# Water based ink problems (VIRUS inks)



## Orgonprint (Apr 14, 2016)

Hello everyone,
We have a job that needs to be done, and we have problem that we are not sure how to solve in such short notice.

We are printing with VIRUS water based inks (hydracryl) on MHM sType automatic press, on almost white garment. And ink is removing pieces from tables. Ink is drying and print looks bad.

Of course we flood print and flood, we have retarder in ink but still it's not enough.

We are new to water based ink printing. I read all of the posts about water based inks and our supplier told us how it's done...but it's not really working for us.

Does someone have any suggestion, or experience with VIRUS inks


Thanks in advance,
Zvezdan


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## MrPrintPatchz (Jan 6, 2016)

not very helpful now for you to post 3 weeks after, but have you considered the environment your printing in?

Waterbased inks vary so much depending on the situation. the drying process of course drastically speeds up with both heat and air circulation. maybe consider if these could be affecting the ink in your work environment. A simple breeze/draft flowing through the warehouse or hot machinery ie a stuffy environment can make a massive difference.


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## Moshiekai (Feb 12, 2011)

Orgonprint said:


> Hello everyone,
> We have a job that needs to be done, and we have problem that we are not sure how to solve in such short notice.
> 
> We are printing with VIRUS water based inks (hydracryl) on MHM sType automatic press, on almost white garment. And ink is removing pieces from tables. Ink is drying and print looks bad.
> ...



Hi There, Sorry so late in replying! I run Virus almost exclusively in Central America. Usually I use 4% Retarder and 3-5% Universal Fix inside all my inks. I have a pretty stringent durability testing standard.

One of the key things is to make sure you have plenty of off contact and angle. This will allow the ink to lay on top of the garment and not be forced into the fabric, which can cause all kinds of problems. 

The other thing is to watch the flashes. If they become too hot you will have problems. Generally I start with flashes on and turn them down (dramatically) or turn them off as we are running. The idea is to sort of 'maintain' heat on press, not fluctuate. 

I hope this helps, if you are still giving it a try, and have ore questions, feel free to ask...I've been using Virus for about 6 years.


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## Gewebequaeler (Feb 6, 2015)

Do you flash between the colors? It is not necessary to flash waterbased inks on white garment. Did you set the printstation to waterbase mode? Also try to set the Floodbar higher. Do not flood as hard as you do with plastisols!


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## prathap (Aug 20, 2015)

Water based ink gets dried up mostly due to the hot weather or lot of heat so just try to control the heat


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## Donkick (Jan 13, 2012)

Waterbase is like learning to print all over again if you are used to printing with plastisol.


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