Cracked or Peeling Ink

Why is my ink peeling or cracking off the shirt? 

Are you having problems with your ink falling off a shirt after a few washings?  Is your ink cracked or peeling?  Are there faded spots in the design after several washings?  Then you may have a curing problem. 

Do You Have The Right Stuff? 

• Curing

Most t shirt inks need to reach a temperature over 300 degrees, then stay there for a set amount of time (30 sec to a min).  It depends on what brand and type of ink you are using, and the time involved depends on what equipment you use.  Contact your ink manufacturer to find the exact temperatures and times. 

• Equipment

What are you trying to cure your ink with?  Do you have a conveyor dryer, or are you using a spot dryer, or are you trying to cure your ink some wacky kind of way with a heat gun or even your kitchen oven?  If your answer was not “conveyor dryer” then you may have to just resign to the fact that your ink will usually fall off.  It is very hard to cure t shirt ink properly without using a conveyor dryer. 

• Temperature Control

You need to know exactly what the surface temperature of your ink is.  The easiest way to do this is with a laser thermometer.  You can get one at an auto store for around $100.00.  I bought one on ebay for $50.00.  Print a shirt and stick it in your conveyor dryer (dont have a conveyor dryer?  Skip this step), then go to the other side and point the temp gun at the ink on the shirt and watch the temperature go up as it comes thru the dryer, then down as it comes out.  The peak of the temperature is what you are looking at.  Make sure it matches the temp the ink manufacturer gave you (usually around 315). 

• Time

The amount of time your shirt stays in the dryer is important too.  We like to have ours stay at least 1 minute.  That is from the time you put the shirt in the dryer to the time it comes out the other end.  If it is less than a minute, that might be your problem.  Turn your belt speed down a little and try again. 

• Environment

Your surrounding environment makes a big difference too.  Humidity, temperature, and wind are the biggest culprits.  The first two sound pretty normal, but what the heck it up with the wind you say?  Let’s say it is the middle of the summer in the south and the outside temperature is 95 and the inside temperature is 110 because your equipment is putting off more heat than your air conditioner can keep up with, or worse, you don’t even have air conditioning in your production area.  So, what do all good press operators do?  They open the garage door, fling open all the windows and crank up the big chicken house fan to circulate air.  The problem is that usually all that circulating air can run right up your dryer, changing your ink temperature.  Sometimes your ink temps fine, then you get a good breeze and all is lost.  You really need to control the amount of air movement in your production area.

Keep an eye on your temperature.  Check it regularly.  Make sure your equipment is working correctly.  Make sure your shirts are in the drying chamber for at least a minute.  Control your environment.  And if you are trying to cure ink with any other method than a conveyor dryer, either invest in a dryer, or live with the fact that your ink could wash out at any time.