# dark shirts and yellow ink



## pcg (Jan 16, 2007)

Hello all:
I have done some printing on light shirts but I am now faced with an order of 95 navy blue shirts with yellow gold ink but seem to be running inti a few problems.
Some of the shirts appear to have the ink absorbing into the shirt after drying and are not showing up as bright as they are when printed. Also the ones that are not being absorbed into the shirts are drying with a glossy finish. Any idea what I may be doing wrong?
I am using Plastsol Triangle ink, yellow/gold (I did thin with soft hand base but didn't notice any difference.)
I apply two coats of ink and flashed between the coats with the flash dryer 2 inches from the shirt.
I cured the shirts using the flash dryer (don't have conveyor) for 60 seconds with the ink reaching 320 for ten seconds.
I have wasted about a dozen shirts but I have to eventually figure out what I am doing wrong.
Thanks for any help.


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## aust1025 (Mar 1, 2007)

I would put a white base down first, 1 - 2 hits flash then print your color, that works for me everytime.


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

DOnt thin kthe ink back. Your loosing opacity. Stirr real well before loading in the screen to help losen it up some.

Make sure you have good off contact and print flash print. Use a 110-156 mesh frame.

Its possible youll need a white underbase as Dave mentioned yet you should be able to get it with a hit flash it. (we can with Wilflex Athletic gold ink)



> Some of the shirts appear to have the ink absorbing into the shirt after drying and are not showing up as bright as they are when printed.


Your hitting/priting way too hard. Sounds like your mashing the ink into the shirt rather than laying it on the shirt. 2 issues can happen
#1 Dye Migration (sublimation) where the dye of the sdhirt is changing to a gas, migrating into the ink and then returning to a liquid(solid) when dry causing your ink to take on a hue of the shirt color. usually seen in poly blends or poly shirts yet some 100% have issues.

#2 Fibrelation - the fibers of the shirt are showing through the ink. Lighten your print a tad or print/flash/print/flash/print.

You can print a clear underbase which will stop the dye migration and fibrelation (for the most part) or print a white underbase.




> Also the ones that are not being absorbed into the shirts are drying with a glossy finish.


This has to do with the amount of time it is exposed to heat. I honestly cannot remember but its either this or the opposite
longer exposure to heat will cause glossy
less heat exposure causes matt look.


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## dtgprinter (Mar 27, 2007)

I used to (just do digital now) like to use a quality lo-bleed underbase white. In your artwork choke your underbase back a tiny bit. Then flash. Your top colors can then be printed through a finer mesh and hold better image quality - don't press to hard and use off contact so you don't just mush your ink. If it needs to be a bit whiter you can double hit the white base or shoot a highlight white just were you need it.


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## dtgprinter (Mar 27, 2007)

Sorry missed a point. Drying with a flash is really tricky. To much heat and you can liquify the plastisol right into the shirt and get a very murky / bad image. Look for a used small dryer. Even a crappy one is better than flashing it dry.


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

if its just one color, i would try to skip the white underbase and hit it twice. print, flash, print, cure. make sure your stencil/screen is nice and thick on the print side. if your screen is to thin (not enough emulsion) you are just mashing the ink down into the shirt. i have made some screens not to much detail but some, about a 160 mesh, that i have used white ink on black tees. one hit was almost enough, but with two it was perfect. also like the other members mention use some off contact, and you shouldnt have to press to hard. when you dont use a white underbase, you can get away with a little off registration without a major notice, especially if you dont have a higher end machine


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## ftembroidery (Nov 25, 2006)

I print yellow on black shirts. Sometimes the same customer asks for white on black shirts, but in either case, I use a 175 or 195 screen and print flash print. The finer screen puts down less ink and the ink stays on top of the shirt (as long as you aren't putting it on with a steam roller or pile driver).


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## 2Day Designs (Apr 17, 2007)

I am having a similar problem. I have black shirts I am putting a Rutland yellow gold ink. right now they look the 90s look where it has a ton of ink they dont look bad but we are having to hit it with 3 passes then flash then 2 passes.. please help


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## dollen (Aug 25, 2008)

I think others have covered it now.. but these are some of the little details that set shops apart. Getting the screens, pressure, hits, flashes and inks dialed in is key.


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## fiftyfiftyprint (Feb 25, 2013)

A white under base works good. Its another screen but it will pop better. If that's not an option print flash print may do it...or better ink also..


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## LoneWolf2 (Aug 10, 2007)

You do realize this is a 4+yr old thread, right?


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