water based ink on tri blend shirts

Here you can discuss any issues related to working with water based screen printing inks. This would include curing, heat setting, mixing colors, additives, brands, usages and much more.

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grasshopper
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2013 10:39 am

water based ink on tri blend shirts

Post by grasshopper »

Hi there,
I have been trying to do some research on this but haven't found much concrete info. I want to print water based ink on triblend shirts (25% cotton, 25% rayon, 50% polyester) Is this possible or will the inks bleed out.

Also, I use an iron to cure my shirts after letting them air dry past 48 hours. I set the iron to rayon (for tri blend) so it is a little cooler and won't scorch, for 3 minutes. Will that achieve a cure?
100% percent cotton shirts I've done (with cotton setting on iron) seem just fine after washing.

Thanks for any advice!
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Catspit Productions
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Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:47 am
Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Re: water based ink on tri blend shirts

Post by Catspit Productions »

This one I can’t help much with. I have always printed 100% cotton with textile water based inks. But there are air-dry and catalyzed water-based inks available as well as catalyst additives. However, the types of inks that are not heat set may lack the durability needed for repeated washings.

On 100% polyester, an under base print is often used for water-based type inks just as might be done with plastisol inks. Make sure if you need to heat set the ink not to let the fabric get too hot so that any dyes ion the synthetic fabric will sublimate into the inks.

For the best advice I would contact the manufacturer of your water based ink and get technical information so you know that what you are doing is correct. Then I would do some serious testing.
Jonathan Monaco
Catspit Productions, LLC
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