# Can I air dry my shirts first?



## JeffreyBee (Sep 24, 2009)

I am printing with a dtg printer using dupont ink. When I press my shirts (white underbase with a lot of black over the top) small specs of white come through... enough to make it look like crap.

Can I air dry my inks overnight first because they print beautifully but after I press them they are almost unsellable. 

SPECS: 
I pretreat.
My press is at 340 F.
I usea parchment for the first 95 seconds and none for the second 95 seconds. 
It seems like the ink comes up when I remove the parchment after the first press.

Thanks so much.


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## equipmentzone1 (Nov 22, 2008)

Jeffrey,

It sounds like you're experiencing fibrilation, when fibers stick up off the shirt. These fibers stick on the parchment paper and lift up when you remove the parchment, creating those white spots.

There are a bunch of threads on t-shirtforums where people have talked about their own ways of combating this issue, which is an issue for screen printers as well. 

Two questions: 1) What kind of shirts are you using?
2) How much pressure are you using on your press?

-Alex


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

Why not try to hover the heating element over the shirt first, then close the press with the parchment paper using very light pressure for 90 seconds and finally remove the parchment paper and close the press for the final 90 seconds using very light pressure. You will want light pressure to allow the moisture to escape. Opening the press halfway also helps with this. However, the hovering part will help partially cure the top layer of the ink before you put the parchment paper on it.

Have you tried printing the same way on different brands of shirts? This is the best way of illustrating fibrillation that Alex mentioned above. Not all shirts are created the same. In fact, not all shirts from the same manufacturer and model # are made the same. Differences in looms and sizing chemicals can change from one manufacturing plant to another. So you have to watch when you are doing an order that ranges from Small to XXX Large. 

Hope this helps. Good luck with your testing.

Mark


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## JeffreyBee (Sep 24, 2009)

Right now I'm using Gildan shirts with a good amount of pressure. But I couldn't wait for a reply so I set all my shirts up to dry overnight. I am going to press them in the morning so that hopefully the top layer will be dry and will not peel up.

IF THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA... please let me know.

I already let them sit overnight.


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

There is no harm in letting your ink air dry before heat pressing it.

From the way you described your original procedure, you might see better results this way. The recommended heat time for DuPont white ink is 150 to 180 seconds. Because you were removing the cover sheet at 95 seconds, before the ink was dry, you might have also been removing some ink. If the ink is air dry already it should not matter when you remove the cover sheet. Please also check that you are using silicone coated paper as a cover sheet when drying ink and not untreated parchment paper.

Harry
Equipment Zone


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