Nazdar silicone based ink (for athletic garments). quick test and review.

[blue moon]

Had the Nazdar rep stop by yesterday with a sample of their new product, silicone based ink. We printed some shirts while John was here and I have to admit the stuff is very impressive! It is super bright with no fuzz showing through; thin, very thin print even through a 110. The deposit stretches more than the garment so it was flexible and even the UA stuff could did not distort. No matter how much you stretched the fabric, it just went with it rather than staying solid the way plastisol does. It cures at 250 so there is no risk of bleeding (or so they say). The bad part is it does require a catalyst so since there will be waste, it will drive the costs up a little. Gallon (depending on the color) is in the $120-$150 range. The most impressive part is it prints and sheers better than most plastisols we use! One swipe through a 110 with our normal white ink settings and it printed perfect. It cleared without any ink left in the screen, not even the smallest amount. We tried P/F/P with one and two strokes and it did not benefit from multiple swipes. On some materials it might even work fine without flashing, but that will take a little bit of testing. The resulting print is so thin, that there is no ridge where the ink starts. The finish is rubbery and it is easy to tell where the deposit it, but other than that it is like there is nothing on the shirt.

At a risk of promoting something that would normally give us a competitive edge, everybody should try it!

soft print, stretchy, easy to print and no bleeding, need I say anything more?

pierre

p.s. no, Nazdar is not paying me to say this, the product really is that impressive. I've been telling one of our customers about it for a while and he thought I was crazy for being excited about it. He was here when we printed it and he is convert and is already ordering some shirts!

[mk162]

how long does it last once catalyzed?

[jasonl]

been on my reps ass about this for months and i still havent got any samples.

[blue moon]

how long does it last once catalyzed?

officially, 4-8 hours. Unofficially up to two days.

cures at 250!

pierre

[blue moon]

been on my reps ass about this for months and i still havent got any samples.

it has not been available for that long. My understanding it was released less then a month ago, but ran out before they could snag a gallon for me. John got one a couple of weeks later and brought it up for testing. I would imagine if you called now, they should have some available.

pierre

[brandon]

Had the Nazdar rep stop by yesterday with a sample of their new product, silicone based ink. We printed some shirts while John was here and I have to admit the stuff is very impressive! It is super bright with no fuzz showing through; thin, very thin print even through a 110. The deposit stretches more than the garment so it was flexible and even the UA stuff could did not distort. No matter how much you stretched the fabric, it just went with it rather than staying solid the way plastisol does. It cures at 250 so there is no risk of bleeding (or so they say). The bad part is it does require a catalyst so since there will be waste, it will drive the costs up a little. Gallon (depending on the color) is in the $120-$150 range. The most impressive part is it prints and sheers better than most plastisols we use! One swipe through a 110 with our normal white ink settings and it printed perfect. It cleared without any ink left in the screen, not even the smallest amount. We tried P/F/P with one and two strokes and it did not benefit from multiple swipes. On some materials it might even work fine without flashing, but that will take a little bit of testing. The resulting print is so thin, that there is no ridge where the ink starts. The finish is rubbery and it is easy to tell where the deposit it, but other than that it is like there is nothing on the shirt. %-

At a risk of promoting something that would normally give us a competitive edge, everybody should try it!

soft print, stretchy, easy to print and no bleeding, need I say anything more?

pierre

p.s. no, Nazdar is not paying me to say this, the product really is that impressive. I've been telling one of our customers about it for a while and he thought I was crazy for being excited about it. He was here when we printed it and he is convert and is already ordering some shirts!

Hey Pierre,
Yes, it is some pretty neat stuff! We have been lucky enough to print with it for a few months. Manuals and oversized autos. Not in production yet for us but could be. Does stretch like crazy and very easy to get a high density effect with the correct screens. P/f/p no problem. Our only problems have been with water resistant substrates like nomax. Peels right off w/o an additive. That and actually getting the ink. But a huge impact can be coming up with these inks and the whole PVC free ones

[tonypep]

The acrylics from Rutland, Wilflex, and Sericol among others are similar although they do not require a catalyst. Downside is drying in the screen although they have an open air extender. Screen prep is same as discharge

[ZooCity]

is this compatible with a pigment coloring system? I would consider replacing our current low cure, wfx epic performance, as this sounds a little better.  but to keep costs down I would prefer a mixing system or better yet a set of high pigment rfu colors that you could mix and extend or simply print as is.

250 is crazy low for cure temp, this stuff would be extremely useful for that alone.

Sent from my intelligent phone-a-majigger.

[tonypep]

Rutland and Sericol HSAs are available in the mixing colors but look at the cost again!

[blue moon]

is this compatible with a pigment coloring system? I would consider replacing our current low cure, wfx epic performance, as this sounds a little better.  but to keep costs down I would prefer a mixing system or better yet a set of high pigment rfu colors that you could mix and extend or simply print as is.

250 is crazy low for cure temp, this stuff would be extremely useful for that alone.

Sent from my intelligent phone-a-majigger.

funny you'd ask! they actually have a mixing system. What they don't have is stock colors, go figure! (to be honest, they are working on it). If my RAM (memory) serve me well, they did say it was comparable to the Wilflex mixing system, you will have to check though.

John said that they will mix the need colors on request at very little or no charge until they get the standard colors figured out and in stock.

pierre

[Socalfmf]

i know i am still waiting on my sample from the ISS show...kinda disappointed Nazdar right now...

[Colin]

From what I remember a few years ago regarding pigments for the silicon inks, before Nazdar became involved:

The actual pigments are the same, but the are dispersed in a different medium than standard plastisol pigments.  I.e. plastisol pigments are dispersed in a plastisizer.  I don't remember what the silicone pigments are dispersed in.  What I was told at the time was, Wilflex's parent company PolyOne, makes those pigments for the greater silicon products industry and they were not cheap.

So, the silicone inks will not work with the pigments currently used for plastisol or waterbased inks.

I do think having a mixing system available first was a smart move on Nazdars part though.

[sweetts]

Any funny smells with this?  Being in a small space that is something I take note of.

Sent  from samsung gem(the worst smart phone ever)

[blue moon]

Any funny smells with this?  Being in a small space that is something I take note of.

Sent  from samsung gem(the worst smart phone ever)

nope, don't remember smelling anything . . .

pierre

[jasonl]

Talked to my Rep today, more changes are being made to this product and it will be better than what you have already tried.  Thats why samples are not being given out at the moment.