# DTG users......heat press or curing oven?



## rwshirts (Dec 5, 2007)

For those using DTG printers (any make), are you using heat press or cure ovens?? Of course, it depends how many shirts you are running...one shirt wouldn't justify firing up the curing oven. Does one process cure better than the other? All the demos seem to stress heat presses.


RW


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

You are right about the quantity of shirts will determine whether to fire up the textile conveyor dryer or not. But since most dtg users don't already own a textile dryer, a heat press is just easier, cheaper, take up less space and does not require a 220 V outlet which some of the dryers need. However, the less pressure and items you have actually touch the print... the better the print looks. Most heat press users are now flash curing the print (lower the press 90% of the way and let the heat start to cure it before putting the cover sheet on it and closing the press all the way) before they close the press all the way. This helps prevent the ink from smearing or sticking to the cover sheet.

If you are going to print white ink from any printer other than the Kornit, most tests have shown that you have to use a heat press. The Dupont White ink just needs some pressure to get the best results for most people. Although I have heard some people can do it...just not seen it in person.

Hope this helps.

Mark


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## marksie (Jan 10, 2008)

why is and oven ok with kornit machine
i have a blazzer,,and i do have and extra oven that i use to use in our hand printing department,,I was thinking about bringing next to the blazzer


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## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

Only specially prepared dryers work with the Kornit Inks, not just any dryer. You must have a dryer that can evacuate large amounts of moisture, and there are only a few that meet this requirement. 

You can easily run light shirts, but to cure dark shirts printed with Dupont white, you need to once again be able to move a lot of air . I have done it with our Kornit dryer, but that costs more than the dtg printer!

Most users would be better off just buying 2-3 heat presses if they are printing in medium to high volume settings.


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## abmcdan (Sep 14, 2007)

Has anyone used a screen printing flash dryer to cure Dupont DTG inks?


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## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

Yes. It works just the same as hovering the heat press, except it gets hotter.


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## abmcdan (Sep 14, 2007)

Printzilla said:


> Yes. It works just the same as hovering the heat press, except it gets hotter.


How good is the washibility if you don't press the shirt? 

I'm assuming the print would be brighter without pressing.

Thanks,
Andy


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## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

We find washability to be the same. There is a fine line between under curing the inks, and over curing them. Both are detrimental to a good print.


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## Robin (Aug 28, 2006)

when you say "hover" how close and how long?


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

We use a Vastex DB-II dryer with forced air for large quantities. 
It works great for white / light shirts but it tends to leave the dark / black shirts a little crispy on the print area due to the thicker amount of ink.

We do a final heavy press for about 20 seconds on dark / black shirts to ensure it was dried long enough and also to get the print smooth again.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

I also use a heat press  I flash cure for 30 seconds before I lower my platen all the way. Then do 60 seconds on lights and 120 seconds on darks, if the white ink layer is more heavy or a big graphic I do 180 seconds after flashing.

Robin with flash curing you just lower your top platen of your press right above the garment so it is hovering just above.


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## FJV11 (Oct 15, 2007)

I use a heat press, flash for 30 secs., 3 presses for 30 secs. each, medium pressure, 350 degrees. I cover the entire shirt with parchment paper to ensure no browning of the shirt occurs. Flashing is a bit of a pain but I think it's worth it in the long run. I would love to try a conveyor though.


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## CoopersDesignCo (Nov 14, 2007)

I purchased the Nomex Heat Pad and Silicon Mat for my heat press from Equipment Zone. For those of you who aren't familiar with this, I'll try and describe the process, and the difference.

The Nomex Pad is to replace the Rubber Pad on the bottom of your press. It allows the moisture to escape better than the rubber surface, giving your print a faster cure. The Silicon Mat replaces the Coated Sheets, and is re-usable, doesn't wrinkle, and the print won't stick to it, helping the fibers to continue to lay flat instead of pulling them up when you were to remove your coated sheets. The mat has a special weave that allows the heat to flow evenly throughout, giving your print a much more even cure, as well as making it more vibrant. I will try to post my wash test results, but in a nutshell, I've reduced my cure time by 40%-50%!

Ann


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## dt (Aug 12, 2007)

Adam,

I heard that with the white ink from dupont you had to put pressure and your vastex is working fine i ask you that because i want to buy one and i was hesitating


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

Actually when I press, I use very little pressure. Too much pressure will push the fibers of the shirt through the ink.

As stated above I also use the silicone parchment paper when pressing.


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## dt (Aug 12, 2007)

adam,
another question with your vastex. Could you estimate the difference in washabillity between a heat press
and your oven both with the regular ink and the white ink.


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## XYLisa (Jan 20, 2008)

hey guys I've been using a heat press for 4 years now with my Brother machine but on those big runs it would be a lot easier to use one of my dryers, do you know what length of time they would need to go through the tunnel and I assume it would need to hit 350?


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

Dt,
I think the issue was that with a single pass through the dryer it was unable to heat it enough and remove enough moisture to have good washability when using white ink.

The Vastex is an Infrared dryer which helps heat up the ink in a much shorter time than an oven type. Maybe someone could give a better description of the difference between infrared and regular gas / electric.

Anyway.. 2 passes through the dryer with white ink seems to wash just as good as heat press.
The only reason why we heat press is to make it smooth to the touch again.

The benifits of using a dryer with white ink is also that you have less color loss than with using a heat press. 

On white shirts, we are getting far better washability then we had with the heat press.
It was too hard to find a good balance of heat / time with the press on white shirts because it would leave a yellow box where it was pressed. Shorter time or less heat would affect the washability. Now we can get a great cure without the yellow box.

I have a white shirt printed that has been washed about 6 times now. I iron it and set it next to a shirt that has not been washed and ask people to find the one that has been washed. In most cases they can't tell OR they can tell by looking at other areas of the shirt that I did not iron to see it's a bit wrinkled.

The Dryer was one of our best investments.


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## zhenjie (Aug 27, 2006)

CoopersDesignCo said:


> I purchased the Nomex Heat Pad and Silicon Mat for my heat press from Equipment Zone. For those of you who aren't familiar with this, I'll try and describe the process, and the difference.
> Ann


I like the sound of this Nomex pad and Silicon map. Equipment zone should update their website with these items!?

Any else use a Nomex and Silicone matt? I'd like some more feedback before I try it out. I always have moisture escaping issues especially with big white ink prints.


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## abmcdan (Sep 14, 2007)

I know this post is old but...

Adam what is the length of time that you have the shirt inside the dryer? Do you let them cool inbetween running the dark shirts for the second time?

thanks,
andy


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

Andy, im not sure about how long, I'll have to check.
I just know based on the Vastex Dryer settings what produce the best washability.

Yes we let the cool because we run them through, they drop into a basket, which we run through a second time when it's full then take the basket to the heat press for a final pressing.


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