# Aerotex ink, difficult to use?



## robitstudios (Sep 24, 2007)

Bought Union water-based Aerotex Inks after many recommendations from here. My only previous experience was with speedball which gave me great results but due to my limited budget I wanted an Ink that could cure with an Iron, or at room temp. I've been struggling with it so far however.

At first I thought the ink was drying on me faster and clogging the screen but after today I think there might be another problem. Here is the result of my first print of the day.

http://robitstudios.com/Portals/_default/blog_pics/zombie2.jpg 

Here is what the design is supposed to look like:

http://www.robitstudios.com/Portals/0/zombie_prepare_b_zoomin.jpg

The screen was exposed yesterday and this was it's first run. I have what appears to be clogging but like I said that doesn't seem likely considering this was the very first print. Here is the second attempt:

http://robitstudios.com/Portals/_default/blog_pics/zombie3.jpg

As you can see even less detail and the edges are getting blurry. This is within minutes of doing the first print. I've been struggling with this for awhile and have tried a number of things. Here is my exact set up for this print:

3 X 110 mesh screens

1 white for the moon
1 yellow for the moon
1 grey for the rest of the design

I had the studio to about 65 degrees and was running a humidifier all day. My squeedgie is almost brand new and I was sure to keep it at a high, consistent angle. My off contact was about 1/6" and was parallel to the platen. 

I thinned the ink using retarder/reducer and a little extender and kept is under 10% of total. It was close to the consistency of house paint. I didn't add the catalyst that is supposed to allow it cure in 24 hours. 

I'm probably going to go back to my studio tonight and try doing the exact same set-up with speedball inks for a comparison. Maybe I'm still too amateur to be using an Ink like Aerotex. Any and all help is appreciated.

-- Steve


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## candimantint (Jul 11, 2007)

how are you curing your ink. you should flash between colors. if you are on a budget a heat gun will do for now, not the best but it will get you from a to b. when i first started i used this with a heat sensor to make sure i was at 320 degrees.


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## robitstudios (Sep 24, 2007)

I am using a heat gun to flash and cooling the ink before laying another coat or changing colors.


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Why are you doing yellow AND white for the moon? Making the moon just white or yellow or yellowish-white would simplify things and give the ink in the other screen less time to dry up.
Union Aerotex isn't that great. Try Matsui (westixonline.com is who I get it from). It's fantastic.

Also, a possible problem could be that your platen is getting too hot and curing the ink slowly in the screen as the heat from the platen is transfered to the screen during printing. What's your set up, is it a 4color 1 station or a 4-4 or what?


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## robitstudios (Sep 24, 2007)

brent said:


> Why are you doing yellow AND white for the moon? Making the moon just white or yellow or yellowish-white would simplify things and give the ink in the other screen less time to dry up.


I tried yellow on yellow and it didn't give me the brightness I was looking for. Regardless, this screen was clogging right away, even with just two screens to deal with this problem would have occured.




brent said:


> Union Aerotex isn't that great. Try Matsui (westixonline.com is who I get it from). It's fantastic.


I've heard great things about Matsui, but would I need an conveyor dryer? Is it possible to cure Matsui with an iron? If not, what's the cheapest method for curing?




brent said:


> Also, a possible problem could be that your platen is getting too hot and curing the ink slowly in the screen as the heat from the platen is transfered to the screen during printing. What's your set up, is it a 4color 1 station or a 4-4 or what?


It's a 4 color, 1 station set up but I considered the platen heating up and I was using compressed air to cool the shirt after flashing it.


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

I don't think you can cure Matsui with an iron. I cured with a flash cure unit until I got a conveyor oven.
Since it doesn't look like you're going for a really bright yellow, you could try mixing the yellow and white. I had loads of problems with white aerotex clogging.
Other than those issues your print looks good. Well done registration.


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## robitstudios (Sep 24, 2007)

brent said:


> I don't think you can cure Matsui with an iron. I cured with a flash cure unit until I got a conveyor oven.


I'll be giving Matsui a try. If it solves my clogging issues I can look into a flash cure unit. Probably should have one anyway. Any recommendations?



brent said:


> Since it doesn't look like you're going for a really bright yellow, you could try mixing the yellow and white. I had loads of problems with white aerotex clogging. Other than those issues your print looks good. Well done registration.


I'll also try this today. I'm going to try doing the same print with Speedball. Thanks for all your advice. I'It's appreciated.


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## candimantint (Jul 11, 2007)

i had that same problem clogging, cause the shirt was still hot while i was printing. i had to go back and give my screens a good wipe down to make sure no ink was still clogged.


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Be sure to flood your screens adequately, of course.

My flash cure unit is made by Black Body, I believe. It's a 16"x16", infrared. If I get into larger printing at all, I'm going to have to get a bigger one.
A larger one would have been very helpful when I was using the unit to cure shirts, as they have hot and not-so-hot areas, so that on large prints I had to flash cure the bottom portion to 320 degrees, then slide the shirt and do the top half.
Curing with a flash really starts to get old when you're doing a lot of shirts. I sure do love my oven.


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## robitstudios (Sep 24, 2007)

Here's the results of that same print with speedball. 

http://robitstudios.com/Portals/_default/blog_pics/zombie4.jpg

It turned out really good and subsequent printings only had minor clogging problems which I think I can iron out as my technique improves. 

I skipped the white coat like you said and did two coats (flashing in between with a heat gun, gotta get a cure unit!) of the yellow. It seems a little thick and afraid it will crack but I'm putting it through the wash now to see how i fares. Overall today has been the biggest success I've had in months. Thanks for all the help again.


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

It looks good, considering your set up!
If it cracks, then it hasn't been cured properly. 
I only had a heat gun for the first few months of printing. As you progress, you'll get new equipment then look bad wondering how you got by without serious equipment. Keep on printing.


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## robitstudios (Sep 24, 2007)

One last question, if you don't mine... if it's cracking does that mean it's overcured or undercured?


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## neato (Mar 21, 2006)

I've never found a waterbased white that didn't crack until I tried Matsui 301. I would expect it to crack.


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