Setting/ Curing Inks

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Fabric Screen Printing Inks

Fabric inks require heat setting to activate the pigments and set the ink to the material. The temperature used should be the hottest the material can withstand, without scorching or burning the material.

Equipment

The temperature required must be hot enough to firstly evaporate the water based medium, then set the pigments (minimum 150°C depending on the material to be heat set), a household iron, Fabric Ink Setting Heat Press or commercial tunnel dryer are recommended.

Household iron - Use highest setting fabric allows

Fabric Ink Setting Heat Press - Usually heat set at 180°C for at least 30 seconds

Sun or outside clothes line - Can not be used as temperature is not hot enough.

Commercial Tunnel Dryer - 120°C degrees for 6 minutes, 160°C degrees for 3 minutes, 180°C for 2 minutes

Air Dry - Only suitable for use where Poly Prop Additive has ben used

Household clothes dryer - Can not be used as temperature is not hot enough

Flash Exposure Unit - Not Suitable as this is a U.V. system for solvent Plastisol inks only

Hand held hair drier - Can not be used as temperature is not hot enough

Commercial Dryer (Laundromat) - Not a recommended method as temperature is not accurate and time limit can vary greatly on garment type. Garments left in too long may shrink or be damaged. 120°C degrees for 20 minutes is a guide.

How Long?

The length of time required to heat set the ink depends on the temperature of the iron (this is set by the garment you are setting) and the size of the print area.

The following is a guide to the heat setting process and explains why prints should be heat set for 2 minutes to ensure permanent bonding.
66°C [150F] Water begins to leave the ink
94°C [200F] Binder reaches lowest viscosity and maximum surface contact is made with the fabric
105°C [220F] Water begins to leave the ink rapidly - shown as steam coming up from the design
133°C [270F] Fifty percent of the water is gone and the binder and pigment start to cure
150°C [300F] Most of the water is gone and the binder-pigment combination is partially cured
150°C [300F] For 30 seconds to a minute - binder and pigment is cured

The above should be used as a guide only, and will vary slightly between ink types.

Note most times printed on sides of containers are for wet prints.

Curing of dry prints still takes at least 2 minutes as ink has to get to temperature first.

Heat setting is faster when you can let the design naturally dry for 24 hours/ overnight as some natural evaporation will occur and shorten the heat setting process.

Technique

Firstly you must ensure you do not overheat the garment and scorch/ mark the fabric so do not set the iron to cotton if you are heating lycra. The temperature you set the garment at is limited by the material.

Where the setting must be lowered, the time to set must be increased to compensate.

It is best to use brown paper over the design to ensure no marks are transferred onto the garment when heat setting [not all irons bases are clean]. Brown paper will also help to distribute the heat more evenly and reduce scorching.

Pass the iron over the design from one side to the other ensuring you do NOT hold it still in any area, or scorching may occur.

Where force drying is used to speed the touch dry process, ensure the temperature does not exceed the limitations of the material.

Air Cure Inks

Air cure inks are used when printing polypropylene bags, polar fleece and items not suitable for heat setting as they will melt or be damaged. A two part mix creates the air cure ink by combining any of the Opaque Fabric Ink Colours with Poly Prop Additive.

When the Poly prop Additive and Opaque Ink are mixed, the ink will begin to dry and set with contact to air, so it's recommended you print all items in one process. If stopping, you must clean the screen or ink will dry and block the design. Adding Fabric Ink Retarder is recommended in many instances to stop ink drying, however adding retarder will also increase the setting time of the ink by up to 5 days.

This is an intermediate to advanced technique due to the ink drying faster than normal, so normal printing of Opaque Inks should be mastered before moving to adding Poly Prop Additive, as keeping the screen clear of ink is essential or it will begin to dry and a complete screen clean is required.

Equipment

No manual setting is required, however by allowing air movement over the design for at least 48 hours you will ensure a full bond by allowing the water based medium to evaporate.

Household iron - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat.

Fabric Ink Setting Heat Presss - Not required. Material may also be damaged by excess heat.

Sun or outside clothes line - Recommended.

Commercial Tunnel Dryer - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat.

Air Dry - Recommended.

Household clothes dryer - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat.

Hand held hair drier - To speed touch drying only

Commercial Dryer (Laundromat) - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat.

How Long?

Ink will be touch dry within 10 minutes. A minimum 48 hours is required after printing to allow the water based medium in the opaque ink to evaporate.

Recommended drying time is 5 days before wearing or washing the garment.

This process can ben speed up by force drying using a hair drier or placing the prints in sunlight, however the actual bonding process will continue to take up to 5 days.

Packaging, boxing, or piling designs on top of each other will not stop the curing process however the time required will be lengthened.

Technique

No manual setting is required, simply ensure the prints are not covered for at least 48hours to allow a full natural air dry.

Where force drying is used to speed the touch dry process, ensure the temperature does not exceed the limitations of the material.

Aqua Ink for Plastic and Metals

Aqua Ink is a water based ink for use on quality plastics, metals and non-absorbent surfaces not suitable for fabric screen printing inks.

After printing the ink naturally air dries, the water based medium evaporates and the pigments/ binders become part of the item below, forming a permanent bond to the item.

Equipment

No manual setting is required.

Household iron - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat.

Ink Setting Heat Press - Not required. Material may also be damaged by excess heat.

Sun or outside clothes line - Recommended.

Commercial Tunnel Dryer - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat.

Air Dry - Recommended.

Household clothes dryer - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat.

Hand held hair drier - To speed touch drying only

Commercial Dryer (Laundromat) - Not recommended as material may be damaged by high heat.

How Long?

Ink will be touch dry within 1 hour.

Minimum curing time is 24 hours.

Recommended curing time 3 days before using the item.

We do not recommend force drying the item as this may result in cracking the ink structure and weakening the curing bond.

Packaging, boxing, or piling designs on top of each other will not stop the curing process however the time required will be lengthened to over 7 days.

Technique

No manual setting is required, simply ensure the prints are not covered for at least 24 hours to allow a full natural air dry.