# Permaset Aqua Heat Set Times with a Heat Press



## monsta imports (Nov 30, 2006)

Hi Everyone,

I have now gotten into screen printing and let me say its easier than it looks as I knew nothing about it. However I am using the permaset inks and it only has iron on instructions using a home iron on the back of the bottle not heat press times. I checked out the website and a few other websites that sell the product and I cant get a clear answer on how long to press it for after it dries to cure it.

Can anyone help me out with a press time for them using a heat press?

Dan


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## adawg2252 (Dec 12, 2007)

Permaset is a waterbased ink so you do let it air dry before you press it, but it's always going to be different each time.

Every t-shirt is different in it's moisture content, which slows down the air drying times. 100% cotton is the worst if my memory serves me right.

Basically, if you print the shirt, and 20 minutes later it's touch dry and you put it under the heat press, it could take over two minutes to press out the ink, depending on how much is actually on the shirt. You have to completely evaporate the water from the ink (and the shirt) to ensure that the shirt will be as washable and colorfast as possible.

Now say you print the shirts, and let them airdry over night. You could come in the next day, heat press them for one minute, and have the same wash results.

It all depends on temperature/humidity of your location, temp of the heat press (pressure too! too much makes it harder for moisture to escape. start with medium pressure), and type of shirt.

On my DTG machine (which is waterbased inks. different, but similar) I need to press light shirts (no white ink) for 60-80 seconds at 330 Farenheight to have them wash and not fade/wash out. For darks (with white ink) i need to press them for 180-200 seconds at 330 Farenheight. I only use 100% cotton shirts.
But note that I go straight from printer to press because I can't have wet ink shirts sitting around in my shop.

You're going to need to do some wash tests, so get some crummy shirts ready to print on. and record your data!!!!! make sure to note as many variables as you can (# of colors, pressure of press, temp of press, image size, shirt type and color)

100% cotton white shirts
8"x10" print size; any color ink
70-100 seconds @ 330 farenheight.
do this RIGHT after the shirt is touch dry.

i would try using that as a base. and if it washes out. if it does, or fades too much to your liking, extend the times. or extend your air dry time, and try again.

you may ruin some shirts, but it's better when you ruin yours and not customers.

p.s. where do you get permaset anyways? i thought it's pretty much overseas (australia/new zealand)

good luck and sorry for the LONG post.


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## monsta imports (Nov 30, 2006)

i AM FROM aUSTRALIA SO ITS EASY TO GET HERE I PRESSUME YOUR FROM THE USA OR UK???

I WILL GIVE YOUR INSTRUCTIONS A TRY AND SEE HOW i GO. I WOULD THINK YOUR ON THE MONEY FROM LOOKING AT WHAT YOU SAY. BUT WILL LET YOU KNOW.

DAN


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## adawg2252 (Dec 12, 2007)

no worries. I figured you had to be in Australia cause there are few places in the U.S. that have it, or will special order it for you.

just make sure that you convert the temperature from farenheight to whatever you australians use, cause i don't know if you use celcius for temp.

good luck!


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## Cornellious (Dec 3, 2007)

Yeh we use celcius! 
Ill be using the permaset inks, once I get started, so thanks for the handy info!


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## monsta imports (Nov 30, 2006)

I find them so easy to use no problems here yet just need to set them. Dan


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## Progeny (Jul 28, 2007)

I asked a similar question last week, i'm using setacolour waterbased ink. After printing i put in front of a fan heater for a few minutes to speed up drying time, then pressed at 150 for 90 seconds opened to release the moisture and then pressed again for 120 seconds. After 2 washes at 40 i can't see any difference in the print, but i'm going to keep washing to see.

Someone replied to me that a press is not good to set as it does not allow the moisture to escape from the shirt, but mine are ok as yet and i'm happy with the results.

Lee


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## adawg2252 (Dec 12, 2007)

Progeny said:


> Someone replied to me that a press is not good to set as it does not allow the moisture to escape from the shirt, but mine are ok as yet and i'm happy with the results.
> 
> Lee


They aren't wrong. It is all dependant on the press itself, the design of it. Some have different pads on the bottom that can absorb moisture, and are pourous for air and moisture to escape.

It also is very dependant on the pressure you put on the shirt. If you put serious pressure, there is NOWHERE for the moisture to go. If it's light pressure, it's still getting the heat, and moisture has somewhere to go.

Good luck!


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## monsta imports (Nov 30, 2006)

Some excellent answers and they all do make sense.
Will let everyone know what I come up with as I have about 100 tshirts to press.

Dan


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## Cornellious (Dec 3, 2007)

Ill post my question on the bottom of this thread, save starting a new one, seeing as its almost the same.
Im using the permaset aqua paints, and am planning on just curing them with an Iron, as I will only be doing small amounts of shirts.
Now it tells me the times on the paint tin, but im curious about is where to actually Iron?
Im guessing you dont iron straight on the paint?
So do you just put another shirt in between? Or just iron it inside out?

Thanks for you help in Advance.


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## adawg2252 (Dec 12, 2007)

Cornellious said:


> Im guessing you dont iron straight on the paint?
> So do you just put another shirt in between? Or just iron it inside out?
> 
> Thanks for you help in Advance.


You let the shirts air dry and then you iron on the inside of the shirt, with the shirt on a flat surface to make sure you get good even contact with the fabric. You could also maybe put a teflon sheet over the print and iron that, but I think after a while you may eat the sheet or possibly tear it with the pointed end of the iron.

Inside out is probably the way to go. 

Good luck!


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## Cornellious (Dec 3, 2007)

Cheers for the info Andrew.
I did a test shirt (Printed on the back of one of my shirts) ironed it inside out for like 3min, then washed it twice and it looks the same as one I havnt washed yet, so I think im on the right track.

Do you guys think it would be worth getting a heat press? Or just save for longer and get a good conveyer dryer?


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## SpotMatrix (Nov 10, 2007)

I iron right on the print and they turn out fine using Permaset. Thanks for the heatpress pressure tip. I don't have a heat press yet but the tip makes sense...low pressure. I pre-dry using a heatgun right after printing so I don't have to wait for it to air dry.


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## karolina (Oct 7, 2007)

Hello - 

I too plan on using Permaset, but was hoping to be able to cure the ink with my flash unit... Is this another way to get good durable results??? 

(I know it all depends on the shirts, amount of ink and so on, but just to have a successful example, if you could let me know how long you cure it for/distance, that would be terrific!)

I've heard that most conveyor dryers can't do the job, unless you run the shirts several times or have a gas dryer... But I'm new to this and only know what I've read here on this (awesome) forum!

Any answers on the flash unit technique would be great! Thanks in advance ~ Karolina


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## SpotMatrix (Nov 10, 2007)

karolina said:


> Hello -
> 
> I too plan on using Permaset, but was hoping to be able to cure the ink with my flash unit... Is this another way to get good durable results???
> 
> ...


The key is to evaporate the water in the ink. I don't know about the conveyor dryer but I know there is a company in England that uses a flash dryer. I saw it on their website (www.Idressmyself.com). As for the time..go to Colormaker's website. They have some documentation on there about how long you should dry it for depending on the temperature. Personally I think you just need to reach 350 f for a few seconds and your done. Never had a problem yet. All my prints have been extremely fade resistant.


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## singler3 (Aug 23, 2007)

I use permaset inks with a heat press and it works well. I use a heat gun to dry the inks before I put it in the heat press but it only takes like 10 to 20 seconds to dry on high heat, then I put it in the heat press cover it with a Teflon sheet and press for 90 seconds at 200C degrees with medium pressure. I have found that the permaset gold metallic inks need 2 presses to be cured fully. Besides that I have done hundreds of shirts using this method and they have all turned out great.


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## karolina (Oct 7, 2007)

Thanks guys, your advise is very helpful and much appreciated! I will definetely try my flash unit and see how it works. Gary, I take it you use yours on waterbased prints as well? 

I do not own a heatpress, and hope I can do just fine without. I'm not sure if I want to invest in one either, since I don't plan on adding heat transfer to my setup. 

I did read the _Heat Curing of Permaset Ink_ section on their website, but found it a little "unclear" - From what I understood, conveyor dryers works best, but the ink can also be cured with an iron (that must take a while). I was hoping for more specific details as to how long to cure for, etc. I guess I will just have to experiment...

Thanks again and have a great day!


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## GameFaceChicago (Oct 2, 2007)

singler3 said:


> I use permaset inks with a heat press and it works well. I use a heat gun to dry the inks before I put it in the heat press but it only takes like 10 to 20 seconds to dry on high heat, then I put it in the heat press cover it with a Teflon sheet and press for 90 seconds at 200C degrees with medium pressure. I have found that the permaset gold metallic inks need 2 presses to be cured fully. Besides that I have done hundreds of shirts using this method and they have all turned out great.


Can you please post some pics of your work? I'm ready to pull the trigger and order and it would be great to see some examples. Thanks!


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## SpotMatrix (Nov 10, 2007)

GameFaceChicago said:


> Can you please post some pics of your work? I'm ready to pull the trigger and order and it would be great to see some examples. Thanks!


At first I was going to pass on the heatpress but after much research and analysing my needs, I felt the heatpress was a better investment over a flash dryer. The reason was because it allows me to also do tranfers(which opens up all kinds of business potential), vinyl lettering and numbering (schools and team shirts) and heat sublimation (mostly with a swing away press) as well as cure my waterbased inks. If I bought the flash dryer then all I would be able to do is cure shirts on my screenpress. Stahl's now has a hover heat press which allows you to apply heat with zero contact. My understanding is this will now allow you to also use a heat press to cure Plastisol inks. Multi usage is the key to a better investment so look at getting the best bang for your buck. If this fits you then you can invest in the flash dryer later with the money you made from your heatpress.

Of course if you're a high volume screen printer then you need both a flash dryer and a conveyor dryer (and lots of space) for speed and you're looking at an investment of 3 thousand plus and in this case the heat press wouldn't cut it. 

If you do buy a heat press then go at least 15x15 but the 16x20 is probably better.


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## GameFaceChicago (Oct 2, 2007)

great info! I think you missed my question to show some pics of your work though. Got any? I'm just
curious to see how the inks turn out.


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## monsta imports (Nov 30, 2006)

I can confirm that I use nothing but permaset inks and I use my heat press at 175 degrees and press for 90 seconds on medium pressure and had nothing but great results having done over 5000 tshirts now.

GameFaceChicago I have attatched a photo of one of my kids range tshirts for you to see.

Dan


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## bclassy (Oct 27, 2014)

Thanks for the heads up on the metallic gold inks... it's been a nightmare over here trying to get it to bond. I finally broke down and bought a flash dryer. SMH. I can get it to bond well to thin fabric but anything else it flakes off in the wash.
Frustrating!!!!


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