Screen Printing for Dummies

 

Everyone was saying plastisols were on the way out and water based is going to take over everything but then...

Low temperature cure plastisol ink hit the market and it is gaining popularity all over the place. If you go to your local distributor you will most likely find it some where on the shelf. Lets jump into why low temp cure inks are so popular and why you should consider making the switch.

1. You are no longer limited to cotton textile printing. 

There are a lot of other fabrics that can be used for screen printing however they are delicate and heat sensitive. High temperatures can hurt or even burn your tri-blends or jerseys. Printers also have issues with standard white cotton t shirts because they tend to burn easily. Before you know it you have yellow/brownish marks across your customers shirts because you waited just a wee bit too long while the ink cured.

Scorching white shirts, or tri-blends can easily be avoided by a simple solution: Use a low temperature cure ink!

2. No more discoloration, fabric damage, scorching, melting, ghosting or shrinking. 

By lowering the temperature on your dryer, you are preventing heat-related issues such as ghosting, shrinking, scorching, melting, and fabric damage/ discoloration. You are also avoiding damage to the print itself as dye migration becomes a much less riskier issue at lower temps.

Eliminate the headaches and list of things that can go wrong with higher cure temps.

4. No conveyor belt dryer? No problem. 

Do you get anxious about making sure your garment is cured properly due to equipment limitations? Lots of garage and hobbyist printers do, you are not alone! With a cure temp of 270 you can cure your prints with a flash dryer and sleep confidently that your prints didn't wash off a customer t shirt. 

3. Save money by simplifying your supply.

Reduce the number of inks on the shelf. You can use low temp cure ink on all materials, no need for an extra ink for different materials.

Our final thoughts on low temperature ink:

• Easy to use (everyone loves that)
• Flash cure quicker (Lower temperature/ curing faster = extending your platen adhesive)
• Less likely to experience die migration (trust me if you haven’t experienced this you don’t want to)

Ready to try low temp ink? Use RAPIDCURE20 at checkout for 20% off your first purchase of Rapid Cure. 

Email us at info@screenprintdirect.com with any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you.