I cure my ink also with the heat press

i cure mine with a heat press too! i dont hear many people doing it, but i find it works wonderful. wont burn and gets it right every time!

So you use both flash dryer and heat press?

@@THEBESTSHORTZ yeah ill flash my ink when doing multiple colors, but then ill cure it with the heat press after every layer is down

This does work, but in my case I am not a fan of the flat feel. I like a slight amount of texture.

Glad it was helpful! Happy printing!

Fantastic! Glad it helped.

Laser temp guns are a "reflective reading" of what the surface temp is. It does not actually measure the true surface temp of the ink. For more on this, there is a link in the video for a video done about 2 years ago that dives deep into the subject. Thats why the correlation of a higher read temp VS true surface temp. The laser will always read much hotter than what the true temperature is.

@@Ryonet awesome. Thanks so much. I checked out the other video. Now I get what your saying. I’m gonna invest in a temp sensor.

Very cool! Thanks for the kind words. Happy printing!

Good morning @CrackShot Screenprinting! This is pretty normal for flashes. Since unlike a conveyor theres no walls on the side to hold in the heat and hold out the influence of the surrounding environment, we naturally lose a bit of heat on towards the edges. You're doing the right thing by being heads up and moving the flash as needed. - JW

Hey @Banga927, good morning and great question! Most steps will be the same. You'll still need to detach the garment from the platten and you'll still need to measure the temp. However, water based ink takes more time to cure. You may need to raise the flash slightly in order to get the time needed with out burning the garment. I would also try a product called Warp Drive. Warp Drive is a water based ink low cure catalyst. It will help you greatly if you are curing water based with a flash. Here's a link.www.screenprinting.com/products/green-galaxy-warp-drive-low-cure-additive Have a great day and happy printing!

Hi @Ian Olson. Depends on the flash and and what type of pallets, but overall i would say 20 seconds just to get it warmed up. Get the liquid adhesive nice and sticky, etc... hope that helps. Happy printing!

You bet!

@A Abba, good question! Yes, the ink was printed, flash dried (dried to the touch) , then printed again. does that help?

@@Ryonet Yes, it does. Thank you!

Hi! Good question! You can re-apply heat to cure a print at any time - BEFORE you wash it. Once washed you cannot re-cure the ink layer. Also, as a side note: There is a time limit for re-curing the ink. Over time the liquids/oils in the ink can leech out if it was not cured the first time. This can make it nearly impossible to re-cure the ink layer. This time limit will change based on garment type and how close to cure the design was.

@Ryonet thank you for the response. Your videos are very helpful. I'm new at this stuff and so far I'm learning from mistakes...alot of mistakes 😃.

Great question! The internal temperature of FN Ink needs to reach 260 degrees and hold that for at least 30 seconds for a proper cure. Always test your prints to confirm a proper cure! Reach out to our Support Team on our site anytime as well!

Check this out! www.screenprinting.com/blogs/news/how-to-achieve-matte-or-glossy-prints#:~:text=The%20best%20additive%20to%20use,to%20achieve%20the%20matte%20finish.

Hi! Unfortunately, that is a big variable if you are looking to use your flash unit to CURE the final print. It depends on a few factors. 1) How hot your flash gets 2) Ink deposit thickness 3) How far away from the ink is the flash 4) Actual cure temp of the ink being used All we can recommend is that you document your prints and how you used your flash to CURE the ink layer. This will create your standard for your shop.

That distance will change depending on a few variables, the biggest variable being how, delicate is the fabric to heat. But anywhere from 3" to 6" from the platen.