Seriflex Plastisol Puff Foam Inks

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You, as printers and artists, should experiment with both methods of multicolor puff printing to determine which is best suited for your operation. The proper mix of quality artwork combined with consistent inks, screens, stencils and print applications can produce repeatable, quality, and profitable prints for you and your company.

Conversely, if the ink film is subjected to excessive heat in the drying chamber and reaches re-melt temperatures (approx. 350 degrees Fahrenheit), the puffed ink will collapse.

The cure Finally, ensure your dryer is sufficiently curing your inks. Remember, because the blowing agent activates below the full-cure temperature of 320 degrees Fahrenheit, it is quite possible to have a full puff height on an ink film that is undercured. A simple stretch test works well. Stretch the printed area slightly - if the ink film cracks, the ink definitely is undercured.

If the puff ink starts to expand under the flash, you will play havoc trying to hold registration on subsequent colors. Make certain to set your flash temperature and dwell time on pre-heated pallets to simulate production conditions.

When overprinting flat colors on top of a flashed puff underbase, take special care to only gel (dry to the touch) the underbase. Most puff inks gel in the 230 degrees Fahrenheit range, while the blowing agent is activated around the 280 degrees Fahrenheit range - not much room for error.

A very simple, yet effective, method to overcome this problem is to invest in some triple-durometer squeegee material. The softer 60-durometer sandwiches a hard 90-durometer core, which provides sufficient hardness to prevent squeegee deflection. You can receive an added benefit if you dull one edge with a bit of sandpaper - two squeegees for the price of one.

On-press considerations Traditionally, one of the areas of difficulty for puff printing has been the proper squeegee profile. A softer durometer squeegee with a dulled printing edge is generally best for coarse mesh printing so the ink is not oversheared. However, puff inks are generally of a higher viscosity, and a standard 60-durometer squeegee will tend to roll over, resulting in loss of detail and excessive penetration.

* When using overprint colors, make certain to use high-opacity inks to ensure complete coverage of the puff underbase.

* Control your puff height by mesh count and thread diameter. Use a 60-86 HD thread for your biggest puff height; 110-140 T thread for detail printing.

* Use capillary films or a very high-solids direct emulsion with proper coating procedures (coat/dry/coat) to ensure a consistent stencil thickness. The column height of your ink deposit is controlled by the thickness of your stencil (mesh thread diameter plus emulsion coating). A consistent stencil is imperative to controlling puff ink color consistency.

* Increase your screen tension. This will minimize your ink consumption while allowing for more consistent ink deposits. Fabric puckering also will be reduced, as less ink will penetrate between the garment threads.

Pre-press considerations A little discipline and consistency in the screen and ink departments will pay big dividends on press.

* Cured-ink color will exhibit hues lighter than the original color. For example, blacks will turn gray, reds will turn pink.

* Finer detail is easier to control than large solid areas. Variances in ink deposits are less noticeable. Fine detail also can be used to simulate embroidery.

* When using a puff as an underbase for flat colors, choke your underbase film slightly (1/64"). This permits the overprint color to fully trap the underbase and keep the puff color from showing on the edges.

* If you are using fluorescent colors in the design, gap your butt registration between these colors and your puff ink by 1/64". Fluorescent pigments can migrate into your puff ink, changing the color of your white or light-colored puff.

* Use only 100 percent cotton or cotton-blended garments that are not prone to dye migration or sublimation. Puff inks generally contain no dye blockers. Moreover, all-cotton garments generally are denser than blended garments. The less air space between the threads the better, as this will help to minimize fabric puckering.

Other art considerations include the following:

* Easy to image, and produces a nonrepeatable pattern (no moire). This is why a mezzotint is preferred over a normal halftone pattern.

* No loss of detail.

* A more consistent ink deposit.

* A substantial decrease in fabric puckering when the puff expands during the fusion process. The shirt puckers because puff inks expand 360degrees- not just upward.

The advantages of incorporating a mezzotint pattern include:

Finer meshes will require a higher solid area. The perimeter of the solid area still should be outlined. This will ensure a smooth outer edge while the mezzotint will expand and fill the center of the solid area.

If your puff image is a large solid area (anything over Half Inch wide - no fine lines or normal typefaces), you should use a mezzotint pattern to break up the 100 percent solid open area. If using a mesh as coarse as 86 threads/inch, a mezzotint with an 80 percent solid pattern is ideal.

Art, pre-press and production Multipuff printing requires a bit more time and effort in the planning and execution stages of the printing process. Special considerations in art, pre-press and production must be taken to ensure profitable prints are of the highest quality.

Multicolor puff printing and artwork combinations of puff with glitters, metallic inks and the like were born.

The Seriflex Puff Foam inks expands during fusion process. Colour foam inks also available.
Apply foils also. Good strechability.