# Tips to keep prints from fading



## RightCoastToph (Nov 26, 2010)

I have a Viper DTG and get awesome quality prints. They do fade rather easy. I have heard some different things regarding how much they should fade and different techniques to help prevent excess fading.

Is there an ink that fades less than duponts? I heard there was.

Any tips would be great as I don't want to have unhappy customers after their new (bamboo$$$) clothes fade after a wash or two.

Thanks in advance for any help.


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## JohnL (Nov 23, 2010)

There are only a few factors that play into the durability of a print

-Proper pretreatment (do not over pretreat)
-Proper heat press temperature and time
-Pre-press garment prior to printing for 10 seconds (dries the garment)
-Quality/Knit of garment (this may not be under your control)


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

RightCoastToph said:


> I have a Viper DTG and get awesome quality prints. They do fade rather easy. I have heard some different things regarding how much they should fade and different techniques to help prevent excess fading.
> 
> Is there an ink that fades less than duponts? I heard there was.
> 
> ...



What temperature and time are using to dry your white and light color shirts without white ink and what are you using for your white ink shirts. 

Harry
Equipment Zone

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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

digitalprinting said:


> “DTG” ？ Is it means *DIRECT TO GARMENT ? The pritner print the pattern to the t-shirt direct,*
> 
> *Is it correct?*



Yes. Direct to garment printers print an image directly on the shirt.

Harry
Equipment Zone

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## RightCoastToph (Nov 26, 2010)

I heat them all at 340 degrees. 

It's possible i am going a little heavy on the pre-treat.....

if i don't use enough the image blurs. it's a sensitive thing i know. i'll try to pull it back a bit.

Is there any difference in inks? I read that there is an ink that holds better than the dupont(must be water based).


thanks as usual you guys are the best.


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

RightCoastToph said:


> I heat them all at 340 degrees.
> 
> It's possible i am going a little heavy on the pre-treat.....
> 
> ...




Using too little pretreat should not cause the image to blur.

Harry
Equipment Zone

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## RightCoastToph (Nov 26, 2010)

if i don't use pre-treat with my bamboo clothes(cotton too i thnk) the image will be a total blur. am i missing something?


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## DTG Printer (Sep 18, 2011)

RightCoastToph said:


> if i don't use pre-treat with my bamboo clothes(cotton too i thnk) the image will be a total blur. am i missing something?


You have to pre-treat. If your machine is printing nice prints and you feel everything is working right, you need to realize that bamboo may be your problem. It can be troublesome. That's an expensive learning curve. You will find some goods are more hassle than they are worth. Good luck!


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

RightCoastToph said:


> if i don't use pre-treat with my bamboo clothes(cotton too i thnk) the image will be a total blur. am i missing something?




If you do not use pretreat on 100% cotton goods do you get blurring?

Harry
Equipment Zone

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## Justin Walker (Dec 6, 2006)

DTG Printer said:


> If your machine is printing nice prints and you feel everything is working right, you need to realize that bamboo may be your problem. It can be troublesome. That's an expensive learning curve. You will find some goods are more hassle than they are worth. Good luck!


This is solid advice - try printing the same images on some Alstyle 1301 or Anvil 980 shirts, and see how they compare in the wash. I have found that controlling the specific types of garments that you print on is the only way to ensure that you get consistent washability; I don't have much experience with bamboo, but it may very well be a major factor.

Also, keep in mind that different garments and material types will require different levels of pretreatment - put enough on to get a nice vibrant white layer, but as JohnL mentioned do not over-treat your garments; too much PT will give you a nice vibrant print, but it will not hold up well in the wash. You can generally tell if you have over-treated your garments, because the garment material will be stiff and possibly discolored.

One last thing to consider - make sure that your ink sets are genuine Dupont inks, as there are some aftermarket inks on the market that may require different cure times / temps than what is traditionally recommended. Look for a "Genuine Dupont" logo somewhere publicly visible on your supplier's website. If you can't get more than a private, verbal reassurance, I would consider whether the ink is another factor. While it is true that all DTG inks have a ways to go in terms of better washability, we have found that Dupont seems to hold up very well compared to most. On the proper garments we get great results that last for a long time.

If you have a surface thermometer you could use, try verifying the temperature of your heat press (check in multiple spots for consistency across the plate); check it occasionally during print runs to ensure that it is not cooling down after repeated use. Hope some of this helps!


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## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

Great advice Justin. I find many heat presses that are off quiet a bit. A really high quality laser temp gun will be close (if you have checked it against a standard) but a good contact gauge is only true way. You can get some assurance with the laser by checking temp of boiling water. Should be 212f at sea level dropping as elevation increases. You can google to get temp for your altitude. In Atlanta at approximate 1000' above sea level it is 209.


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

An IR temperature gun does not work well at measuring the temperature of heat platens on heat presses. The IR guns measure radiated heat and work well with heat sources such as conveyor dryers. However a heat press platen uses contact heat. Using an IR gun can result in reading of 100-150 degrees difference then the actual platen temperature. To accurately measure a heat press platen you need to use a pyrometer with a surface probe thermocouple.

Harry


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## RightCoastToph (Nov 26, 2010)

Thank you to all you guys for helping.

My entire business is bamboo-www.bamboobooboo.com so i would be totally screwed if that was the main issue.

I'm going to run some tests later today since i printed my orders yesterday. I appreciate all the help, as usual this forum is worth it's weight in gold.


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## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

equipmentzone said:


> An IR temperature gun does not work well at measuring the temperature of heat platens on heat presses. The IR guns measure radiated heat and work well with heat sources such as conveyor dryers. However a heat press platen uses contact heat. Using an IR gun can result in reading of 100-150 degrees difference then the actual platen temperature. To accurately measure a heat press platen you need to use a pyrometer with a surface probe thermocouple.
> 
> Harry


Actually not completely accurate. Depends. Mine which is a Ryobi 2011 model is accurate to within less than 5deg F of the full contact probe model used by the mfg of the best presses. As I said only trust one that has been verified by full contact equipment. There were older types that were used commonly in screen printing that were not as reliable.


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## schenk (Jul 16, 2007)

Bamboo fabric has really short fibers compared to cotton. Therefore the fabric will become fuzzy very quickly. The fibers don't stay in the weave because they are so short. The fading print is probably not the ink washing out but the fibers releasing from the fabric taking the ink with it.
They mix viscose from bamboo often with cotton to make the fabric stronger.


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## DTG Printer (Sep 18, 2011)

RightCoastToph said:


> Thank you to all you guys for helping.
> 
> My entire business is bamboo-www.bamboobooboo.com so i would be totally screwed if that was the main issue.
> 
> I'm going to run some tests later today since i printed my orders yesterday. I appreciate all the help, as usual this forum is worth it's weight in gold.


No business can sell only one decorated apparel product and survive. You need lots of choices. Bamboo may be the greatest product on earth, i have tons of it in my house, but if it doesn't print it's not that great. 

I looked at your site and there are tons of organic products you could add there. 

Here's some great reading for you on the law and kids clothes. Children’s Clothing Regulations


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