# Plastisol heat setting in the kitchen stove?



## SNACK (May 14, 2008)

Hello,

Is it possible to use my kitchen oven set at approximately 350 degrees to heat set plastisol? I'm working out of the house, and would prefer not to invest in a lot equipment (heat gun, etc.). Are there any other shortcuts to heat set?
thanks!


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

this is your guy
YouTube - YouTees's Channel


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## midwaste (Apr 8, 2008)

If you have an electric oven, you can set it to broil and use it that way. I wouldnt recommend just turning the oven on to 350 and putting shirts in there. Its gonna be tough to get a good cure without scorching. 
Get some of the temp strips they sell, also. 
I have my oven set to broil with the door left open, rack on the second to bottom level, the thermometer at that level says ~250-275F, I put a shirt in for 15-20 seconds, till it smokes a little bit, pull it out.


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## DES-Man (May 13, 2008)

I think you can. You should read the book 
*How to Print T-Shirts for Fun and Profit! (Paperback)*


It has this information and much more.


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## INKSCREENS (Jan 28, 2008)

SNACK said:


> Hello,
> 
> Is it possible to use my kitchen oven set at approximately 350 degrees to heat set plastisol? I'm working out of the house, and would prefer not to invest in a lot equipment (heat gun, etc.). Are there any other shortcuts to heat set?
> thanks!


If you are using your home oven that you cook out of as well, be aware of the health risks you are taking.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

INKSCREENS said:


> If you are using your home oven that you cook out of as well, be aware of the health risks you are taking.


Maybe you can help fill us in, some of us may not be aware of the health risks.


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## kopeor (Mar 10, 2008)

I did this the other day, had to run into the back yard to through a smoldering shirt onto the grass. Got a good laugh out of it. Got to figure out my times a little better.


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## INKSCREENS (Jan 28, 2008)

wormil said:


> Maybe you can help fill us in, some of us may not be aware of the health risks.


I suggest checking your ink manufacturers MSDS sheets for the health risks. 

Inks have health risks when used with industry safety standards, but the risks multiply as you use them in your household without the proper safety measures that is recommended.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

INKSCREENS said:


> I suggest checking your ink manufacturers MSDS sheets for the health risks.
> 
> Inks have health risks when used with industry safety standards, but the risks multiply as you use them in your household without the proper safety measures that is recommended.


Thanks, I have read them but other than a warning not to use a cooking oven, there is no explanation of the specific health risk; since you warned to be aware of those specific health risks I thought you could help us out. The primary concern seems to be vapors raising from coatings and treatings on the shirt itself, which anyone using a flash or heat press would also be exposed to.


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## INKSCREENS (Jan 28, 2008)

wormil said:


> Thanks, I have read them but other than a warning not to use a cooking oven, there is no explanation of the specific health risk; since you warned to be aware of those specific health risks I thought you could help us out. The primary concern seems to be vapors raising from coatings and treatings on the shirt itself, which anyone using a flash or heat press would also be exposed to.


I am not saying this for the sake of arguing, but you read that you shouldn't use your cooking oven, but that is exactly what you are doing and suggest it is okay? 

Just because screen printers are exposed to vapors by using a heat press, flash, or conveyor dryer, doesn't mean it is safe to use in your cooking oven!!! We have proper ventilation in our facility, which is what you need to look into as well.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

INKSCREENS said:


> I am not saying this for the sake of arguing, but you read that you shouldn't use your cooking oven, but that is exactly what you are doing and suggest it is okay?
> 
> Just because screen printers are exposed to vapors by using a heat press, flash, or conveyor dryer, doesn't mean it is safe to use in your cooking oven!!! We have proper ventilation in our facility, which is what you need to look into as well.


I didn't say I was using a cooking oven (I'm not) nor did I suggest it was okay, I'm asking because I believed the consensus has always been that the manufacturer was afraid of people catching a shirt on fire and burning their house down then suing. Until now I've never heard anyone saying there was a specific health risk associated with using a home oven. Non ventilated, non-conveyor ovens have been in use curing plastisol for decades and while it is always better to use a ventilated conveyor, I do not believe there is a significant health risk in using an oven dryer. Naturally, anytime you work with chemicals, even household cleaners, you should work in a well ventilated area.


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## jiarby (Feb 8, 2007)

burning your house down can be hazardous to your health.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

Falling into a conveyor dryer can be hazardous to your health. Clearly these are not the kind of risks that Alex meant.


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## eluvius (Mar 6, 2009)

I have been using my electric oven to heat set cotton clothing for over 10 years. Not with Plastisol inks but with water-based screen inks and acrylics.
My favourate printing ink was and still is ,Manoukian Texilac PO-E.
I agree that ventilation is an important issue as well as correct temperature control, so read the manufactures instructions carefully.
In my case I had mostly success. Perhaps 1 in 200 garments I sold would be returned with the colors washed off. My only ventilation was the kitchen fan. 
I set the oven to around ( 150 C) 300 F and placed the T shirt onto a big pizza tray and into the oven for approx 10 minutes.
So far nothing bad has happened to me or the garments.
But your question was about Plastisol inks so I I'm not sure how helpful this has been.


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## ino (Jan 23, 2007)

Why use the family oven, There are some very cheap stand alone electric ovens to be bought.

BTW has anyone tried a microwave oven for this purpose.


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## mrvixx (Jan 13, 2009)

wormil said:


> Thanks, I have read them but other than a warning not to use a cooking oven, there is no explanation of the specific health risk; since you warned to be aware of those specific health risks I thought you could help us out. The primary concern seems to be vapors raising from coatings and treatings on the shirt itself, which anyone using a flash or heat press would also be exposed to.


Why dont you just take a spoon to a quart of plastisol ink and let us know what happens. of course you shouldnt put the shirt in the oven. When plastisol is cured it releases toxic fumes. they will stick your oven and will eventually be in your food. I hope you do not have kids in the house either.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

mrvixx said:


> Why dont you just take a spoon to a quart of plastisol ink and let us know what happens. of course you shouldnt put the shirt in the oven. When plastisol is cured it releases toxic fumes. they will stick your oven and will eventually be in your food. I hope you do not have kids in the house either.


I don't cure ink in a cooking oven but I've researched the fumes and can find nothing suggesting the fumes are harmful. These fumes are released anytime plastisol is cured, whether it be in an oven, under a flash, with a heat gun, in a heat press or in a conveyor dryer. Inks were cured for decades without ventilated dryers.


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## midwaste (Apr 8, 2008)

Plastisol does not release "toxic fumes" when cured. Good ventilation is always a good idea, however. I have cure thousands of shirts in a separate oven in my garage, and would not hesitate to throw a pizza in there.

You can find all of Union's MSDS's here.
From Mixopake's MSDS:

*There are no Hazardous Ingredients as defined under OSHA Regulations 29 CFR 1910.1200*


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## mrvixx (Jan 13, 2009)

midwaste said:


> Plastisol does not release "toxic fumes" when cured. Good ventilation is always a good idea, however. I have cure thousands of shirts in a separate oven in my garage, and would not hesitate to throw a pizza in there.
> 
> You can find all of Union's MSDS's here.
> From Mixopake's MSDS:
> ...


Then why dont you put your face over the dryer and inhale all the smoke. see what happens. besides the garment also releases fumes.


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## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

lol...hmm...I think I should cook a pizza in my conveyor dryer next week.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

mrvixx said:


> Then why dont you put your face over the dryer and inhale all the smoke. see what happens. besides the garment also releases fumes.


While you think you're being clever, believe it or not people have thought of this in the decades since plastisol was invented and so far no statistical evidence has been found linking people exposed to curing plastisol with higher rates of cancer or other illness. Common sense tells you to work in a well ventilated area and not put your face in the exhaust. Are breathing the fumes good for you, no, probably not. But its a little irresponsible firing off about toxic fumes and trying to scare people when there is no particular reason.


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## TPrintDesigner (Sep 16, 2007)

In the summer I use my BBQ.


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## studog79 (Jul 13, 2006)

wormil said:


> Falling into a conveyor dryer can be hazardous to your health. Clearly these are not the kind of risks that Alex meant.


Only if I am 4" wide.... and last time I checked I am not and most screen printers I know are not.

Maybe you can cook a good meatloaf and scollaped potatoes and save sme time while curing your shirt..... LOL


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## mrvixx (Jan 13, 2009)

wormil said:


> While you think you're being clever, believe it or not people have thought of this in the decades since plastisol was invented and so far no statistical evidence has been found linking people exposed to curing plastisol with higher rates of cancer or other illness. Common sense tells you to work in a well ventilated area and not put your face in the exhaust. Are breathing the fumes good for you, no, probably not. But its a little irresponsible firing off about toxic fumes and trying to scare people when there is no particular reason.


So where is the evidence saying it is safe? Personally I think it is stupid to even think about doing it. And I am almost sure that no Ink manufacturer would suggest this. But if you guys want to eat this stuff then go ahead. I'm Done


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

studog79 said:


> Only if I am 4" wide.... and last time I checked I am not and most screen printers I know are not.
> 
> Maybe you can cook a good meatloaf and scollaped potatoes and save sme time while curing your shirt..... LOL


My neighbor has a mulching machine with about a 4" opening, it must not be dangerous either. But actually there are dryers with more than a 4" clearance. The sign/textile shop I worked in had a large conveyor dryer with an opening substantially higher than 4". And had you read the thread I've mentioned more than once that I don't use an oven to cure plastisol, so lol back. I'm just pointing out that the hysteria over curing plastisol in anything other than a vented conveyor dryer is utter nonsense.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

mrvixx said:


> So where is the evidence saying it is safe? Personally I think it is stupid to even think about doing it. And I am almost sure that no Ink manufacturer would suggest this. But if you guys want to eat this stuff then go ahead. I'm Done


Which is it? You want the evidence or are you done? Actually it was brought up earlier in the thread that you can start with something called the MSDS, Material Safety Data Sheet, if you aren't familiar with them let me know.


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## varocketry (May 30, 2010)

*Here's a SPEEDBALL suggestion*

Oven Method:
This method is from a Speedball FAQ page, and is the one I use nowadays.

Place the t-shirt s on cookie sheets, making sure inked images are not touching anything including cookie sheet, other shirts, or same shirt. Set the oven at 400° F, and whenever that temperature is reached, turn off the oven. Quickly, insert the cookie sheets with the shirts, into the oven for ten minutes or until the oven cools.

Heat Setting The Print - Screen Printing


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## evasivenotraKcs (Mar 27, 2010)

just an fyi, you can get a heatgun for $10 from harbor freight tools. 
Then just get the cheapo temp strips or splurge the $30 for the IR temp gun....


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

evasivenotraKcs said:


> ...or splurge the $30 for the IR temp gun....


Which happened to be on sale this weekend for $19.99


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## MaximRecoil (May 18, 2010)

*Re: Here's a SPEEDBALL suggestion*



varocketry said:


> Oven Method:
> This method is from a Speedball FAQ page, and is the one I use nowadays.
> 
> Place the t-shirt s on cookie sheets, making sure inked images are not touching anything including cookie sheet, other shirts, or same shirt. Set the oven at 400° F, and whenever that temperature is reached, turn off the oven. Quickly, insert the cookie sheets with the shirts, into the oven for ten minutes or until the oven cools.
> ...


10 minutes seems excessive. The YouTees guy does the final cure on plastisol (specifically he was using Union Ink Ultrasoft) for like 25 to 40 seconds in his oven.

The ink only needs to reach like ~320 degrees or so, right? It certainly doesn't take 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven to accomplish that. You could cook a chicken breast through in that amount of time. 



mrvixx said:


> Why dont you just take a spoon to a quart of plastisol ink and let us know what happens. of course you shouldnt put the shirt in the oven. When plastisol is cured it releases toxic fumes. *they will stick your oven and will eventually be in your food.* I hope you do not have kids in the house either.


Even if your speculation is accurate (the part I bolded), you are talking about extremely small quantites of actual matter that could hypothetically end up in your food. What do you think about oven cleaner? What about general cleaners that are used in the kitchen routinely? If you are eating a sandwich in the kitchen and someone starts washing the floor with cleaning chemicals, are you worried about fumes getting into your food and causing you harm?

_"All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous."_ - Paracelsus

Did you know that arsenic is an essential nutrient in trace amounts?


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