# Can I Pretreat in Advance???



## BrandonZeciri (Jul 2, 2013)

I've got a DTG printer coming in the next week or two, and have a Kart in the mall. I can't really afford a pretreat machine, nor do I have room for it.

Could I pretreat the shirts at home and then bring them here or will the pretreat just rub off?

Would it be safe to just take a few steps away and pretreat since the volume of space around me is so large, most of the 'overspray' should disperse quite a bit, no?


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## dazzabling (Sep 21, 2011)

You can pretreat in advance we used laundry baskets with holes in them so moisture doesn't build up 
Fold in half so that you don't have to press but a quick press before you print is perfectly fine.

Nothing is safe in uncontained pretreat areas


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

BrandonZeciri said:


> I've got a DTG printer coming in the next week or two, and have a Kart in the mall. I can't really afford a pretreat machine, nor do I have room for it.
> 
> Could I pretreat the shirts at home and then bring them here or will the pretreat just rub off?
> 
> Would it be safe to just take a few steps away and pretreat since the volume of space around me is so large, most of the 'overspray' should disperse quite a bit, no?





You can pretreat just before you print, an hour before, a day before, a week before, a month before. We have successfully printed shirts that had been previously pretreated at a trade show 4 months before. If you have a cart in a mall the best thing to do is to bring in pretreated shirts and not try to pretreat them in the middle of the mall.


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## BrandonZeciri (Jul 2, 2013)

That's great news.

Thanks guys!


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## jgabby (Mar 29, 2007)

If I pretreat let say 1 month before I print, is it best to seal the garment in storage bag ?
Are the pretreated garment sensitive to air moisture if you store them for long time ?

Thank you


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## thedigiguy (May 11, 2010)

jgabby said:


> If I pretreat let say 1 month before I print, is it best to seal the garment in storage bag ?
> Are the pretreated garment sensitive to air moisture if you store them for long time ?
> 
> Thank you


We always put a pre treated shirt on the heat press prior to printing. We find that removing moisture that has collected in the cotton due to environmental humidity helps us get a more consistent white ink under base.
We look for steam coming off the shirt when we lift the press. If we see steam we press for a little longer. How long varies from city to city and state to state. This time of year in Seattle we are pressing for about 15 seconds.


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

jgabby said:


> If I pretreat let say 1 month before I print, is it best to seal the garment in storage bag ?
> Are the pretreated garment sensitive to air moisture if you store them for long time ?
> 
> Thank you




You can store the pretreated shirts in a box or on a shelf. The only suggestion I would make is to press the shirt again for 5 seconds or so just before you print on them to flatten the fibers down.

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## FulStory (Jun 5, 2013)

equipmentzone said:


> You can store the pretreated shirts in a box or on a shelf. The only suggestion I would make is to press the shirt again for 5 seconds or so just before you print on them to flatten the fibers down.
> 
> _


Hi,

for this image is it because the pre-treatment problem or the white ink problem?


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## 4C Print Shop (Sep 8, 2010)

This looks like a pretreat problem, not enough maybe or none at all.


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## Smalzstein (Jul 22, 2008)

To much heat somethimes is causing this.


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## FulStory (Jun 5, 2013)

Smalzstein said:


> To much heat somethimes is causing this.


Now I already got the brighter white. But how to totally press down the fibre. I still find a lot of blur or fibre that make the white become rough. How to make the white become smooth white base?


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