# DTG Canvas Tote Bag



## RobP614 (Jun 26, 2011)

Hi,

I'm attempting to DTG on a canvas tote bag. I just printed a test one, the image looks great but when I scrubbed on the image a little it started to washed out...

I'm not really sure how many people will scrub at the printed area...

My main question for anyone that may have done this did you pretreat the bag? (it's just a CMYK print)

What temp did you press at and for how long? (I'm @ 330 and pressing for 120 seconds)

Did you put anything between the two side when pressing?

Any input would be great; and maybe I'm over think the need to wash a tote bag...

Thanks,
RobP614


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## BandPrints (Feb 4, 2007)

What is the blend of the bag? We did a bunch and I was pre-treating them to give it a better quality print.


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## RobP614 (Jun 26, 2011)

I got them from Bodek and Rhodes the customer picked them out; Gemline 220.

Bodek didn't have much for specs...but Gemline's site say they are a 9oz cotton canvas bag.

Product: Colored Handle Tote


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## BandPrints (Feb 4, 2007)

We dry at 355 for 90-120 seconds. Make sure when you feel it that the ink feels dry.

Also I would use a pre-treat, not only should it help washability but give a better print surface for a better print. It should be fine if 100% cotton.


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

RobP614 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm attempting to DTG on a canvas tote bag. I just printed a test one, the image looks great but when I scrubbed on the image a little it started to washed out...
> 
> ...




Did you scrub the image immediately after you pressed it or a day or two later?

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## RobP614 (Jun 26, 2011)

It was about 10 mins after...to soon?


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

RobP614 said:


> It was about 10 mins after...to soon?




Try pressing it for a little longer time. Also let it sit a day after it's printed and dried before doing a wash/scrub test.

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## mumzie (May 9, 2008)

Is there any soil resistant coating on the bag? Teflon or scotchgard will cause dtg nightmares!
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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

mumzie said:


> Is there any soil resistant coating on the bag? Teflon or scotchgard will cause dtg nightmares!
> Sent from my Desire HD using T-Shirt Forums



If the bag is being distributed by a garment wholesaler like Bodek and Rhodes then chances are the bag fabric is suited for printing, without any coatings on it. You do bring up a very good point when it comes to items like tote bags. You need to make sure that the bag material does not have waterproofing or other coatings on it or your water based direct to garment ink will not stick properly.

An easy way to check is to put some water on the bag. If the water soaks into the fabric it should be untreated. If the water beads up then it probably has a coating.

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## mumzie (May 9, 2008)

I agree that the fabric "should" be untreated. However, B & R are distributors for Gemline - and I've never seen a bag suitable for DTG printing from Gemline. (no, I'm not an expert - I don't use Gemline - BECAUSE they don't have suitable bags for DTG printing.  )


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## RobP614 (Jun 26, 2011)

I just checked the bags are treated with something! When I put water on it it just beads off....

Should I just screenprint the bags? 

Will that hold up?

or 

Should I have the customer pick new bags?


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

RobP614 said:


> I just checked the bags are treated with something! When I put water on it it just beads off....
> 
> Should I just screenprint the bags?
> 
> ...




You should pick new bags without a coating.

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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

Rob,

Since you probably have a couple of printed bags that you can experiment with, you can try the following two options to see if you can improve your test results.
1. Try pre-pressing the bags for 10 seconds using a piece of parchment paper. In some cases, the coating on the bag is light and you are able to burn this off with a pre-press.
2. If you have a light garment pretreat fluid, apply a light-medium coat on the bag and cure it before printing.

We have found in some cases that these steps allow you to print on items that have been coated. Since a couple of the bags already have prints on them, it would not be that much of a risk to try either one of these steps.

Good luck with whatever decision you go with.

Mark


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## RobP614 (Jun 26, 2011)

So I talked to the customer and they only like this bag. So does anyone know what will happen if I just screenprint them? (I know this is a DTG forum)

I am still going to give DAGuide's input a try.

Also these are canvas bags, isn't canvas naturally water resistant?


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

RobP614 said:


> So I talked to the customer and they only like this bag. So does anyone know what will happen if I just screenprint them? (I know this is a DTG forum)
> 
> I am still going to give DAGuide's input a try.
> 
> Also these are canvas bags, isn't canvas naturally water resistant?





If you are screen printing it I would suggest you add Union Ink Nylobond into your plastisol ink to make sure the ink adheres. Many of the imported canvas products are waterproof coated but canvas is not naturally water resistant as with the coatings.

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## RobP614 (Jun 26, 2011)

This job has been a pain. The bags care instructions are spot clean only, air dry. So if we keep those instructions it passed the wash test just fine...


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

RobP614 said:


> This job has been a pain. The bags care instructions are spot clean only, air dry. So if we keep those instructions it passed the wash test just fine...



So are you going with direct to garment printing or screen printing?

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## RobP614 (Jun 26, 2011)

We are going to DTG them.

It's a 3 color front and 4 color back, for only 30 bags...7 screens for 30 bags.


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

RobP614 said:


> We are going to DTG them.
> 
> It's a 3 color front and 4 color back, for only 30 bags...7 screens for 30 bags.





That is the major selling point of printing these with a direct to garment printer versus screen printing.

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## RobP614 (Jun 26, 2011)

It's the reason I bought a DTG printer! My wife and always joke that we never screenprint again we would be just fine with that!

Thanks for the input and support...t-shirtforums has got to be my most visited site next to Google.


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

RobP614 said:


> It's the reason I bought a DTG printer! My wife and always joke that we never screenprint again we would be just fine with that!
> 
> Thanks for the input and support...t-shirtforums has got to be my most visited site next to Google.





Let us know after how everything worked out.

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## OSSKOBRET (Sep 17, 2011)

I can almost guarantee its starch I had a similar issue 
Wash then hang upside down to dry . Trust me on that one NO DRYER 

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## Bunnies and Bows (Dec 18, 2015)

We have been screenprinting on our bags and tried to transfer with DTG. The image was smeared and color did not go on well. 

I am new to this. Should I assume that the bag was treated and that is why we had a problem? They are the same bags we used with screenprinting.


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