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Detailed Heat Setting Instructions

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:31 am
by whynot56
Hi,

I am new to screen printing and I just finished my first t-shirt using speedball fabric paint. It turned out REALLY well but I hhave to heat set it now. The instructions say 3-5 minutes with an iron, and with something in between..but...

Do I have to do it on the front and then turn the shirt inside out and do the back?

What can I use to put in between the iron and the shirt? Would another shirt work? Or does it have to be thinner?

Can I move the iron around? Someone said I cant slide the iron around as it will smear the ink...but I thought you werent supposed to keep it in one spot or else the shirt will burn? Can someone explain this please.

How long should I iron it for? (What the instructions say or longer?)

And finally, does throwing it in the dryer work as well as ironing...can you even use the dryer?

Thanks

Re: Detailed Het Setting Instructions

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:47 pm
by ROADSIDE
Okay... by iron I think they mean FLAT Iron and not the thing your mom uses to press the collar on you button ups.
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Something like that would work.

Also you dont want to use the tumble dryer in the laundry room.... The ink is or should be wet to the touch and if you toss it in the dryer is going to go all over the place.

Re: Detailed Het Setting Instructions

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:04 pm
by whynot56
No, I'm pretty sure they mean an iron that "your mom uses to press the collar on your button ups". Thats what I have read everywhere else. I just haven't been able to find the specifics I asked about. And if the ink air dried couldn't I put it in the dryer without problem?

Re: Detailed Het Setting Instructions

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:30 pm
by broham23
Assuming it's water based ink, and you hang them up and let them air dry for a while, you can definitely put them in a dryer. Just make sure they are dry to the touch first! Way back when I was a hobbyist printer I only had a gallon of black water based ink, and would do just as I described. The shirts turned out fine and I still wear a few I have left, and the ink has not faded at all. If you were using a more professional kind of ink, like plastisol, this would be out of the question as these inks need to be cured in a dryer or oven at high temperature or else they'll stay wet basically forever.

As for using the iron, I remember being baffled just like you are. I pictured myself ironing directly on the ink and obviously didn't proceed with that because I had a feeling it would be disastrous for the shirt and iron. You could try some kind of wax paper or freezer paper over the ink, but I have never tried that myself, so experiment first on a rag. Ideally, get something called transfer paper from a screenprinting supplier. Lay it over the air dried print and iron away, moving the iron around as you go, and it'll dry it good and the paper should peel off just fine. Or get a sheet of teflon, again fron a supplier, and use it the same way. No matter what method you choose it'd be prudent to always let the shirts air dry for a while, just to avoid smearing or making a goddamn mess.

If I were you though, I'd just forget that and let them air dry for a while and then toss them in a dryer. Whatever you do, just experiment first on an old shirt to make sure your method is working out okay.

Also, since you're just starting out, stick to dark inks, (water based, non plastisol) printed on light colored shirts. If you tried doing white ink on a black shirt you'd get a horrible faded looking print. That's the point when you need to invest in some more equipment to get nice prints. Good luck!

Re: Detailed Het Setting Instructions

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:43 pm
by TMP_D
I think it might be more effective to stick it in a "cooking oven" than using an iron on the ink, if you wanted to that is :-)

I don’t know much about the "paint" your using, or how you got the "paint" on the shirt in the first place, screen printing I think is possibly something much different than what your describing, you can be crafty with shirts in many different ways but that doesn’t mean your screen printing, the process of screen printing typically means putting some form of "ink" in a framed square or rectangular device that has a type of mesh mounted to it, then using some form of a straight edge "squeegee" you pull the "ink" through the mesh onto a shirt, the mesh then has some type of image blocking the ink from getting to the shirt in areas, on and on something like that

There is screen printing, heat presses, air brushing and so on, that can make a shirt look neat, but that covered, your "paint" question does not fit into the typical screen printing methods, with screen printing (at least in any form I know of) your "ink" is very wet after being applied to the shirt, the "ink" I use does not air dry, I’ve got ink that has been on a shelf for years, no lid on it perfectly usable to this day, the only way I could see using an iron in a actually screen printing application would defiantly not leave the image looking the way I would expect it to look when I’m done

An oven however could possibly function in the same ways as a screen printing dryer, I’ve never used my oven in such a way, I just like putting food in there for the most part, but set at the right temperature and allowing the "ink, "paint" whatever to cure for the right amount of time could actually work, somewhat of an odd way of getting the job done, but could be possible

Hope you can figure out a way to get it to work for you though, and hope you post how you resolve the issue, and if you’re not doing many shirts I might suggest tying Heat Transfer Sheets, you can print them straight out of your printer and use a normal iron on them to get a decent looking shirt, if done right anyways, you can get them just about anywhere too, might simplify things greatly for you

Good Luck

Re: Detailed Het Setting Instructions

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:17 pm
by whynot56
Haha, yes, what I am doing is screen printing (With the frame, screen, screen filler and squegee to squeeze the ink through the holes in the screen onto the t-shirt underneath). Thanks for the suggestions, I think I will try to iron them first and then throw them in the dryer for good measure.

Re: Detailed Het Setting Instructions

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:32 pm
by TMP_D
Good deal, Sorry I think it was the speedball fabric paint that threw me off, not entirely sure what that is, but for some reason it sounded like those little round tubes with fabric paint in em :-)

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Re: Detailed Het Setting Instructions

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:49 am
by ROADSIDE
you guys are funny.

Water Based or Plasti.... You should never use your moms Iron. Its just not they way to do it.
But if thats all you got and you have lots of time to waste.... I am sure you could make it work :mrgreen:

Re: Detailed Heat Setting Instructions

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 10:45 pm
by lordvicious
I'm new here as well as being new to screen printing.I've done ALOT of research and i'm kind of unclear on the whole ironing thing myself but from what i gathered it seems you can use a hairdryer as well.I don't think it should be applied directly on top but a few inches away should do the trick.But if you do decide to use an iron (mom's iron)Check to make sure the image has transferred, then hang the screen-printed T-shirt to dry. Allow the ink to fully dry. When dry, lay the T-shirt on an ironing board, place a clean piece of white paper over the screen print and iron for 4 to 5 minutes. This should set the ink in place on the T-shirt.


Peace.