# Plastisol Transfers not curing properly!



## biglsyny (Jun 2, 2014)

Hi I am using Ryonets Plastisol Transfers and using Opaque Yellow on a dark garment and everything is working fine. Logo is coming out perfect on the shirt. I am running them through my dryer at 275 as instructed. Transfers are pre ran and adhesive powder is applied also. They are pressing on the shirt at 350 for 15 seconds and the peel is a hot peel and the logo comes off the transfer easily. My stretch test initially is fine but after sitting for a few hours the stretch test is failing and and some of the ink is splitting. I know this is a curing issue but can't figure it out. Any help would be appreciated.


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## sindhu g n (Feb 9, 2016)

hi,
In Plastisol Transfer curing is very important,these kind of problems occurs beacuse of problems in curing. so take care while curing, and check the result.


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## prathap (Aug 20, 2015)

The basic process for producing heat-applied plastisol transfers is uncomplicated. You print a design with plastisol ink, but instead of printing it directly on the garment, you print the design on special paper. The paper is then passed through a conveyer dryer where the ink is heated until it has gelled just enough to be dry to the touch. It's important not to cure the ink too much.

The resulting print, called a transfer, can be stored until needed. When you want to apply the transfer to a T-shirt, place the garment in a heat transfer press, put the transfer on top of the garment, ink side down, and close the press. The heat and pressure applied by the press will force the ink into the garment and finish curing it. When the press is opened and the paper is peeled off the shirt, the ink remains behind. When done correctly, a heat-applied plastisol transfer will be as permanent as a direct print and under some circumstances nearly indistinguishable.

The curing process :

While transfers can be printed very successfully on home-made presses, home-made curing equipment is not such a good idea. The ink used in plastisol heat transfers has to be heated in a very controlled manner until it is just gelled. Although some people have been successful making transfers by gelling the ink with flash-cure units, home-made conveyer dryers, heat transfer presses, or other makeshift devices, there is simply no substitute for a large, well-made, commercial dryer.

The importance of being able to accurately control the amount of heat applied to the dryer cannot be overstated. For efficient and profitable transfer production you should be able to maintain the heat the transfer reaches as it goes through the dryer to with in ten degrees or less. Moreover, the dryer must be designed and built so that it can maintain the set temperature consistently throughout the entire production run and from job to job day after day. Both over-cured and under-cured transfers can be a disaster for the screen printer. Undercured transfers will offset, smudge, and smear when stacked, and within a short period of time, be unusable, either because of offsetting, or because the plasticizer in the ink has migrated into the paper. Overcured transfers will stack and store well, but be will difficult or impossible to apply to the garment because the over-gelled ink is no longer thermoplastic enough to adhere well to the garment.

Exacerbating the pitfalls of improperly cured transfers is the fact that the bad transfers may not be discovered to be defective until months after they have been printed and sold to the end user. Also, improperly cured transfers end up costing someone not just the price of the transfer, but also the value of the garments they were unsuccessfully applied to.


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## biglsyny (Jun 2, 2014)

Thank you for the great detailed response. I am currently using a vastex 1500 dryer , which is commercial but a baby dryer in the industry.


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## prathap (Aug 20, 2015)

hi there rather besides to ink consideration there are there are many other consideration when curin a garment 

1) fabric : Many printers think that heat is heat and the ink will cure at the exact same dryer temperature setting the belt spent for all garments , Fabric colour must also be considered

2) weight of garment is another factor to considerer in the curing process 

3) Ink film thickness and type of ink : Different ink film thickness cure differently the same way different fabric thickness cure differently 

4) Room temperature : One variable that often gets overlooked is what I refer to as the Spring/Fall Syndrome. Spring and Fall is the time of year I receive the most complaints about ink performance resulting from undercure. In the South, it is often too nice to have the the heat on in early Spring but not yet hot enough to use the air conditioning. Likewise, in the Fall , it is not warm enough to justify using the air conditioning and not cool enough to need the heat. During these two periods I have seen many print shops open the doors and windows to enjoy the fresh air and also let Mother Nature provide the climate control for the shop. Having the doors and windows open creates a draft that sucks heat from your dryer and out the open windows or doors. The printed garment now has to compete with the outside elements to receive enough heat to become fully cured.


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## nirlon (Jul 25, 2014)

Hey friend, your details are. Perfect.
I want to add a thing.
Take the heat gun point on the ink on the paper,
You need to jel nit cure.
After setting it correctly, remeber that the speed of you enter the papers into dryer effe t the tepreture
Nany papers loaded increase the temreture,
After finding the right tmp,
Keep same speed!!!!
Time in dryer is also important.
For getting more elasticity you may add addetavie for it.
Good luck


Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk


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## Alice521 (Sep 5, 2015)

learned more from the detail, thank you


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## Screen Medics (Feb 23, 2015)

Don't overlook the brand of transfers you are using. Clearly they are being cut in-house or purchased from a private label supplier. Either way they are likely the cheapest transfer material available.
The problem may not be you at all.

Good luck,
Screen Medics


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## prathap (Aug 20, 2015)

yes some people gell the ink with flash-cure units, home-made conveyer dryers, heat transfer presses, or other makeshift devices, there is simply no substitute for a large, well-made, commercial dryer.


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## Screen Medics (Feb 23, 2015)

All of the points made by Pratham are spot on. Every dryer whether store bought or makeshift will exhibit variables that may affect outcome of adhesion and other matters.

Screen Medics


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