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screen printing => General Screen Printing => Topic started by: sqslabs on January 11, 2017, 12:51:59 PM
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So we recently got a Sprint 3000 dryer and am extremely happy with it. But we have run into one issue that I'm having trouble solving.
When running thinner blended fashion type blanks or performance wear, we're seeing a dryer belt pattern on the rear of the garment when it exits the dryer. I've tried everything from running a lower temp with slower belt speed to a higher temp with faster belt speed, and everything in between. Nothing really makes a difference.
Only thing I can guess is that the dryer has such powerful airflow that its actually pushing the garment into the belt and basically "ironing" the pattern into it. I have no doubts that the pattern would be gone following a wash (haven't tested yet), but its still a weird look that doesn't necessarily look good. We've had two gas dryers previously, but neither were as powerful as the 3000, so I was wondering if anyone else has run into this issue and how to prevent it if possible.
Thank youuuu.
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Does it remain?
I could see something like the typical temporary darkening of reds when hot, but doing so in the "waffle" pattern where the belt fabric acts as a mask.
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Does it remain?
I could see something like the typical temporary darkening of reds when hot, but doing so in the "waffle" pattern where the belt fabric acts as a mask.
I just ran a test and will let you know in a bit if we notice any difference. To clarify, there are no marks in the print, but on the garment itself.
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Sometimes it's just the belt acting as a heat-sink and the marks go away after the shirt has cooled.
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Photo attached of a white performance shirt we just ran through at 320 for 30 seconds. I'm not sure we'd even get a cure at those specs but just wanted to see if the lower temp and higher speed would make any difference.
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Sometimes it's just the belt acting as a heat-sink and the marks go away after the shirt has cooled.
Thanks, will check in an hour or so and see if there's any improvement. I hope that's the case.
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I wonder if new belts outgas or something. We installed a new one over the summer but I didn't notice anything like that happening.
Do the 3000's allow you to adjust the main blower speed?
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I wonder if new belts outgas or something. We installed a new one over the summer but I didn't notice anything like that happening.
Do the 3000's allow you to adjust the main blower speed?
No, the only adjustment is for the outfeed hood blower.
Would a dryer with a smaller chamber have more airflow than one with a larger chamber? I ask because we have the minimum (8 ft).
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No, the only adjustment is for the outfeed hood blower.
Would a dryer with a smaller chamber have more airflow than one with a larger chamber? I ask because we have the minimum (8 ft).
I would assume that unless the size/speed of the blower is changed then yes you will have more flow than a larger chamber.
I believe I saw on our 2000 there's an electrical adjustment for the main blower, trimpot kind of thing so I didn't mess with it.
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Haven't seen that on our 3000, but we dont print a ton of that stuff either.
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Photo attached of a white performance shirt we just ran through at 320 for 30 seconds. I'm not sure we'd even get a cure at those specs but just wanted to see if the lower temp and higher speed would make any difference.
Lower the temp and measure the garment temperature. looks like its being overheated.
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I think its the shirt quality
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Lower the temp and measure the garment temperature. looks like its being overheated.
Thanks Rich, will give it a shot. This run was at 320 degrees for 30 seconds.
I think its the shirt quality
If it were just this shirt I'd agree, but we've had this happen on just about every thin fashion blend or performance shirt that we've run through the dryer. Next Level, Canvas, Denali, etc. We've also run all of these same shirts through our previous dryers at high temps without issue.
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Does it go away when washed?
Have you looped the fabric to see if there is any flattening of the fibers/shine to the fibers?
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Does it go away when washed?
Have you looped the fabric to see if there is any flattening of the fibers/shine to the fibers?
I plan on washing one over the weekend to find out. Will get the test shirt under a loupe today and try to get a photo.
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When the install for the 3k was going on, I remember a conversation about blower settings for additional drones, belts or something and pulley sizes.. is it possible yours is setup for additional drones?
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Brett, you ever figure out what was up?
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Brett, you ever figure out what was up?
Not yet, but I do have an update.
Nothing looked weird under a loupe at both high and low magnifications, so nothing seems to be burning or anything like that.
Yesterday I ran a standard performance shirt (Sport Tek ST350) through the dryer at 200 degrees for 30 seconds and we still got belt marks on the shirt. This is obviously a much lower temp than we'd need to get a cure, so its looking more like the airflow is the key and not the temp. Basically, my best guess at this point is if the shirt is thin enough (or the right material) to get pressed into the belt via the air knives, and the temperature is hot enough, the marks basically get pressed into the garment. We are not seeing this effect on cotton shirts or more sturdy blends at all.
As I have no way to adjust the blower, I can't test that variant but if John's statement above is correct, then I'd imagine there is a chance it could be the issue. The transaction on the dryer happened very quickly (which I am extremely thankful for!), and if I remember correctly was pulled from another order which would have required a longer belt (they had to make the belt for mine). So if I wanted to get all CSI on this, and of course I'm just making assumptions, I'd imagine there would be a possibility that the dryer was set up initially for more drones and was shipped out with those settings due to the quick turnaround.
Guessing that Rich and the crew are gonna be busy for the rest of the week so if I don't hear from them here I'll just take this over to the M&R forum or to the service line as I have a big run of performance shirts on Monday and we've had to use our mini backup dryer for those until we figure out what's going on.