# Fading and bleeding tips for dye inks



## james tees (Apr 21, 2007)

As I had discussed earlier in my introduction post of methods to eliminate cracking of heat transfers after washing and drying, I promised to share my information on improving fading and bleeding of dye based inks. The way to do this is really quite simple and only adds a few cents to the cost of a shirt. All one has to do is purchase a can of 3M Scothgard for fabrics and apply a light coating to both sides of the transfer (after pressing). Just follow the directions on the can. The Scothgard is basically a teflon type coating that makes the transfer become hydrophobic there by slowing down the fading process. This also helps the bleeding issue if left in the washer several minutes after initial washing. This will not work if you apply too much ink to the transfer. 

I hope this information is helpful.


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## John S (Sep 9, 2006)

james tees said:


> ...All one has to do is purchase a can of 3M Scothgard for fabrics and apply a light coating to both sides of the transfer.


Print the transfer, (let it dry) then spray the ink side, press, peel and spray the second side that was against the paper?

Is that correct?

Have you put any 3M on the T-shirt before pressing? 
What other things have you tried with the 3M that didn't work?


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## james tees (Apr 21, 2007)

You have to press the shirt first before applying the Scotchgard.


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## INKSTAIN (Feb 6, 2007)

James, have you ever sprayed the scotchguard before the press?


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## james tees (Apr 21, 2007)

No, I haven't tried that. I don't think you would get good adhesion to the shirt and might cause the transfer to peel off.

JT


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## MYDAMIT (Jan 14, 2007)

You Mean Press The Transfer Paper 1st After Pressing Aply The 3m Then Press Again.is This Right?somebody Told Me Also About This Process But Different Brand Of Adhessive.


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

Does it seem to effect the feel of the print? make it stiffer?


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## james tees (Apr 21, 2007)

Ok, sorry for the confusion here. Just make a t-shirt like you would normally do. After you have made your shirt then you can apply th 3M scotchgard for fabrics to both sides of the printed transfer as well as the perimiter around the transfer. The scotchgard is not an adhesive. It is primarily used to repel stains on clothing and upholstery. It will not change the feel of the print. After the scothgard is dry (24 hours) If you apply drops of water to your print, they will bead up like a newly waxed car. 
I hope this makes better sense now 
JT


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

If water is actually beading like that, I'd say that qualifies as changing the feel =) Sounds like it wouldn't breathe as well. Whether or not this actually matters much will probably depend on your customers.

Also, to clarify what he's saying about "both sides" -- I think he means to spray over the design (already transfered on the shirt), and also BEHIND the design, on the inside of the shirt. I was confused at first too.


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## MYDAMIT (Jan 14, 2007)

Yah I Confuse Also, I Already Buy A 3m Scothguard Its $8.00 In Shop Rite. I Will Post Some Picture After I Wash It.let's See If What Is The Result....


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## james tees (Apr 21, 2007)

Look forward to your results.


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## kristinen (Apr 20, 2007)

I made some shirts for an upcoming Disney World trip..personal use only...

c88 printer
dark transfer paper from New Millford
hix hobby light press
Scotch Guard Spray as suggested.

I am thrilled with the results. Last year every shirt bled in the wash. I ran the test shirts through the wash...no fade or bleed. And, I did not notice a change in the "feel" of the design.


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## james tees (Apr 21, 2007)

Thanks Kristine for sharing your results. 

JT


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## snarley (Feb 9, 2007)

Hi Kristine,

Your shirts look really Great!!!! What ink are you using with your C88 Printer?

Bill M


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## kristinen (Apr 20, 2007)

I used the regular durabrite ink....

I have contemplated switching to the continuous ink system so I could use the everlast ink...but I am afraid of attempting to install that by myself.

Any of you guys in the Chicago area??


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## MYDAMIT (Jan 14, 2007)

Nice Shirt And Nice Design...you Can Sell That On Ebay! By The Way I Thought Only White Transfer Are Needed To Apply A 3m Because It Prone To Fading. If You Want To Used Everlast And You Only Do A Couple Of Printing Every Week,just Buy A Refialable Cartidges And Used Everlast Or Any Heat Transfer Ink Or Try To Buy A Epson Reseter And Refill Your Durabrite Ink. I Done This Process When I Still Have No Ciss.


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## kristinen (Apr 20, 2007)

All the dark transfers I made before bled in the wash...I didn't have a fading problem, more of a complete disaster!

Is it complicated to refill your own cartridges? Not to sound dumb..but I have never done that before? What is a reseter?



MYDAMIT said:


> Nice Shirt And Nice Design...you Can Sell That On Ebay! By The Way I Thought Only White Transfer Are Needed To Apply A 3m Because It Prone To Fading. If You Want To Used Everlast And You Only Do A Couple Of Printing Every Week,just Buy A Refialable Cartidges And Used Everlast Or Any Heat Transfer Ink Or Try To Buy A Epson Reseter And Refill Your Durabrite Ink. I Done This Process When I Still Have No Ciss.


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## james tees (Apr 21, 2007)

The Scotchgard works on either light or dark transfers. The reason Kristine didnt have a bleeding problem was because the ink became less soluble when exposed to water. This is why it also slows down the fading process. Kristine should get 10%-15% more washings out of her shirts vs. no Scotchgard.

JT


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## MYDAMIT (Jan 14, 2007)

reseter is a device that reset the chip of epson cartridges.you can buy this in ebay for $4. if you want just try to refill one cartridges and see if what happen. if you want CISS, buy empty ciss and use heat transfer ink. CISS are esy to install some are plug and play already.


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## cewinn (Jan 12, 2007)

I LOVE using the Scotch guard on the t-'s with using the hp or generic ink and using the Iron All transfers. We just did a show and the t's we wore after washing them 3 times so far there is NO fading at all and am very pleased with the outcome. I do suggest that all t's shirt people please be careful with doing outdoor shows and with incliment weather (rain, dampness etc.) be sure to place the transfer on the heat press pad to warm up and take moisture out of the paper before printing. NOT too long just enough to keep the paper from having the dust particles coming off on your printed area. It does flake badly if doing an outdoor show and weather has a lot of moisture in the air. We even placed the paper in the vehicle and had the vehicle warmed up before shutting down for the night. Even that wasn't enough to remove the dampness from the paper. But over all we had a wonderful week at the spring show and looking forward to the rest of the summer shows. Thanks so much James for a great TIP!!!!
cewinn


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

MYDAMIT said:


> Nice Shirt And Nice Design...you Can Sell That On Ebay!



Not so much - it's using a ton of copyrighted and protected material. Selling other people's work is not a good idea!


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## prometheus (Oct 19, 2006)

kristinen said:


> I made some shirts for an upcoming Disney World trip..personal use only...
> 
> c88 printer
> dark transfer paper from New Millford
> ...


Did you put one coat on or two? The can says to put one coat, then wait (I think 12 hours?), then put on another. I tried it with Ironall, but only did one coat. I waited a day before I washd it, but didn't really notice a difference.


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## kristinen (Apr 20, 2007)

I don't disagree with you...however, have you seen the amount of people selling copyrighted material on eBay? Just searching under Disney there was a ton....



Twinge said:


> Not so much - it's using a ton of copyrighted and protected material. Selling other people's work is not a good idea!


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## kristinen (Apr 20, 2007)

2 coats on the front...1 coat on the back (inside of shirt) I only waited a few minutes between coats..washed them the next morning




prometheus said:


> Did you put one coat on or two? The can says to put one coat, then wait (I think 12 hours?), then put on another. I tried it with Ironall, but only did one coat. I waited a day before I washd it, but didn't really notice a difference.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

kristinen said:


> I don't disagree with you...however, have you seen the amount of people selling copyrighted material on eBay?


Have you seen the number of people selling crack on dodgy street corners? Does the quantity of people openly committing a crime have any bearing on whether or not joining them has merit?


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## kristinen (Apr 20, 2007)

God almighty...not quite sure how a Disney t shirt qualified in the same venue as a crack dealer on a "dodgy street corner"....what would poor Mickey Mouse think?!

1. I was merely making an observation
2. so much for free speech
3.. if you go back & read my post regarding my Disney t-shirt, I *CLEARLY & CONCISELY* typed that this was for personal family vacation purposes only
4. I'll add disclaimers for now on.... *DISCLAIMER:* I hope my "God almighty statement did not offend anyone...it was not my intent
5. I'll be more careful when I contribute to a thread



Solmu said:


> Have you seen the number of people selling crack on dodgy street corners? Does the quantity of people openly committing a crime have any bearing on whether or not joining them has merit?


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

kristinen said:


> God almighty...not quite sure how a Disney t shirt qualified in the same venue as a crack dealer on a "dodgy street corner"....what would poor Mickey Mouse think?!


You completely missed the point. Your argument was that if enough people commit a crime, maybe it's not such a bad idea. So I provided an example of a crime that many people openly commit, that nevertheless most people think *is* a bad idea. "X people do something, therefore it's okay" is a spurious claim.



kristinen said:


> 1. I was merely making an observation


As was I.



kristinen said:


> 2. so much for free speech


Who is oppressing your right to free speech?



kristinen said:


> 3.. if you go back & read my post regarding my Disney t-shirt, I *CLEARLY & CONCISELY* typed that this was for personal family vacation purposes only


And if you go back and read the thread you'll see that I didn't bother getting on your case about that, even though you were still breaking the law. I only replied to your comment trying to justify the *sale* of such products.


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## kristinen (Apr 20, 2007)

Um, OK...can't argue with you because it makes no sense.

I never tried to justify anything....never sold on eBay...didn't intend on it either...again made made an observation regarding how many people were...

not sure why you would feel compelled to "get on anyone's case" in the first place.

but I will take my little law breaking body away....

so long, farewell...


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## subbiansuresh (Jul 14, 2006)

Hi, Can i have a look at the picture of the shirts please. if you have it uploaded somewhere can you give me the link. I have the same bleeding problem and i'm thinking of taking a test with Scothgard from 3M.
thanks
-Suresh


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## cewinn (Jan 12, 2007)

Hello, after using the scotchguard3M on my t-shirts using the HP printer 750, my customers had a few problems and so did I. After about 2-3 washings the image started to fade andit also started to crack vertically. I am using the newmilford paper for lights not iron all, cause it's very difficult to use the ironall with ourdoor shows. The paper flakes really badly with the temperature and humidity etc. I love the ironall but can't use that our doors. I wasted too many sheets of paper when trying to get a print that has no white specks where the paper flaked before printing. I thought that using the 3M scotchguard that I would be protecting my image even more. I havn't had to much trouble with the HP printer, it usually works very well. Besides I need something that will hold up since we are traveling through VA with a concession trailer and hitting Car Shows and Events and County Fairs. So far so good and great money!!!! $20 for one sided tee and $25 for two sides. $20 custom hats, $10 for mouse pads, and can coolers for $7 & $10. Everyone says that our prices are great and not too high. Someof these care enthusiast will pay anyting for a t-shirt with THEIR vehicle on a shirt. We are having a ball doing this together me and my husband.
Just hope that someone can shed some light on the problem with using the scotchguard.
cewinn


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## calijimmy (Jul 16, 2007)

when i first got my printer i started using dye inks because i basically didn't know any better. everything was going great. vibrant prints and vibrant colors on the shirt. after washing the shirts alot of them bled, faded, and cracked. that was on photo setting, so i switched over to plain paper setting and everything worked up to washing it. not as vibrant as photo setting. after washing the shirts, there was no bleeding, but faded and cracked. i've switched to pigment now, but the colors don't seem as vibrant. i was wondering if anyone using dye inks are really successful with the transfers? i'm using jet lite 2 paper.


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## MYDAMIT (Jan 14, 2007)

TRY IRONALL,BECAUSE I USED IRONALL IN MY HP 56 & 57 CARTRIGES, WORKS FINE...UNTIL NOW MY SHIRT STILL IN GOOD COLOR ALMOST 20 WASHES....




calijimmy said:


> when i first got my printer i started using dye inks because i basically didn't know any better. everything was going great. vibrant prints and vibrant colors on the shirt. after washing the shirts alot of them bled, faded, and cracked. that was on photo setting, so i switched over to plain paper setting and everything worked up to washing it. not as vibrant as photo setting. after washing the shirts, there was no bleeding, but faded and cracked. i've switched to pigment now, but the colors don't seem as vibrant. i was wondering if anyone using dye inks are really successful with the transfers? i'm using jet lite 2 paper.


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## johnmarchuk (Jul 25, 2007)

Would this work on dtg printing.


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## mrdavid (Sep 14, 2007)

Hi I used to do carpet cleaning and we sold lot of scotchguard after cleaning carpet it was used for stains becouse carpet only got clean 2 times A year it did not hold up after cleaning we would take it off with cleaning so we would have to put more down for it to hold up. In washing machine I cant see this last after two or three washing please note that I am only giving you my Professional opinion on scotchguard and do you know what is in this stuff to put it on my body I dont think you need to let people know


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