Garage Split Topic that got messed up

[Frog]

Frog, a word about "soft hand"... I really want to achieve a soft hand with my prints right out the gate as a preference to how I like my own shirts to feel. Should I stray away from attempting such a thing in the beginning or is that an attainable goal? Would I need to add a curable reducer in order to achieve a true soft hand, or would simply using a high mesh count and viscous ink work just the same?

Lotsa' folks here who will have ay more to contribute than me, but overly simplified, I'd say that with dark plastisol inks on light shirts, it's very attainable (though perhaps I'd look into soft hand base rather than curable reducer)
With white or other opaque inks on dark shirts, there's a little more to it.

[sbrown]

OK, well since I wanted to have a go at printing on Royal Blue first my guess is id be better off with an underbase is what it sounds like...
Can you elaborate on when to choose curable reducer over fashion base??? Im still totally confused on that one since most answers seem to convolute the topic even more.

[screenxpress]

I sent you a pm. 

[sbrown]

Thanks, I messaged you back. ??

[Colin]

sbrown.

Additives - Welcome to a completely new world within the world of textile screen printing.

Curable Reducer:  A balanced very low viscosity ink (close to water) that is designed to quickly reduce the "body" or "stiffness" of an ink.  When cured it will NOT enahance the softness of a print.  But it will make a stiff/difficult to print ink - easier to print.  Do not exceed 5%-10% by weight as you WILL begin to see opacity changes when printing onto medium and darker color shirts.  However, add as much as needed to accomplish the task at hand.  Just make sure to adjust your print as needed.  Curable reducer is commonly used by novice printers to assist in getting clean prints until they have climbed up the rungs of the learning curve

Fashion Base:  A balanced VERY low viscosity ink (close to water) that is designed to PENETRATE into the fabric of the shirt in order to mimic waterbase inks.  When cured by itself, it will exhibit a very very soft feel, have very little "hand" and drape extremely well.  It is also used to SOFTEN the hand of standard plastisols.  Adding more than 10% by weight will lower the opacity of the ink.  The more you add, the lower the opacity.  If you have a "pigment system" you can directly add colored pigments to the base to make your inks more opaque.  However they will not be as opaque as standard plastisols.

Fashion base feels softer than curable reducer due to several different ingredients.  Examples: There are some waxes that feel very silky and the pvc resin is much softer.  Think of soft lure baits compared to a squeegee blade kind of soft.

The drawback to using Fashion base and similar bases is that they DO NOT MATTE FIBERS WELL.  So any use of the base should be tested before being put into production.

If you have any more questions: Fire Away!

[sbrown]

Colin - Thank you for the detailed response regarding curable reducer vs fashion base! That really clarifies things.
Wayne - I got your email. I apologize for not responding yet but wanted to thank you for taking the time out of your day to jot all that down for me. Thanks brother. Its been a wacky week so Im just now catching up on messages...

On a related note - Anyone have recommendations for dehumidifiers that don't cost an arm and a leg but would be suitable for garage operation?

Thanks,
Shaun

[mk162]

the best place to get a dehumidifier on a budget is craigslist...just make sure it hasn't been recalled.  Recalls on those seem to be a fairly common thing.  I had one that almost started a fire...the wall behind it was discolored and covered with soot.

[Frog]

On a related but different note - Anyone have recommendations for dehumidifiers that don't cost an arm and a leg but would be suitable for garage operation?

Thanks,
Shaun

Okay, look what I was typing while Brad responded LOL!

Craigslist. Pretty common, and could be few choices.

[sbrown]

Theres literally 1 in my area, thats it....
https://chico.craigslist.org/hsh/6014114077.html

[mk162]

try offerup and letgo

[sbrown]

Found one on FB marketplace...

[Frog]

try offerup and letgo

  as well as Craigslist in a week or two. Stuff moves. Listing change.
btw, I got my first one at a garage sale.

[sbrown]

Frog, would that LG on facebook cut it?? I can def swing $40 bucks right now...

[Frog]

Probably, but I have no idea what its rating is (pints of water removed in 24 hours), or exactly what you need.
Mine is in a cabinet, so I have no doubt that mine is big enough.

You may want to get the model number, look up the specs, and then check out this. Keep in mind that high ceilings may make your space bigger than the average square footage usually represents



and maybe read this https://www.energystar.gov/products/appliances/dehumidifiers/dehumidifier_basics

[sbrown]

It was sold... I will have to keep looking