some basic questions abou discharge printing

[thesirenco]

Hi everyone I am new here and somewhat new to screenprinting. I run a business that makes all kinds of stuff. Im a designer/ sewer mostly but, I am getting into printing. Right now I am experimenting with bandanas... I've been dying and sewing a soft 3.1 oz organic cotton/hemp blend, sewing the edges, and printing them with jacquards decolourant. I have had to spend a lot of time learning how to use this product but I have a couple of questions...

right now I am printing, using a blow dryer to dry and ironing to set... needless to say its time consuming and boring when I'm making 40 at a time. my question is... is there a piece of equipment that i can use for this. my studio is small so it cant take up too much room, and I do not have a large budget. I was under the impression that I had to use a forced-air flash dryer... but someone recently said I can use a flash dryer. It needs to dry somewhat quickly because of the lightweight nature of the fabric and the viscosity of decolourant, it will bleed if it doesn't dry quickly.

That leads me to a second question. I just got a second design (image) for bandanas made and its a bit more detailed and has some blacked out spots. I'm worried because of the fabric plus viscosity of decolorant it will be very difficult to get a crisp print. I'm thinking using discharge paste... the powder and activator... rather than decolorant will be thicker and easier to get a crisp image... thoughts? suggestions? thank you!

[Chuggins]

What mesh count are you using?

The product you are using is a discharge ink. But your ink deposit could be too thick and therefor is wicking out.

If you are needing to cure the ink/start the discharge process, you want something with a very wide surface area. A flash dryer may be what you need, but how big are the bandanas you are printing? How big is your print area?

[thesirenco]

ink deposit being too thick, meaning I'm putting too much on? I'm finding it very difficult to put a light layer without missing some of the details. the design is large. 19'' x 19''
I can't remember the mesh count I got *doh* it was what was recommended to me... what do you recommend?

next time i am printing I will experiment some more with less ink deposit.

[thesirenco]

I would need a pretty large flash dryer for an area that big, im assuming

[ottilieewing]

I would need a pretty large flash dryer for an area that big, im assuming

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[Chuggins]

ink deposit being too thick, meaning I'm putting too much on? I'm finding it very difficult to put a light layer without missing some of the details. the design is large. 19'' x 19''
I can't remember the mesh count I got *doh* it was what was recommended to me... what do you recommend?

next time i am printing I will experiment some more with less ink deposit.

There could be several things influencing whats going on:

1) mesh count is lower than you need
2) the fabric has a really open weave - making a clean ink deposit difficult.
3) you could be pushing ink through the fabric and onto the platen and the ink on the platen could be causing some of the issues.
4) your squeegee could be too soft - making it difficult to control your ink deposit and keep it crisp.
5) the ink could be very runny - this would make it difficult to keep a clean ink deposit.


I think trying a small amount of discharge base and activator might give you a better result, but it is also fairly thin.


Am I correct in reading that you do not have a conveyer dryer to cure the bandanas with? You are using a heat gun to get the fabric to change color? If you have not already, get a fan to draw the odors given off and vent it to the outside. The fumes given off are not the most friendly of chemicals.