# Need Help Repairing Faded Screenprint Ink on Garment



## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

I need recommendations in fixing t-shirts screenprinted with white ink. I am not a screenprinter and did not do the shirts. The shirts were done by a local screenprinting shop. In less than 1 year - the ink on the shirts began to fade. 

My desire is to repair the white ink on the logo- (recover the logo with white ink).
I hope to get a plastic template of the logo made to use as a guide if I am able to fix the shirts. The other big issue is that I don't have a flash or dryer. 

My questions are: Do you think it is possible to repair the ink?
If so, what type of ink is recommended?
Is there a way to cure the ink without a flash dryer?


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## bomber315 (Jun 18, 2010)

not sure you could ever repair a screen printed shirt, or any shirt for that matter. as far as i know there is no special "undo" button in life. your best off just asking the local company or the customer for the logo. if the cant get it for you looks like your off to the drawing board


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## Sthomson4 (Jun 7, 2010)

Pretty much impossible to get the registration 100% again.. Not sure how the ink will cure either on top of old ink and shirt. I'd approach your printer and explain to him what happened. I know if I had done something I would find a way to fix the problem.


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## PhilR (May 3, 2011)

Sthomson4 said:


> Pretty much impossible to get the registration 100% again.. Not sure how the ink will cure either on top of old ink and shirt. I'd approach your printer and explain to him what happened. I know if I had done something I would find a way to fix the problem.


I'm fairly sure I know what I'd say to any customer that came to me wanting me to fix a shirt that's been repeatedly washed over a period of months and it wouldn't be very polite. My policy is I will make good on defects that are my own fault. But I can't do anything about the materials & manufacture of either the shirts or the ink chemistry so I'll be damned if I end up out of pocket over them.

In any case, leaving aside the impossibility of re-registering a new template, the shirt has been exposed to wear & tear and detergents. I doubt any new ink would take very well, or look any good.


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## Sthomson4 (Jun 7, 2010)

PhilR said:


> I'm fairly sure I know what I'd say to any customer that came to me wanting me to fix a shirt that's been repeatedly washed over a period of months and it wouldn't be very polite. My policy is I will make good on defects that are my own fault. But I can't do anything about the materials & manufacture of either the shirts or the ink chemistry so I'll be damned if I end up out of pocket over them.
> 
> In any case, leaving aside the impossibility of re-registering a new template, the shirt has been exposed to wear & tear and detergents. I doubt any new ink would take very well, or look any good.


Well to be honest, the print should last as long as the shirt. I'm not saying go back and demand a refund. I'm saying go back and say hey, let's work out a deal on a new order done correctly.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

Perhaps I wasn't clear - NONE of these shirts have been worn or washed!!!!
The job was a BAD job (and this company has been in business many years and one of the most highly used coompanies in the area). Of course their (unfriendly) customer service response was it has been several months.
I don't have the time or desire to argue/fight with the company and it will cost me more in time and fees to take the company to small claims court. If the shirts faded from no use - I hate to see what the shirts look like that I sold.

I am contemplating trying a fabric spray paint to see if that will work.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

bomber315 said:


> not sure you could ever repair a screen printed shirt, or any shirt for that matter. as far as i know there is no special *"undo" button in life.* your best off just asking the local company or the customer for the logo. if the cant get it for you looks like your off to the drawing board


"undo" button in life???????????? really!!! how necessary was this.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

Sthomson4 said:


> Pretty much impossible to get the registration 100% again.. Not sure how the ink will cure either on top of old ink and shirt. I'd approach your printer and explain to him what happened. I know if I had done something I would find a way to fix the problem.


 @stephen - thank you for your response. As my email above clarified - the ink and shirt are only "old" in respect to time - not wear and tear. 
@all - That being said - the logo is one simple graphic (i.e. half moon). so instead of using screens, my thought was to have a template (wood, plastic, etc. somethinig like a letter template) made of the logo and either hand paint with brush, spray paint, or apply paint/ink in some manner. 

My concerns are adhesion, type of ink, curing, etc.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

Sthomson4 said:


> Well to be honest, the print should last as long as the shirt. I'm not saying go back and demand a refund. I'm saying go back and say hey, let's work out a deal on a new order done correctly.


 
Stephen - thank you. ITA - I personally own dozens of screen printed shirts and while the ink on some has faded AFTER numerous wears/washes, most have not.
The difference here of course, are the shirts referenced on this thread have never been sold, worn, used or washed. They are still in the box the printer put them in.


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## Sthomson4 (Jun 7, 2010)

dancebling said:


> Stephen - thank you. ITA - I personally own dozens of screen printed shirts and while the ink on some has faded AFTER numerous wears/washes, most have not.
> The difference here of course, are the shirts referenced on this thread have never been sold, worn, used or washed. They are still in the box the printer put them in.



If the printer doesn't make right that is terrible customer service IMO. Maybe I go above and beyond, but I also make sure to do everything in my power not to send out bad product.


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## bomber315 (Jun 18, 2010)

i still don't think there is going to be much you can easily do for these shirts. when i posted before i thought that you had a single shirt that you have been wearing and washing for a year


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## superD70 (Dec 22, 2010)

I don't understand how they can be "fading" from no use or exposure to the elements.
More than likely you are experiencing dye migration, these colored blended shirts by chance?


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## DNeeld (Sep 8, 2010)

Sthomson4 said:


> If the printer doesn't make right that is terrible customer service IMO. Maybe I go above and beyond, but I also make sure to do everything in my power not to send out bad product.


I think you would be hard pressed to find any printer that would "make it right" several months after the purchase. For all the printer knows, the shirts have been dragged through a muddy river.


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## Sthomson4 (Jun 7, 2010)

The man is saying the shirts are still folded in the same box as when delivered. 

Maybe we are just nice people here in upstate NY, but that's the customer service I'm used too. For example, when first starting out I outsourced 50 black hooded sweatshirts and sweatpants with matching white logos. Within 2 weeks of delivery the customer told me that the logos were cracking, and washing away. I brought the concern up to the printer. He gave me back his mark-up on the prints, so I only paid for supplies. Then offered to re-make the apparel for his cost. I ate the money for the new hooded sweatshirts and pants a well as cost of printing on them (which thankfully was just ink charge as he still had the screen). Sure I lost money on it, but I made it right to my customer. In return, I've had continuous orders from them. 

Ok I'm done blabbing


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## DNeeld (Sep 8, 2010)

Sthomson4 said:


> Within 2 weeks


Two weeks is a much different situation than several months.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Sounds like you don't have the proper equipment to attempt such a job anyway. A heat gun would work without having a flash dryer, but a plastic template? Sounds disastrous.

With the time and effort it would take to line up and do a print-over, you're better off just having them redone at another shop. No guarantee your overprint would adhere to the existing ink anyway.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

@superD70 - yes the shirts are colored shirts.
@DNeeld - very interesting perspective/response. So if the printing did not hold up with the shirts sitting in a box - not used, worn, or washed how could one anticipate that they would hold up with use? I am confused - normally a printed shirt would eventually be worn or washed in a period of several months and shouldn't customers expect a printed shirt to last longer than several months? I am interpreting your response to mean they should not? 

@splathead - thank you. You are correct I do not have the proper equipment to attempt repair or production. I don't screen or DTG print.

I can't believe that some of the responders (who I assume are screenprinters) think it is OK for shirts to fade in the period of a few months without wear wash, use.

Reading some of these responses has made me change my mind _ I will pursue this issue with the printer and file a court action (seeking damages) in small claims court if necessary. The costs will be more than I have paid but the belief that the print on shirts should not last more than a few months (especially shirts which have not been worn) and a customer should not expect more than a couple of months use is robbery. (Perhaps my printer is one of the responders) It is unfortunate that there are "printers" who believe they should not be "held accountable and responsible" for producing "failure in 7 months" products.


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## superD70 (Dec 22, 2010)

I reread all the posts and I don't see where anyone said it was acceptable, only that it would be difficult to get a issue resolved after "several months", I for one expect all returns within 30 days, did you not inspect these when you received them?
Ink doesn't fade from sitting, at least not in my experience


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

Yes - I inspected EVERY shirt BEFORE I handed over the check. And the colors were fine - no fading. And the reason I did is because the EXACT same issue happened with another printer - ink faded on shirts in a short period of time, in this case less than two weeks. He refunded my money because the shirts were "garbage" white ink on red shirts looking pink, cracked ink, color bleeding through, etc. His reason was he was having problems with his dryer and it looked like it didn't get hot enough. 

My comments in terms of "acceptable" were related to remarks that printers "scoff" at a customer who returns to complain and expect compensation for the bad quality. 

I purchase screenprinted shirts in bulk with various themes for customers and to sell in various markets. More than likely customers who purchased one of these shirts, are experiencing more fading than I with the shirts still in the box.


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## DNeeld (Sep 8, 2010)

dancebling said:


> @DNeeld - very interesting perspective/response. So if the printing did not hold up with the shirts sitting in a box - not used, worn, or washed how could one anticipate that they would hold up with use? I am confused - normally a printed shirt would eventually be worn or washed in a period of several months and shouldn't customers expect a printed shirt to last longer than several months? I am interpreting your response to mean they should not?


I never said they shouldn't hold up. They should. But how long would you expect the printer to maintain responsibility for the product? Six months? Nine? A year?

Just about any retail place - and I mean any retail place, not limited to our industry - has a 30 day return policy. 

As I said before, the printer has no idea what you've done to the shirts. "Several months" is quite a long time. 

If you buy a blender, take it home, and it doesn't work, you won't have much trouble replacing it. If you take it home and it stops working after a week or two, you won't have much trouble replacing it. If you get a blender for Christmas and it stops working in July, you are going to have a pretty tough time convincing the store to give you a refund on it.

Our product is really no different.


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## Liberty (Jul 18, 2006)

I'm less interested in the customer service issue here and more interested in how a plasisol screen printed ink could "fade" just sitting folded in a box on the shelf? I'd really like to see a picture of this. A before and after picture would be great.

From a purely technical perspective, I think we all need more info. Type of printing, poly content of the shirts, degree of "fading" etc.

But to address your original question, I cannot imagine any method to brighten up the faded ink. The alignment issues would be insurmountable I'd think, not to mention getting a decent cure or adhesion on any product you applied to the existing ink.

Good luck wth your situation, however you choose to go with it. It is never fun to be on the receiving end of a sub standard product, be it minutes or months after purchase.


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## PhilR (May 3, 2011)

Liberty said:


> I'm less interested in the customer service issue here and more interested in how a plasisol screen printed ink could "fade" just sitting folded in a box on the shelf? I'd really like to see a picture of this. A before and after picture would be great.


Only thing I think of is perhaps a non bleed-resistant ink with a poly/cotton shirt? I print punk patches on calico fabric and the black dye does tend to darken white plastisol a bit.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Liberty said:


> I'm less interested in the customer service issue here and more interested in how a plasisol screen printed ink could "fade" just sitting folded in a box on the shelf? I'd really like to see a picture of this. A before and after picture would be great.


Thats got me stumped too. I wonder what type of printing process it was that caused it to changed while still in storage. Even DTG wouldn't do that, and certainly not plastisol.

I wonder if the issue is really fibrillation? Although it usually doesn't appear until after washing too.

I 2nd the motion to post pictures. That will help a great deal.


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## foot print (Jun 2, 2010)

Can you please take a minute and tell everyone if the shirts are 100% or poly-blend..? And that way we might be able to better answer your question. I have never seen any shirt where the ink faded from sitting in a box.. I have hundreds of samples I have personally printed over the years also stored in boxes and not 1 is faded. 


Sent from my iPhone using TShirtForums app


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## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

i have never heard of plastisol FADING. NEVER.

this sounds to me like 50/50 or 100% poly shirts, with white ink, and dye migration.

which certainly can happen.

myself as a printer, i would be more than happy to fix an issue like this for my customer..

WITHIN ACCEPTABLE TIME FRAME.

no way would i reprint a job several months old. regardless of the situation or circumstances.

that's just insane.



does it suck. yes. 

but you still arent providing any real information about the shirt. or a photo.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

Thank you all. I don't have time now - but I will be happy to post pictures later. I will also look at what material the shirts are. There are several colored shirts and all are the same type and brand shirt, which I believe are Gildan's. 
Off the top of my head - shirt colors are:

red
black
rust
royal blue
brown
Navy

I will try to give the group a good idea of what the damages (fading) are.

And before the question is asked the answer is 'NO' the shirts were not exposed to direct sun/intense light at any time.
I was pretty content in "eating" the loss until my hair got raised with some of the comments here, which made me feel as if the customer (me) has committed the wrong.


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## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

dancebling said:


> Thank you all. I don't have time now - but I will be happy to post pictures later. I will also look at what material the shirts are. There are several colored shirts and all are the same type and brand shirt, which I believe are Gildan's.
> Off the top of my head - shirt colors are:
> 
> red
> ...


if you felt that anyone implied that YOU were in the wrong, then you are just frustrated and angry at the situation. i reread all the posts, and saw nothing of the sort. everyone here agrees that if there was a problem, the printer should take care of it.

but not a year later. that's the only thing i see anyone contesting.

if i were in your shoes, i would be fired up too. but i wouldn't even think of going back to someone, anyone, a year later and wanting something taken care of.



that said.. i have never seen or heard of plastisol fading, even if it were exposed to the sun.

EVERY shirt i wear, is something i have printed. and i am horrible about forgetting my shirts on the deck when i go swimming. i'll usually remember to bring them in 3 or 4 days later.

by that time the shirt has usually been sunbleached and is now two tone... but .... the plastisol has never changed colors. ever.

i'm still leaning towards dye migration.. which does not always happen immediately. it can happen right away. it can happen an hour later, i've had it happen to me a week later.

its completely plausible that they were fine when you got them, and then migrated while sitting in the boxes.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

Shirts are Jerzees HeavyWeight Blend 50 Cotton/50 Polyester. 
Can you explain dye migration? Guess I can google it too. 
I am not an unreasonable person, if there is a reasonable explanation for the problem (other than faulty workmanship) I can accept it.


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

Dye migration happens in poly blends and 100% poly shirts and is as reads. The dye from the poly migrates to the plastisol ink.

I give a 30 day quality assurance. The reason for not longer I can not tell how the shirts are cared for. Now if they were still in the box and I could tell that they weren't put in the laundry I might consider replacing. All poly and poly blends should be done with low bleed inks. Sounds like the printer used standard plastisol inks.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

I googled "dye migration" and also read some forum posts on the topic. Based on what I read and the condition of the shirts - it looks like the problem may VERY well be "dye migration".

Based on my readings it looks to be a problem with poly blend or 100% poly shirts. Does that sound about right? And my shirts are 50/50. 

I pulled this from a site
*Dye Migration" occurs when garment dyes migrate up into the ink film, changing the colors of the printed inks. You may have seen red 50/50 t-shirts printed with white ink. That printed white ink may have turned a pinkish color over time due to "dye migration*. 

This is exactly what my red shirts look like, the white lettering is now pink and on the rust and brown shirts the white ink looks like it has been burned.

I am sure I requested 50/50 shirts but had I been told about this potential problem I sure would have gone with cotton shirts. So it appears that it is not a shoddy print job - but a case where the printer should have informed me of the possibility of this problem.


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

Your printer should have used low bleed inks or put heavy ink deposit which also combat dyE migration


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