# do I need a flash dryer?



## Alan (Jul 7, 2007)

Hey guys,

I'm slowly getting into silk screening. My next purchase is a flash dryer. But I already have a DK20S heat press. Can I cure my screen printed shirts with my heat press or do i need a flash dryer? Thanks.


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## macmiller (Jul 23, 2007)

A flash would be easier, a conveyor of course is preferred. It would be tough to take a shirt off press, get it on the pallette on the heat press, and press it without smearing any ink.


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## Alan (Jul 7, 2007)

Gotcha.

I just had a thought. The flash dryer hovers about 4 inches above the shirt anyways. How about I just NOT close the press and use it JUST like a flash dryer is used? Am I just being cheap?


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

Alan said:


> Gotcha.
> 
> I just had a thought. The flash dryer hovers about 4 inches above the shirt anyways. How about I just NOT close the press and use it JUST like a flash dryer is used? Am I just being cheap?


Is your press a clamshell? In any case, yes you are being cheap lol. Save yourself the trouble and at least get a used flash.


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

You will not be able to guarantee a proper cure using your heat press like your asking. Best be safe and save up for a true flash


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## Ken Styles (Mar 16, 2006)

Hey Alan,
I've learned the hard way that when you cut corners, you actually end up doing twice as much work in the long run. 
When you print on the shirt and then pull it off to place it under a heat press, the shirt will "snap" off the screen printing platen., (because of the adhesive) and there will be a chance that one part of the wet ink will touch a part of the dry shirt and mess it up where you don't want ink.
I just bought a used flash dryer for about $170 on craigslist. It is worth it. Trust me. 

With the flash dryer you leave the shirt exactly where it is and flash it on the platen. So when you pull it off there will be no accidents.

Also, I believe the flash dryer doesn't cure the shirt...it just dries it. You can probably cure with the heat press and some teflon paper at 350º or whatever temp your brand of ink cures at, after you flash the shirts


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## Alan (Jul 7, 2007)

That's exactly what I needed to hear. I'll dredge up a good flash dryer and probably go with a new one.

I was also thinking of exposing my screens in a tanning bed down the street. (that's a joke)

I've definitely noticed how in this industry you almost always get what you pay for, you only mess up when you buy something you won't use.


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## macmiller (Jul 23, 2007)

Alan said:


> I was also thinking of exposing my screens in a tanning bed down the street. (that's a joke)


that'd be hillarious!! i'd love to see the girl at the counter's reaction when you sign up a contract with a trash bag full of unexposed screens!!!!!


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Alan said:


> Can I cure my screen printed shirts with my heat press or do i need a flash dryer?


With waterbased ink yes, with plastisol, no. But curing ink is not why you buy a flash dryer.


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## tang3 (Feb 28, 2010)

You can use this stuff called Versatex Fixer. When you use it there is no heat curing necessary.

Versatex Fixer


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

If you need to flash between colors then you won't be able to do this with a heatpress as the shirt needs to stay on the platen between colors.....


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## Sammyday (Dec 9, 2010)

Solmu said:


> With waterbased ink yes, with plastisol, no. But curing ink is not why you buy a flash dryer.


You can still get pretty good results curing with a flash dryer, good enough for starters anyways. You need to use a thermal temp gun to set the correct height. I cured this with a BBC 18x24 flash. This one has gone through 10 or so washes.


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## 13Graphics (Jul 20, 2009)

You can cure with a flash dryer. It will slow down your operation, but it will work. I've cured hundreds of shirts with a flash dryer, and have shirts that have been washed hundreds of times.


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## Flagrant-T (Nov 11, 2009)

Any way you get the plastisol to 330 will work. When I started out many years ago as a hobby, I used my oven. It was slow and I burnt some shirts, but I still have a couple of the originals from almost 10 years ago and they aren't faded at all!


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## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

Every shop needs a flash dryer. It's not an option. The only thing better is a conveyor, but when you're starting out, buy a flash and get the biggest one you can so you don't have to buy it twice.


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## Greatzky (Jan 28, 2009)

Ken Styles said:


> Also, I believe the flash dryer doesn't cure the shirt...it just dries it. You can probably cure with the heat press and some teflon paper at 350º or whatever temp your brand of ink cures at, after you flash the shirts


a flash dryer will definitely cure a shirt.. I"m not sure if you are referring to the "traditional" use of a flash dryer, but flash dryers run at a high enough temperature to fully cure plastisol ink. I don't have a conveyor yet and I cure my shirts on a seperate platen that I have setup a few feet away from my press. 

Normally a flash dryer, in a regular shop setup, would be used to "flash" the ink between colors then the person would move the shirt off the platen and onto a conveyor dryer to finish.


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