make something. how hot do they get? is that all they do is get up to a certain temp and run the shirt through it? if so then its just like the conveyor bagel toasters lol.
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Post by d fleming »

Lot like a pizza oven really. Couple of heat elements 8" or so over a conveyor belt running at preset speed. You can get some heat strips to test belt speed and heat prior to printing. Melray might have them. Here are a couple links that may help or give you ideas.
http://www.ryanrss.com/2DryerElements.html
http://www.ryanrss.com/2TexDryDisplay.html
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Post by sk8rjess »

so theres no way around final curing them.. what if I cure in the oven then do a final cure with an oven?
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Post by djphelix »

I work with plastisol at the company I work for. Our (conveyor) dryers cure the shirts at 400 degrees for about a minute to a minute and a half. Hope this helps.
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