As we move into the warmer months, summer sports and fashion will pick up quickly. You may receive more cotton/polyester or 100% polyester (poly) garments coming your way for prints. As all printers
know, poly blends and 100% poly garments can be a nightmare to work with due to their potential for dye migration.
What is dye migration you may ask? This is a chemical process that occurs when a polyester garment is heated. Dyes in the fabric turn from solid into a gas under high heat, and the gas penetrates the ink layer on the garment. In turn, your white ink may have taken on a hue that you didn’t want!
Don’t fret, we’ re going to give you the best tips, advice and recommended products to use when you receive cotton/poly or 100% poly garments in your shop. With the right products and practice, you’ll be an expert in printing on to poly garments in no time.
Let’s dive into how to handle printing on to cotton/poly and 100%polyester garments.
What are low cure and low bleed inks and why are they good for cotton/poly garments?
Low cure ink: These inks are designed to cure at a much lower temperature than standard plastisol inks. Standard plastisol inks generally cure around 160C, whereas low cure inks cure between 120C –160C.
As higher cure temperatures can encourage dye migration in polyester blend or 100% polyester fabrics, the lower cure is a good option to mitigate that from happening. If the fabric is also temperature sensitive, the lower cure is a good option.
As for using low cure inks onto cotton, the benefits can be reduced fabric shrink, reduced energy costs for the business, and are generally suitable for wet-on-wet printing.
Low bleed ink
Designed specifically to reduce bleed/dye migration in poly blend and 100% polyester garments. These inks cure at the standard plastisol curing temperature of 160C (may vary from brand to brand).
They will still provide you with the durability and elasticity of standard plastisol without the worry of dye migration.
Rutland boasts an impressive range of low bleed white plastisol inks.
- Endurance Plus White
- SF2 Low Bleed White
- Low Bleed Peak White
- Low Bleed Premier White
Is there an ink that can handle 100% polyester garments?
Yes – Rutland Super Poly Plus White is a premium non-phthalate plastisol ink designed to print onto 100% polyester and polyester blended fabrics. Super Poly Plus White delivers superior printability, opacity, coverage, and quick shear. It can be used as a base or highlight/standalone white.
Low bleed colours for 100% polyester can be mixed at Jones Brothers, utilising Rutland Bases Endurance Base or Rutland Poly Base and the C3 pigment system.
Another good option for a heavy-duty base is the Rutland Barrier Grey Base. NPT Barrier Base is offered as a high opaque, low bleed under base that has been formulated for maximum opacity and excellent bleed resistance on 100% Polyester.
What’s the best low cure plastisol ink to use?
Rutland Chill Flex Cure Inks – this is Rutland’s newest ink range to handle cotton/poly blends and polyester. This premium flexible cure system produces a contemporary soft hand with a matte finish.
This extensive system delivers vibrant, rich colours, is wet-on-wet capable, and provides the benefit from a lower cure to minimize the risk of dye migration appearing in your print.
In addition, using a low cure ink will help reduce your overall energy consumption. With a broad curing temperature range, you can control how much energy is used to cure your garments. A lower belt speed is required, as cure remains a time and temperature process.
What’s the best low bleed plastisol ink to use?
Rutland Endurance Mixing Base can be used with Rutland’s C3 Color Boosters to create desired lower temperature colours – with a cure temp of between 138C and 149C. The Rutland Endurance range has excellent bleed resistance for printing on 100% polyester performance fabrics.
Rutland NPT Poly Base is formulated as a press-ready non-phthalate low bleed plastisol base used to mix colours with Rutland’s C3 Color Boosters for printing on 100%Polyester. NPT Poly Base has great dye migration resistance; however, it should always be used with NPT Super Poly Plus White or where severe bleeding is a problem, we suggest NPT Barrier Base as an under base for maximum protection against dye migration.
Best tips for printing on cotton/poly or 100% polyester garments
Tip 1: Use Rutland Barrier Base to prevent dye migration 100% poly garments where migration will be a bigger issue. Yes – it is an extra screen, print and product, however, it is your insurance to ensure that you block any migration effort and can provide your customer with the vibrant print that they imagined.
Tip 2: Check the composition of your garments and run adequate tests before going to production. This helps you figure out any potential migration issues prior heading into production and will also help define which ink range to use.
Tip 3: Make sure that you run your flash cures quickly – to help reduce heat exposure to the print and garment.
Low Cure & Low Bleed Plastisol Inks
Product Recommendations
1. Rutland Chill – Low Cure Range
2. Rutland Barrier Base
3. Tekmar TB EZ
Adhesive for 100% polyester garments
