# Puff Ink Additive



## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

I'm going to be using international coatings puff additive to plastisol inks. I need to print red, yellow and green on black shirts. Normally i would underbase the design with white, but since the inks will puff, will I need to underbase? 

Another question is that some parts of the design are butt registered and have outlines around some of the designs. My concern is that the butt registered parts will "smoosh" together once I send it through the dryer as if puffs. 

Will I need to print wet on wet since I I use the flash dryer the other ink colors will puff?


----------



## tlbays (Apr 9, 2008)

Hi Henry

Generally, an underbase is not necessary, but a _very thin_ "sealing" layer primer clear can help control
the puff direction and the tendency of edge curl with heavy ink deposit on large areas.

You're correct that a slight "choke" of the image edge area can also accommodate ink expansion,
but is also dependent upon the ink layer thickness, and amount of puff-additive present.

For even puffing between layers, minimal flashing can often better manage consistant ink deposit.
The tendency of w-o-w to step on and drive ink sub-surface can reduce and vary the puff effect.

Here is some general pointers, courtesy of Union Ink Co.:

*PRINTING:*
*Puff inks will expand in all directions when heated. Because of this it is important to try to lay the ink on top of the garment. *
*This helps the ink puff away from the garment and not into it. **To get proper coverage it may be necessary to use more than one printing stroke. *

*SPECIAL ARTWORK REQUIREMENTS:*
*More uniform puffing is achieved when the artwork has similar line thickness. *
*If the design has a mixture of thin lines and heavy block areas, convert the block areas into a 75-85% halftone screen for more uniform puffing. *
*On multi-color designs leave a small gap between colors to allow them to touch after puffing. *

*CURING:*
*Puff Inks will expand to a durable finish if allowed to reach 310°F (155°C). *
*Flash curing multi-color prints at lower temperatures is permissible provided all colors reach 310°F at the final curing stage. *
*Puff inks will produce beautiful multi-color effects if quickly flash cured between colors. *
*Do not flash long enough to complete the puff process; *
*just gelling the print so as to avoid pressing into the garment when successive colors are printed over it. *
*When first printed, the print may not look as opaque as it will after it has been cured.Puff the ink on the final cure . *

Happy trails!


----------



## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

Thank you, that helps a lot.


----------



## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

Do you think 158 mesh screens will be coarse enough to let the puff ink additive go through?

I've seen recommendations from 60 to 110 but I don't want it to puff too much.


----------



## tlbays (Apr 9, 2008)

It will go through a 158, Henry, but won't puff much.

120-130t will be a limit more-or-less,
dependent upon the min/max amount of additive mixed in,
how thick you may have coated the screen,
and how you want to handle stroke speed and angle.

Normally, we'll recommend the 86-110t range for standard customer expectations.

If time affords it, do a quick test on a screen image waiting to be reclaimed.


----------



## printing40years (Dec 27, 2008)

110 to 125 mesh works best. You control the height the puff grows to by using different percentages of the puff additive. The ink puffs in all four directions. You can control some of the curl by printing a white or clear underbase. Do a test print with various percentages of dots and then you can choose the "look" you want. Use a 40 to 50 line screen...no finer.


----------

