GENERAL FAQS

Anvil often refers to several industry terms about its products. Click here for a full list.

Our white 100% cotton styles 976C, 479WC and 905BWC are sewn with cotton thread and this means they can be dyed. We suggest you work with your dyer to strip and scour these garments prior to dyeing. Due to irregularities that may occur after dyeing, we assume no responsibility.

Tolerance for wash shrinkage is 7% for width and 7% for length.

1. Machine wash warm with like colors
2. Only non-chlorine bleach when needed
3. Tumble dry medium
4. Do not iron if decorated
5. Dryclean: any solvent except trichloroethylene

Ghosting is a problematic issue that is due to fading only on 100% Cotton fabrics. Fading occurs from using ink with Free Radicals, used on 100% cotton, coupled with excessive heat over 320 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bleeding occurs on 50/50 blends when an ink that does not contain Free Radicals is coupled with excessive heat that will release dye particles from the fabric. This dye will combine with the ink to appear as the base color bleeding through the white print area.

FYI:

• Inks manufactured for 50/50 must not be used for printing 100% Cotton.
• Inks manufactured for 100% Cotton should not be used for printing blends (50/50).
• In all cases the printer should check on samples or scrap before printing large numbers of garments.

Other suggestions:

1. Use a Transfer Print made for 100% Cotton shirts, e.g. without Low Bleed inks.
2. Use a piece of paper or board between layers of the shirt.
3. Lower the temperature.

This is a problem to be expected from various light sources over varying lengths of time. Do not leave the shirts in direct sunlight--or, expect if the shirts will be worn outside for numerous hours, fading and discoloration can occur. Auto wash spray, fertilizer and sun tan lotion may also cause dyes to fade when exposed to sunlight.

Always check to see if the plastisol ink is cured. Print on a test sample or a scrap identical to the planned printing project.

To prevent dye migration: tightly control the temperatures of flash and final cures and pay close attention to the fabric your printing.

The nature of the camouflage printed bag is to bleed through any other print placed over the camouflage base print. Dye migration will occur as the heat in drying causes the camouflage printed dyes to revert back to a "liquid" state.

To improve on this problem the printer must:

• Use an ink formulated for 100% Polyester fabric.
• Use an 86 mesh count
• Print
• Flash
• Print
• Dry no higher than 300 degrees Fahrenheit
• Dry for a minimum of 1 1/2 minutes

By following the above procedure the printer will have done everything possible to reduce the bleeding. Using the lower heat setting will lessen the tendency of the camouflage inks to migrate through the over print. By printing and flash drying the printer builds a print surface that will help stop the migration to the final coat of ink. The increased dwell time will allow the ink to cure.

The nature of the print on the camouflage is to bleed through any other print placed over the camouflage base print. Dye migration will occur as the heat in drying causes the camouflage printed dyes to revert back to a "liquid" state.

To improve on this problem we suggest the following:

• Use an ink formulated for high bleed resistance like a poly white or ultra white
• Use a 140 or lower mesh count
• Print
• Flash
• Print
• Dry no higher than 300- 320 degrees Fahrenheit
• Dry for a minimum of 1 to 1 1/2 minutes

By following the above procedure the printer will have done everything possible to reduce the bleeding. Using the lower heat setting will lessen the tendency of the camouflage inks to migrate through the over print. By printing and flash drying the printer builds a print surface that will help stop the migration to the final coat of ink. The increased dwell time will allow the ink to cure.

Towel Art: A classical use for water base inks, but one that requires printers to make a lot of adjustments. Remember that you are coloring loops that can be moved in any direction. This eliminates fine lines from consideration, because they will disintegrate into a scattering of dots when loops are disturbed. Lines finer than three times the length of the loop must be avoided (the shorter the loop the finer the detail).

Inks: Water base inks from a wide range of manufacturers can be utilized. Mixing instructions to achieve multiple colors will accompany these products. Water base inks will dry in the screens.

Meshes: A wide variety of mesh is used in towel printing. We recommend that you use a range from 60 to 160 mesh in full contact with the substrate. This should give adequate penetration to color the bottom of the loops.

Emulsions: A wide variety of emulsions are available. When ordering emulsions ask your local distributor for a water resistant product.

Squeegee: 60 to 70 durometer dull, rounded or slanted shape is required to achieve adequate penetration.

Print speed: A fast stroke with heavy pressure works best.

Softener: Can be added to inks for a softer hand. Contact ink manufacturer for these products.

Drying: Towels are best dried in a gas or forced hot air oven because the loops insulate ink from infrared energy. Even with a proper oven, 3 to 4 minutes at 330° F (165° C) is usually required to achieve wash fastness. Printers with only infrared dryers can rack or line dry prior to running towels through the oven. Additives can be purchased and added to inks to ensure wash fastness if an adequate oven is not available or when rack or line drying. Please note that additives only work after the water has evaporated and stops working in less than 24 hours. Air drying must be completed within a few hours to ensure wash fastness when using additives.

It is very important to follow these instructions for printing onto dri-release® to insure that the fabric is processed properly, in order to maintain a cotton-like feel and achieve a quality print.

1. Load your dri-release® garment onto the pallet. (Because of the softness of your dri-release® t-shirt, be careful not to over tack the pallets and pull the shirt out of shape while loading).
2. Flash the garment for about 10 seconds prior to printing
3. Flash the garment between each successive print, or each screen
4. Print your dri-release® garment according to the ink suppliers instructions. (Follow the printing instructions supplied by your ink manufacturer and your dri-release® t shirt will respond brilliantly)
5. Dry your dri-release® garment according to the ink manufacturers instructions. (Most plastisol inks are cured with a gas or an electric infrared dryer by rapidly bringing the ink up to curing temperature. Curing times vary from dryer to dryer, but most printers use 20 to 40 seconds at 300-325 degrees Fahrenheit to provide a complete cure and is a recommended optimal drying temperature for Dri-release fabrics)

* Please note that the temperature refers to the temperature of the ink deposit achieved, not the control settings. This is best checked with temperature tapes or with a laser thermometer.

Ink Selection:

Since dri-release® is a combination of natural and synthetic fibers, plastisol inks work very well. However, if for some reason additional adhesion is needed, you may want to add 10-15% (by weight) plastisol bonding catalyst.

While printing on dark colored Dri-release garments make sure to use Low Bleed Inks and Low bleed Whites.

Note:
Please allow 24 hours for the plastisol/ink combination to set before packing the garments.

* Always remember to check for scorching, burning or fabric shrinkage from excessive heat.

Here are our recommendations for printing our Neon T's to help avoid discoloration of the shirts.

1) Fabric Temperature - recommended maximum fabric temperature is 320 degrees. Printers will need to use temperature strips in order to measure the fabric temperature.

2) Dryer Temperature - Please adjust your dryer accordingly to stay within the maximum fabric temperature.

3) Dwell Time - We advise 52 seconds as the maximum dwell time.