How To Heat Set Fabric Paint
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Is your closet full of t-shirts with the vinyl starting to peel off? Maybe it's fourth dimension to requite screen printing a try. 1 of the reasons I love screen printing over HTV, is how the garments concord up over time. If you properly heat gear up the ink on your screen printed items, they will far outlast those fabricated with HTV.
Heat setting is the final pace in the screen printing process when using Speedball h2o-based inks. Applying oestrus to your shirt makes the ink permanent (sets the ink). If you don't heat set Speedball fabric ink before you put your item in the wash, the ink will non concur up. You'll likely run across fading or lose the pattern birthday.
Everything I will discuss in this article involves the final pace in the screen press process – oestrus setting your ink. If you're completely new to screen press or if y'all're still not sure you can do it on your own, allow me evidence you lot how in my stride past footstep course Beginner's Guide to Screen Printing with Craft Vinyl.
Once the ink on your newly screen printed garment is completely dry, it is fourth dimension to rut set. If you aren't sure how to dry out your ink, check out this article where I walk y'all through my footstep by footstep process.
Over the years, I have heard of many unlike means to heat set ink. I know how difficult you all work on your projects and I wanted yous to know if these ways really work or not so your projects don't become ruined. What meliorate style to observe out than to do a little rut setting experiment of my own!
The Heat Setting Experiment
For this niggling experiment, I screen printed the same design on 6 tea towels using Speedball black material ink. Afterwards allowing them all to dry overnight, I used a unlike method of heat setting for each towel then I washed them two times each. Keep reading to find out how each method held up to the test.
- Oestrus Printing
- Easy Press 2
- Basic Household Iron
- Dress Dryer
- Kitchen Oven
- Heat Gun
The Results
The "before" pic shows the dry out ink – before the towel went through the wash. The "after" shows the same towel – later on it was done twice.
1 : Heat Printing
The heat press is one of my favorite arts and crafts tools. If y'all use HTV, y'all know what I hateful. I might not practise HTV any more but I definitely notwithstanding use the rut press, just in a unlike way. Now I use it to heat set my screen printing ink. I love using the rut press because I tin fit my unabridged blueprint nether the heat. This means just ane 40 second printing and I'm fix to press my next item.
Procedure:Set estrus printing to 320 degrees F and press for xl seconds. That'southward information technology… information technology can at present go in the wash.
✅ Consequence: Afterward washing the towel twice, the ink did not fade.
2 : Piece of cake Press two
If you are a Cricut fan, yous may already have the Easy Press ii. I have 2 sizes, the bigger 12×10 works swell for big designs while the ix×9 size is swell for smaller designs or onesies. This press is very compact – making it easy to shop away when not in use. If your craft room has express space, this is a great alternative to a clam beat rut press.
PROCEDURE: Set Easy Press 2 to 320 degrees F and press for 40 seconds. Repeat the procedure (if necessary) until you lot take applied rut to your entire design for at least xl seconds. That'southward information technology… it can at present become in the wash.
✅ RESULT: After washing the towel twice, the ink did not fade.
three : Basic Household Iron
Non ready to invest in a Oestrus Press or Easy Press ii? No problem, you lot can even so utilise your basic household fe to oestrus set your ink.
Procedure:Set iron to the setting that matches your fabric. Cover the design with parchment paper (optional) and iron over the entire design for 3-5 minutes, moving the fe constantly.
✅ RESULT: After washing the towel twice, the ink did not fade.
4 : Dryer
I often heard that you can oestrus set in the dryer but I hadn't tried it until this experiment. Information technology seems like a convenient method if y'all are doing a big quantity of shirts, so I wanted to give it a shot.
Procedure: Later assuasive the ink to air dry overnight, I put the towel straight in my household dryer on high heat for a timed dry of 40 minutes. After heating the towel in the dryer for one xl minute cycle, I did the launder examination.
❌ RESULT: After washing the towel once, I noticed some fading. After the second time in the launder, it faded substantially. I believe this method could work with longer fourth dimension in the dryer, simply more than than 40 minutes in the dryer didn't seem very practical to me so I didn't endeavor this test over again. If you plan to try this method, you definitely desire to leave your garment in the dryer longer than xl minutes.
5 : Kitchen Oven
This might sound foreign, and maybe non very applied if you are doing a lot of shirts, simply y'all can heat set your project in the oven.
Procedure: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the towel in the oven and immediately turn off the oestrus. Allow it to stay in the oven for 10 minutes.
Note: For this experiment, I put the towel on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to go along the towel from touching the bottom of the oven and burning.
✅ Event: After washing the towel twice, the ink did not fade.
6 : Rut Gun
I purchased a estrus gun to speed up the ink drying procedure when using my screen press press. I wanted to experiment to run across if I could heat set the ink with the rut gun as well.
PROCEDURE: Set heat gun to loftier heat setting and move it back and forth over design for i-two minutes. Keep the gun about 4-5 inches abroad from the fabric. Be sure not to get out the heat gun in ane place likewise long or it will burn your material!
Note: While yous tin use the heat gun to set the ink make sure your ink is dry first. If yous are using the heat gun to dry the ink too, it will take a bit longer.
✅ RESULT: After washing the towel twice, the ink did not fade.
Notation: While using the heat gun did work, at that place was one spot that I got a little too close to the material and it started to burn. If you lot look closely, you'll see some faint burn marks on the white textile around the "est 2005" part of the blueprint. This could be prevented by keeping the heat gun a trivial further away from the material and moving it around constantly (like a hair dryer).
Bonus: Flash Dryer
Since only 5 of the 6 results were successful, I wanted to share a 6th method for curing your fabric ink. This i is a bit more than of an investment but very worthwhile if you lot are starting a screen printing concern.
A wink dryer will dry and cure your ink in one step. This is a huge time saver equally yous take on bulk orders.
The settings for a flash dryer tin can vary based on the machine you are using and the weather of your room. I utilise a light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation temperature gun to gauge the oestrus on my shirt. One time it reaches 320 degrees, I leave it nether the estrus for 40 seconds.
Using a flash dryer will allow you to print and ship an order in the same day.
Decision
I'chiliad excited to report that you tin use a heat printing, Piece of cake Press 2, household iron, oven, or heat gun to become expert results with your Speedball Fabric ink.
My method of selection volition all the same be the heat press or Like shooting fish in a barrel Press two because they are the quickest. It'south also helpful that I can ensure even estrus over the entire design in simply one press.
If you are screen printing at home or just starting your small business organisation, you may non exist ready to add extra equipment like the Piece of cake Press 2 or a standard heat press. If that's the case, try your iron or oven!
Frequently Asked Question about Heat Setting Speedball Fabric Ink
Q: When using the Cricut heat press do you lot identify information technology direct on the design or should you put a newspaper or scrap fabric in between?
A: If you have immune your ink to air dry out long enough, you exercise non need to put annihilation between your cloth and oestrus printing. Unlike HTV, oestrus can be practical straight on screen press ink without any upshot. However, information technology does not hurt to put a slice of parchment paper or Teflon sheet between your fabric and press if you prefer.
Q: Does the dry out time determine if the shirt will fade or non? I have a few shirts that the design has faded some afterward 2 washes!
A: It could be that the shirt didn't get dry enough earlier setting the ink. When air drying your shirt, make certain you have good ventilation. A fan can help circulate the air and improve the dying process. You can too try pressing the shirt twice if you aren't sure if the ink is dry. I suggest pressing once for xl seconds then elevator your press to release any moisture and rut before pressing again.
Q: Do you know if in that location is a time limit on when you have to oestrus the design? My friend has a heat press that I would be able to use. Can I make some screen prints and and so accept them to her identify and use the estrus press when I have a chance?
A: No fourth dimension limit.. in fact, the longer you permit the shirts air dry out before heat setting, the better!
Q: If I have a heat gun and use that to speed upwardly the drying of my Speedball Ink, do I still need to expect to heat press or can I do that immediately after the estrus gun?
A: If y'all use the rut gun to speed up the drying process, y'all can immediately heat printing. I would suggest heat pressing twice as mentioned above. This will ensure your entire design was dried so that it tin cure properly.
Q: I have 50 t-shirts that I have Speedball fabric ink screen printed on front and back. They take air dried for over 24 hours in front end of fan on hangers. Tin I put multiple shirts in the oven to dry ink?
A: When I have used the oven method, I have always spread the design out flat. I accept not tried with shirts overlapping or folded. I would imagine yous would demand to adjust your timing longer for the heat to achieve the ink on the not-exposed areas. Definitely test this method to determine your timing before doing all l shirts!
Source: https://www.pigskinsandpigtails.com/2019/07/6-ways-to-heat-set-your-screen-printing-ink/
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