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Curing Screen Printing Inks

 Fabric inks

 Air cure ink

 Aqua ink

Fabric Inks

Fabric screen printing inks are water based and require heat setting in order to cure/set the pigments to the fabric.

Hair driers & household tumble driers are not suitable as they do not get hot enough to set the pigments

It is best to use brown paper over the design to ensure no marks are transferred onto the garment when heat setting [not all irons bases are clean]. Brown paper will also help to distribute the heat more evenly and reduce scorching.

Pass the iron over the design from one side to the other ensuring you do NOT hold it still in any area, or scorching may occur.

How long

The length of time required to heat set the ink depends on the temperature of the iron [this is set by the garment you are setting] and the size of the print.

 

The following is a guide to the heat setting process and explains why prints should be heat set for 2 minutes to ensure permanent bonding.
150F [66°C] Water begins to leave the ink
200F [94°C] Binder reaches lowest viscosity and maximum surface contact is made with the fabric
220F [105°C] Water begins to leave the ink rapidly
270F [133°C] Fifty percent of the water is gone and the binder and pigment start to cure
300F [150°C] Most of the water is gone and the binder-pigment combination is partially cured
300F [150°C] [for 30 seconds to a minute] Binder and pigment is cured
[The above should be used as a guide only, and may vary slightly between ink types. Times printed on sides of containers are for wet prints. Curing of dry prints still takes at least 2 minutes as ink has to get to temperature first.]

Heat setting is faster when you can let the design naturally dry for 24 hours/ overnight as some natural evaporation will occur and shorten the heat setting process.

Air Cure Ink

Air cure ink is designed NOT to be heat set and cure at normal air temperature after printing.

How long

Whilst force drying with a hair drier is available best results are achieved when the ink is left for 30 mins. to dry naturally.

Note in humid areas or very cold temperatures the ink may take up to 1hr to fully dry.

 

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Aqua Ink - Plastic/ Metal

Aqua ink is designed to naturally air dry onto the item and then cure over a 24 hour period to become permanent.

Equipment

None.

 

Technique

After printing simply ensure the print area is not covered and allowed to naturally dry.

How long

Force drying with a hair drier will not cure the ink any faster, only make the item touch dry.

 

You MUST leave the item to cure for 24 hours naturally.

Note in humid areas or very cold temperatures the ink may take up to 48 hours to cure.