A Digital Printing Network
solutions clear.
HI
When I press solutions clear I don't always get a clean image when I pull the back off. Its like in spots the plastic looks like it is coming off. I am pressing as per instructions with a draw hotronixs press. What causes this and how do I fix it?
thanks
April
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dennis Dunning on -
First, we have had the same issue, which seems to occur more commonly with larger designs than smaller ones. We have tried different temperatures and pressures. What we finally did was buy a new roll. That seemed to eliminate most of the problems. Whether the first roll was defective or it was old, I can't tell. I don't know the shelf life of Solutions Clear. I suspect that it depends on temperature and humidity control. We have gotten in the habit of dating our rolls of media to help remind us of their age.
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Permalink Reply by DanielTF3 on -
FIRST RULE WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO USE MANUFACTURER RECOMMEDED SETTINGS. Never assume that they are going to work. Use only as a guide. When heat pressing clear solution media's, always use low pressure and heat settings. The other important thing is that you must peel cold using carrier films.
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Permalink Reply by Steven Jackson - Admin on -
Dan - Solutions Clear is most definitely a hot peel.
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Permalink Reply by DanielTF3 on
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Hey Admin, wouldn't that also depend on the type of garment the clear solution is pressed onto? I found that manufcaturer settings were always had too much pressure or heat causing the colour of the transfer to fade, leave pressure marks and carrier film marks. Time was the other issue...any faster after it's been out of the heat press, the transfer film had a high risk of not setting correctly which caused the transfer media to lose its positioning and not set onto the garment at all. Our supplier's also agree that settings are only there as a guideline to stick to. Cold peel helped the adhesive to completely set and leave no trace of carrier film marks. This worked successfully on almost all the garments and compendiums we pressed using the solution clear with the normal recommended heat + time and a low pressure setting.
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Permalink Reply by DanielTF3 on
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The cause of that is quite simple. Pressure heat and time is the factor which causes the marks left behind b the carrier film. Adjust the heat press to a lower heat setting and also adjust the pressure to light. To compensate for the loss of normal settings, time has to be increased. Once out of the heat press you must peel cold to allow the transfer to set correctly onto the shirt fully.
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Permalink Reply by Dennis Dunning on
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Dan,
Hmmm, Imprintables told us to up the temperature and pressure on our heat press and to peel hot. That seemed to work well with fresh media. We have had problems that appear to be similar to those described by April, although I can't be sure becuase April didn't post a photo.
Dennis
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Permalink Reply by CYW on -
Hmmm..........as well
while Dan's information may work with a different substrate, Solutions Clear (in my experience) is NOT one of them
Like Dennis, we get the best results by RAISING the temperature and INCREASING the pressure.
Dan are you sure you're using Solutions Clear with those guidelines?
Lady Di
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Permalink Reply by DanielTF3 on
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We used the settings exactly recommended by stahls, we stuffed up an order BIG TIME. Our R&D into what was wrong ended up being the settings being unbalanced for the garment we were pressing on. We tend to press on alot of garments that are 100% cotton or polyester. We occasionally press onto compendiums which are bought in large quantites from China, as you would expect the quality to be not that great the leather were fakes so we had to adjust settings for those materials. We had quite a successful start into this large format printing industry with getting our cost structure and settings right before we had even started advertising that we were able to do this.
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Permalink Reply by Steven Jackson - Admin on
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I think that the issue is more likely a bad roll or possibly too much moisture still on the garment. Try a couple of pre presses and see if that helps.
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Permalink Reply by April Holder on
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Ok how much are you raising the temp and the pressure?
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Permalink Reply by irving donaldson on -
I would like to jump in on this since I am a now back to loving solution clear. Also looked at getting it supplied from other places. Dennis I will caution you from saying company X said Y as the gospel truth. I will tell you that it is the guide and several factors will cause the variance. The first two to mind are environment and press. Back some months ago when we all was experiencing bubbling and uneven consistency it now appears to have been the media. It won't be acknowledged, but too many folks in various regions were having the same issue. If you know check to see what changed, those who are seeing the change I would guess the common thread is a new roll. My only current issue is that I seem to be losing about an inch off the edge to the media curling. My deduction is that the roll is being cut and the heat is causing the material to draw in. The problem is that it is high enough to cause a headstrike. I fix that by raising the head until I get to a clear patch further in the roll.
Ok so how do I get it to work successfully in New York city. I went back to the 305 medium pressure with a prepress and repressing with teflon for 10secs after HOT peeling. I have experienced what the OP have but not in all instances and will relook the moisture issue as Steve mentioned. I will surely tell you that cold peeling clear is a big no no - here. The carrier sticks to the media. I usually reheat to remove (most) as some of it sticks to the print and then I have to soak with water to hopefully get the rest. I do see the annoying plastic look, more so on darker shirts, but they are usually in the areas too lazy to weed. When I am HOT peeling if I see the plastic come up - I am okay with that oppose to the media coming up (not enough pressure). The plastic tends to stick more the longer it sets. My other settings are TTRH (all with updates have that profile it is from Roland) - I use prepress (purposely not Max - have seen occasional bubbling) I use the normal pre and post heat with TTRH. I also use high quality or standard in uni-direction. My purpose would be to have the ink distribute differently and not flood the media. I am back to contour cutting the edges.
A search of the archives will show where I have reported on turning up the temperature and conversely turning off the heaters altogether. Those cause other print quality issues. I would say you have to test in your environment and record your success and failures until you have a comfy point. Most of all of my white garments are done with clear and now with great success. I also use clear for most of my short fuse jobs where masking and weeding is time consuming. Try hot peeling - if you see the design come up - increase your pressure - if your design is down and a separate plastic layer is attempting to come up that is ok. Also it is important not to cut to deep into the carrier. Also after you prepress you will need to run a lint roller over your garment. If you don't you will get to see the pretty mosiac lint pattern under your clear.
I will wait for the questions or opinions before I post pictures.
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Permalink Reply by irving donaldson on
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Dan your experiences may be a regional issue. Fading is excessive heat, caused by too high temperature or too long pressing. Pressure will vary on thickness of garment, but a consistent observation is to see the grains of the garment in the media. So grains in the media and no scorching/fading is the proper pressure, temperature and time whatever that combination may be. The better the press the more consistent your results will be and you will reach that sweet spot quicker. The other factor that you must consider is the ink saturation and I did not see that mentioned much.
Tests are so easy to create for those that want to find their proper combination. Make test rows of prints using several profiles, several print quality, and print direction, as use the empty lead so you can experience the results of no ink. You will quickly see what your settings should be. Also try cold peel and the results should be evident your preferred method.
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