# Can heat presses be used to fully cure plastisol inks?



## megaloprintiac

Im in the situation where purchasing a flash dryer is a probably a necessity for me when setting up my workshop (i dont want to use a heat gun), but I dont particuarly want to invest in a conveyor dryer until Im sure this is the career route I want to take and I start taking on larger orders to justify the economical implications of running such a machine.

So I was wondering, especially when attempting to fully dry plastisol inks for larger body prints, whether investing in a heat press would do the job? 

I also appreciate different brands of ink have different curing temperatures, but would a heat press be able to reach the adverage temperature to fully dry the inks? Could they be used to partially and fully cure prints?

I could probably get ahold of one of these second hand considerably cheaper than a dryer and I thought it might be better for someone in my situation doing smaller runs. Is this an advised route, as an intemidiate between flash curers and conveyors dryers? 
I would like to avoid using the flash curer to fully dry the ink if possible.

Any thoughts?


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## wormil

Of course, that's how plastisol transfers work.


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## megaloprintiac

Thanks, I didnt know about the existence of those transfers, until literally a minute ago when I watched a video on Youtube. Im fairly new to all of this.

Sorry for a rather foolish question, I just wanted quick clarification. 
I had only seen and heard about examples of people either using flash dryers or conveyor dryers, and nothing else, so I wondered if there was some reason for why heat presses wouldn't prove sufficient.

But thats great, and saves me a heap 

I dont suppose you know of a reasonably good value for money heat press do you? Ive been putting so much effort into researching the screen printing I somewhat dismissed heat presses.


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## 2STRONG

Im in a jam and my flash dryer is not getting here till wed but i need the shirts tonight. sfter seing this i am going to try and use my heat press to dry my shirts. has anyone accually tried this if so i would like your input on weather it would work.


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## marlo45

2STRONG said:


> Im in a jam and my flash dryer is not getting here till wed but i need the shirts tonight. sfter seing this i am going to try and use my heat press to dry my shirts. has anyone accually tried this if so i would like your input on weather it would work.


<?php echo $what_wormil_said; ?> j/k

It can, but if you're planning on just heat pressing wet ink, you may have blur/smudge problems. Plastisol transfers work because they are already gelled/semi cured; it's dryish. 

I wouldn't do that if i were you. I'm not 100% sure it wouldn't work great, though.

Oh, but what you could do is probably try to not press it down completely until the heat sorta gels the ink so as to not get it smeared/smudged. Hmm, interesting idea.


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## wormil

I suspect you would need to flash the ink first and then lay down some release paper.


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## 2STRONG

the shirts will be screen printed.I was thinking of printing the shirt and then taking it over to the heat press laying it down and then closing it just enough to dry the ink i dont want to press it. do you guys think that will work.


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## marlo45

2STRONG said:


> the shirts will be screen printed.I was thinking of printing the shirt and then taking it over to the heat press laying it down and then closing it just enough to dry the ink i dont want to press it. do you guys think that will work.


I think once it's dried, pressing it shouldn't be a problem if your ink deposit isn't abnormally thick. Dry it the way you are suggesting, and then cover the printed area with a teflon sheet, and press it. I can't see why it wouldn't work. Like wormil said, that's how plastisol transfers work. 

Anyone with doubts?


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## BSApparel

Just bumping this up from the dead because I just thought of doing this too - I imagine that if you flash cure the print and then take it to the heat press and press it at 350 for 20 seconds or so, it'll do a better job at curing the ink than a flash dryer would. I guess putting a sheet of transfer paper or something over the print would prevent it from sticking to the top side of the heat press.

Anyone think this is NOT a good idea?


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## BSApparel

Thanks for the link, I'll give that a try.


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## funkymunky

BLAKE clothing said:


> Im in the situation where purchasing a flash dryer is a probably a necessity for me when setting up my workshop (i dont want to use a heat gun), but I dont particuarly want to invest in a conveyor dryer until Im sure this is the career route I want to take and I start taking on larger orders to justify the economical implications of running such a machine.
> 
> So I was wondering, especially when attempting to fully dry plastisol inks for larger body prints, whether investing in a heat press would do the job?
> 
> I also appreciate different brands of ink have different curing temperatures, but would a heat press be able to reach the adverage temperature to fully dry the inks? Could they be used to partially and fully cure prints?
> 
> I could probably get ahold of one of these second hand considerably cheaper than a dryer and I thought it might be better for someone in my situation doing smaller runs. Is this an advised route, as an intemidiate between flash curers and conveyors dryers?
> I would like to avoid using the flash curer to fully dry the ink if possible.
> 
> Any thoughts?


Anthony,
I am also new to this and like you based in the U.K. I bought a flash cure unit and found it to be rubbish, but mine used a 2.7KW cooker element as the heat source
What I have done is utilised the frame that came with the flash cure unit but mounted a 1.2KW halogen heater I bought off Ebay to it.
Just do a search on Ebay for 'Halogen Heater' it's not those ones for indoor use but the type for outdoor areas like patios ect.
They are super efficiant as they don't heat up the air just what you put in front of them
I've used my existing frame as I said above but you could suspend it from anything.
Mine fully cures plastisol in 35 seconds

Hope this helps all.

Phil


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## ezilla

Why wouldn't you want to use a flash cure for fully curing the ink? I use one and it does a fine job. It's not the most production minded way but it works. You can find flash cures for about the same price as a heat press. The flash cure will allow you to "flash" between underbases and colors where the heat press will not. Just curious.


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## ohmss

i just got a dry mount / laminating press at the thrift... the highest temp setting is 350F. i really hope i can cure with it.


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## AKBDL Print Co.

Yes, after hours 20+ swatches later... it can be - we tested this method... we used a stahls transfer as a comparable print and desired look... we wanted a flat color look, smooth finish that looked like a screen printed image. and we tested many methods, temperatures and times.

The best result:

1. Temp: 330 
2. Times: 45 seconds
3. Pressure: light to medium (just enough for contact)
4. parch paper on top of print(teph sheet made the image shiny and plastic so we used parch paper to keep the flat look)
5. peel right after while hot. 
6. stretched and washed great.


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## DogPound71

I flash cure w/ my heat gun and then do the final cure w/ my heat press. I sometime after I cure I like putting the heat press toally down for 10-20 seconds it make the ink shinny and I like that affect.


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## magik62

All you need is some wax paper. once you semi cure it with a heat gun, put it in the press with the wax paper over it for 30-60 seconds (depending on how thick the plastisol is) and not only will it be cured, but will have a nice shinny look to it. Remember to peel it slow and hot.


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## 2020 PrintWorks

This works for screen printed transfers and shirts that are printed directly. What I do is put the shirt or transfer on the heat press and set it so it's almost touching it and I leave it for 45 seconds. That flash dry's it. Then press it for 30 seconds with medium/light pressure. So far it's worked out great. Temp is 375. The only way to know is to try it with your own equipment and then wash the hell out of the shirt and see if it holds up.


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## wormil

You can stretch the print, if it cracks it isn't cured. It should be like rubber.


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## joe123

Has anyone tried this method without actually pressing or clamping down on the Heat Press? Will leaving the heat press hovering over the shirt for 30-60 seconds be the same as running it through a conveyor dryer?


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## UnltdClothing

Ive been trying with my heat press, it works fine with red plastisol but i cant seem to get the white plastisol to cure ! 

I cant put any pressure down as the white ink sticks to the paper we use when we heat cure things with the heat press. But even when i just hover the press over the design it still doesn't seem to cure it!

Any one got any tips on using a heat press to cure white plastisol inks? 

Thanks 


Www.unlimitedclothing.co.uk


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## magik62

UnltdClothing said:


> Ive been trying with my heat press, it works fine with red plastisol but i cant seem to get the white plastisol to cure !
> 
> I cant put any pressure down as the white ink sticks to the paper we use when we heat cure things with the heat press. But even when i just hover the press over the design it still doesn't seem to cure it!
> 
> Any one got any tips on using a heat press to cure white plastisol inks?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> 
> Unlimited Clothing | Home




I cure it all the time by closing it in the heat press by using wax paper over it. You have to remember that whenever you use the heat press to cure Plastisol the wax paper will have at least some of the ink transferred to it. If though all or almost all it transferring, then your not using the heatgun long enough to semi cure the ink. The white should have the least amount of transfer to the wax paper.


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## netlams

Thanks for this thread.


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## bangtees

I do this for small jobs. Works great, no fading or problems.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using T-Shirt Forums


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## Juanito77

Thanks for this thread I'm new to screen printing, and have MANY questions. Trying to read thru as many threads as possible first.


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## catldavis

So you just use a regular heat gun or is there one type that is better than another?


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## magik62

catldavis said:


> So you just use a regular heat gun or is there one type that is better than another?




The one I use I got on the cheap from Harbor Freight.


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## AARC

BSApparel said:


> Just bumping this up from the dead because I just thought of doing this too - I imagine that if you flash cure the print and then take it to the heat press and press it at 350 for 20 seconds or so, it'll do a better job at curing the ink than a flash dryer would. I guess putting a sheet of transfer paper or something over the print would prevent it from sticking to the top side of the heat press.
> 
> Anyone think this is NOT a good idea?


Hey all,
Well this is exactly what i was looking for with one exception.

Here is the story in short form....
Screen printed my first shirts, (for my company), I own a big heat press, so I used one color water base inc (Speedball black) screen printed the shirts, flashed with heat gun, so they were dry to the touch, then once completed i used my heat press at 320 ish and a teflon sheet. I pressed for 12 seconds as it was water base. There was steam coming off, and used my temp gun to check. The print reached 320.
I pulled and stretched them, no cracking, washed them, seems that all was good.

However.....I think that going forward, as i can afford it i will invest in a flash dryer....but until that happens, the press works fine.

If you are going to try this...you need to play with the temp and time..I am going to increase time to 15 or 20 sec...and see what happens.

Before i get heck from other professionals...you use what you have....

Also a flash dryer is an element as is a heat press.....just sayin...


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## Danchlife

funkymunky said:


> Anthony,
> I am also new to this and like you based in the U.K. I bought a flash cure unit and found it to be rubbish, but mine used a 2.7KW cooker element as the heat source
> What I have done is utilised the frame that came with the flash cure unit but mounted a 1.2KW halogen heater I bought off Ebay to it.
> Just do a search on Ebay for 'Halogen Heater' it's not those ones for indoor use but the type for outdoor areas like patios ect.
> They are super efficiant as they don't heat up the air just what you put in front of them
> I've used my existing frame as I said above but you could suspend it from anything.
> Mine fully cures plastisol in 35 seconds
> 
> Hope this helps all.
> 
> Phil


Which outdoor halogen heater are you talking about I see a lot of them which one do you suggest 

Sent from my LG-E739 using T-Shirt Forums


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## thievecollective

funkymunky said:


> Anthony,
> I am also new to this and like you based in the U.K. I bought a flash cure unit and found it to be rubbish, but mine used a 2.7KW cooker element as the heat source
> What I have done is utilised the frame that came with the flash cure unit but mounted a 1.2KW halogen heater I bought off Ebay to it.


Would love to see some pics of this set up Phil. Do you still use this?


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## rajeshraj

hello,so as you said, can I use halogen heater instead of flash dryer? could you please brief in detail
my mail id : [email protected]


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## Mahykal

DogPound71 said:


> I flash cure w/ my heat gun and then do the final cure w/ my heat press. I sometime after I cure I like putting the heat press toally down for 10-20 seconds it make the ink shinny and I like that affect.


I did exactly this and ran into ink bleeding through. 
My thought or hope is someone would have a comment that too much pressure caused the bleed through or too much ink.. I imagine both could have been my issue


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## Fclg410

You can buy flash dryers on amazon for under $200


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