Description

Conveyor tunnel dryer
Single Phase. 240 volts. 4800watt. 32amp Socket.
Overall Tunnel: 1000x900mm
Belt Width: 25.5 inches
Infeed: 17 inches
Outfeed 15 inches
Overall length of dryer: 1.8 metres
Packing Size: 1880x950x780mm
Weight 130 kilos

T. shirt tunnel dryers are an important piece of equipment for any screen printer.

The importance of tunnel dryers should never be overlooked when starting in the screen printing industry.,

Print Technology at affordable prices.

Good for t-shirts, sweatshirts, working clothes, umbrellas and many more substrates.

Ideal tunnel dryer for digital printers including popular printers such as the brother DTG GTX Pro.

Also the most affordable in it’s range,

Absolutely do not compare with ‘mini’ or ‘buddy’ dryers ,panther , vastex,

this longer curing tunnel,adjustable height elements and highly efficient dryer is in a different league.

FEATURES T.SHIRT TUNNEL DRYER
CE Certified – 3 Year Back to Base Warranty
Variable Temperature Controller
Variable Speed Controller
Fully cures textiles and other ink types.
Designed for high production.
Reliable & Efficient.
Fully Insulated Tunnel for efficiency. Fire-retardent insulation to ensure the heat stays inside the dryer.
Long 1 metre Tunnel – The longer the garment stays in the oven at a controlled temperature the more accurate the cure.
Short ‘mini’ tunnels can cause cracking and less elasticity in the print.
Runs off a domestic energy supply. 220V, 32amp Socket, wired directly into the mains.
Temperature Control mode SSR/Contactor Control
Adjustable height for elements between the belt and heating elements, for passing items of various thickness through the tunnel.
Temperature controller for accuracy, temp RANGE 80 – 185DegC.
Belt – Lower speeds are excellent for inks which take longer to cure e.g metallics, waterbased, all over prints, puffers, glitters.
Higher speeds are ideal for high production. The belt can travel in both directions. Slow the belt speed to allow up to 2 minutes in the tunnel.
Open weave PTFE coated glass fibre conveyor belt – The coating is carbon loaded to avoid static electricity build up.
Oven flu to prevent build up of standard vapour in the oven.
Isolator safety switch.
On and off switch power to thermostat.
Plug & Cable supplied.
Specifications:
Single Phase. 240 volts. 4800watt. 32amp Socket.
Overall Tunnel: 1000x900mm
Belt Width: 25.5 inches
Infeed: 17 inches
Outfeed 15 inches
Overall length of dryer: 1.8 metres
Packing Size: 1880x950x780mm
Weight 130 kilos

CONVEYOR TUNNEL DRYER
PLASTISOL INKS ARE WIDELY USED IN GARMENT PRINTING.
First of all they are easy to print, do not dry in the screen, can be very opaque on dark garments, and will adhere to most textiles.

They are composed primarily of two ingredients, PVC resin (a white powder) and plasticizer (a thick, clear liquid).

Plastisol inks have one outstanding characteristic, they must be heated to dry.

They will not dry, or cure, at normal temperatures.

For a complete cure, they must reach 143-166º C.

Plastisol inks can be printed on virtually any surface that can withstand the heat required to cure.

When The ink and is porous enough to permit good ink penetration.

Plastisol inks do not color the fibers like a dye. Instead the ink wraps around the fibers and makes a mechanical bond with the fabric.

For this reason, they will not adhere to non-porous substrates such as plastic, metal, and glass.

They also will not adhere well to woven, waterproofed nylon material without adding a bonding agent.

Screen Printing conveyor dryer
Plastisol inks are innocuous when used with reasonable care.

A true plastisol ink contains no air-polluting solvents or volatile organic compounds.

The manufacture, transportation, storage, use, and disposal of plastisol inks do not cause environmental contamination ,

As long as the appropriate safety and environmental protection procedures are followed.

Cheap Screen Printing Essentials
Mesh Selection

With over 400 different meshes to choose from, selecting the correct mesh can be a frustrating process.

Use the following information as a general guideline for mesh selection.

Glitter inks. 12 threads per centimeter for printing

Athletic printing, opaque ink deposits, thick puff ink, and shimmer ink. 24 threads per centimeter

For heavy coverage on dark shirts, solid underbase prints, puff, metallic, and shimmer inks, and transfer printing. 34 threads per centimetre .

General printing on dark shirts, underbase eprints with detail, prints on dark nylon jackets, and silver shimmer ink. 4 9 threads per centimeter

For multi-color printing on light shirts, light colored nylon jackets.71 threads per centimeter

This is for detailed multi-color printing on light shirts, light nylon jackets, over printing on dark shirts.90 threads per centimeter.

120 threads per centimeter for process color on light shirts, overprinting on dark shirts.

When printing fleece goods use 20 threads lower. When printing with an automatic press use 30 threads higher.

This information was developed by Scott Fresener of the US Screen Printing Institute.

Emulsion Selection
For plastisol inks use solvent-resistant dual-cure or diazo direct emulsion stencils specifically designed for plastisol .

Capillary film stencils are also a good choice, particularly when printing halftones and transfers.

Plastisol Additives
A word of caution about ink additives.

However It’s easy to upset the chemical balance of plastisol inks by using the wrong additives or by adding too much of the correct additive.

Consequently can be result can be a print that never cures properly, a problem that may not be discovered until your customer washes a shirt and the design falls off.

To avoid this problem use only those additives recommended by Union Ink, read the Technical Data Sheets for each ink and additive, and carefully follow their instructions.

Never add mineral spirits to plastisol ink.

Although mineral spirits will make it easier to print at first, soon the ink will become even stiffer and harder to print than before.

Also, it is possible that mineral spirits will prevent the ink from curing properly.

conveyor dryer
Store plastisol inks at room temperature. Prolonged exposure to temperatures above 90º F (32º C) can cause the ink to start to cure while it’s still in the container.

Screen Washup
Clean plastisol ink off your screens with either mineral spirits or any of the various brand name screen washes available from your screen printing supplier.

Controlling Dye Migration
Dye migration is the problem caused by dyes in polyester fibers transferring to and changing the color of plastisol inks.

furthermore colours most likely to migrate are red, maroon, kelly green, and some of the darker blues.

Dye migration may appear immediately after the ink is cured, or hours, days, or up to two weeks later.

To control dye migration use the following procedures

Print with high-opacity, low-bleed inks.

Use no more heat than necessary to cure the ink. More heat means more dye migration.

Print and flash-cure a low-bleed white under base, then print the desired color over that.

Avoid the problem by printing on 100% cotton fabrics.

Curing Plastisol T.shirt tunnel dryer
Curing plastisol inks is a matter of exposing them to the proper amount of heat for the correct length of time.

Consequently correct curing of plastisol ink is extremely important.

The most common problem encountered with plastisol inks is poor wash ability.

In almost every case, this is due to incomplete ink cure.

When plastisol is heated, the resin particles absorb the surrounding liquid plasticizer .

swell, merge with each other and form a tough, elastic film.

Also generally impossible to over cure direct prints because the over cure temperature is above the scorching point of the garment.

However, it is not recommended that you heat the ink layer above 350º F (176º C).

Above this temperature puff inks fall like a cake .

When you slam the oven door, and problems with dye migration are greatly increased.

If the entire thickness of the ink is not brought to the correct curing temperature the ink will be under-cured .

The resin has not absorbed all of the plasticizer and the ink will crack and flake off the garment when washed.

conveyor dryer
Temperature

Plastisol will start to become dry to the touch or gelled (also called semi-cured) between 82-121º C.

It becomes fully cured between 138-160º C, depending on the type of plastisol.

The temperature at which the ink becomes fully cured is called the fusion temperature.

Most Union Ink plastisol inks cure at 149º C.

Check the Technical Data Sheet for each Union Ink plastisol for complete instructions.

Measuring Ink Temperature
Temperature test strips are useful for determining temperatures of the printed ink film.

For thick prints, a temperature tape should be placed inside the garment to make sure the proper temperature is achieved at the bottom of the ink film.

Temperature probes and infrared thermometers (pyrometers) can also be used.

Although they are extremely precise at measuring temperature.

Hence may give erroneous ink film temperature readings if not used correctly because the probe may not react quickly enough to changes in the ink film temperature.

Screen Printing Supplies T. shirt tunnel dryer
Time
Once the entire ink film thickness reaches the proper temperature, the ink is fully cured.

This means that with a high enough temperature in the curing unit, the plastisol could actually be cured in a few seconds.

Testing a Direct Print for Cure
The definitive test to determine if plastisol inks are cured is a wash test.
Generally it will take from 5-10 washings to fully test the cure, but if the ink is seriously under cured, the print will show deterioration after only 1-3 washings.

There are two other tests commonly used to check ink cure.

The most popular test is to stretch the print about 2/3 of the total stretch of the T-shirt.

If the print cracks badly and does not retract when the fabric is released, the ink is probably under-cured.

The stretch test does not always work on thick deposits of ink,

Such as with on athletic jerseys, where the top layer of ink may stretch but the ink deep down in the fabric may be under-cured.

Another test for curing can be done by placing a few drops of ethyl acetate onto the back of the ink on the inside of the garment.

This spot of ink is then placed onto an area of unprinted garment and burnished or held tightly together for two minutes.

If there is a transfer of ink to the unprinted area, the ink is not fully cured and the garment should be run through the dryer again.

Like the stretch test, this test is not always accurate. Ethyl acetate is a fairly hazardous chemical.

If the ink is under cured, you can run it through the dryer again and complete the cure.

Screen Printing Supplies T. shirt tunnel dryer
Adjusting Your Dryer
It’s very important to understand how to adjust your dryer to achieve the correct curing temperature.

It is a common misconception that you need to measure the temperature of the dryer.

Actually, you must be able to determine the temperature of the ink film.

The temperature of the ink film is determined by the time the garment is under the heater and the temperature of the heater.

This means that the temperature can be controlled with the belt speed of a conveyor dryer or time under the heater with a flash curing unit.

If the heater temperature in a dryer or flash curing unit reaches 427º C.

It is possible for the ink film on the garment to reach the full cure temperature 149º C in a matter of 20-30 seconds.

Generally the temperature in the dryer is much higher than the temperature required to cure the ink. This allows the ink to cure quicker for faster printing.

Cheap Screen Printing Supplies T. shirt tunnel dryer
Flash Curing
Plastisol can generally be fully cured with a flash cure unit if the heater is set to the highest temperature and the unit is placed 2-3 inches (5-7.6 cm) over the garment for 20-30 seconds.

For curing between colors where only a partial cure is required, the time can be less.

Conveyor Curing
As a starting point, the temperature of heaters should be set at full on.
If the heaters are allowed to cycle on and off there may be too long an off cycle for the dryer to maintain the proper temperature consistently.

The belt speed should be set so the garments are in the tunnel 20-30 seconds. Small dryers may require a much slower belt speed than larger dryers.

From this starting point, you will have to print sample garments and wash test them to determine the correct belt speed and temperature settings for your dryer for the various types of jobs you print.

Important Curing Tips T.shirt tunnel dryer
White ink requires the longest cure time of any standard color.

Light ink colors require longer curing periods than dark colors.

Thick ink layers require longer curing periods than thin layers.

Glitter, shimmer, reflectivem, and metallic inks require longer curing periods.

Because the pigments used in these inks tend to reflect infrared radiation (heat).Prints (both on paper and garments) should be cured within a minute of printing.

If you delay curing, the plasticizer in the ink may start to leach out of the ink into the substrate.

This will look like an oily margin around the print.Temperature tapes are not exact.

They can vary as much as 10-20º F (5-10º C) and should be used only as a guide.

The definitive test is how well the print launders.

Dryer temperatures can vary greatly with just minor changes in belt speed, garment loading, room temperature, air movement, or fluctuations in incoming voltage.

Screen Printing Supplies
Plastisol Transfer Printing
Most plastisol heat transfers fall into one of three categories, hot-split, cold-peel, or puff.

When hot-split transfers are applied, the paper is stripped off the garment immediately after the heat transfer press is opened.

The ink layer splits, leaving part of the ink on the garment and part on the transfer paper.

Hot-split transfers are nearly indistinguishable from a soft-hand direct print.

When cold-peel transfers are applied, the transfer is allowed to cool before the paper is removed.

All of the ink transfers from the paper to the garment. T.shirt tunnel dryer

Cold-peel transfers have a glossy surface and are preferred for glitter and athletic transfers

Also Some transfers can be either hot-split or cold-peel.

Puff transfers are printed with special puff transfer inks and when properly applied, produce a puff design.

Transfers that have been properly printed and applied are as durable as a direct print.

Best T. shirt tunnel dryer
Curing Transfer Prints
When printing heat transfers, the ink is only gelled or brought to a semi-cure.
This occurs between 82-121º C, just past the wet state.

Transfers that have been semi-cured become fully cured when they are applied to the garment.

If they are over-cured, the ink will not transfer well.

Testing for Cure
To determine the correct dryer settings for gelling the INK.
Increase the conveyor speed, or decrease the temperature of the curing unit until the stacked prints begin to stick together or show a slight amount of set-off on the back of the upper sheet.

Then decrease the conveyor speed enough to eliminate the sticking.

Another test for gel (though not always accurate) is to peel the ink off the release paper and roll it into a ball.

If the ball unrolls when laid down, the transfer is over cured.

A third test is the stretch test.

The gelled ink layer should be cured just enough that you can peel it off the paper, but if you try to stretch it, it should break with very little stretch.

Screen Printing T. shirt tunnel dryer
Hot-Split Transfer Tips
For medium-opacity transfers use Ultra soft (PLUS), or Auto Line (AUTO) ink.
For high-opacity transfers use Mix-Opaque (MIXO) with Mixo-Trans Additive or Trans opake (TROP).

Print through an 86 thread/inch (34 thread/cm) mesh.

Cure to 121º C.

See below for curing procedures.

Use Super-Trans, Trans Lith, or Trans 55 paper, available from Union Ink.

Transfer to the garment at 177º C for 10-15 seconds at 1.75-2.1 kgf/cm2.

Peel the paper off the garment immediately after the press is opened.

Best screen print T. shirt tunnel dryer
Cold-Peel Transfer Tips
Use the same inks, mesh, and curing procedures as for hot-split transfers.
Use Trans French T-75, Super-Trans, or Trans Lith paper, available from Union Ink.

Transfer to the garment at 177º C for 10-20 seconds at 1.75-2.1 kgf/cm2.

Allow the transfer to cool completely before stripping off the paper.

Glitter Transfer Tips
For glitter transfers, use Super Glitter (PAGL-S) printed through a 30 thread/inch (12 thread/cm) mesh.
Cure as for hot-split transfers. T.shirt tunnel dryer

You can use Trans French T-75 or Trans Lith papers, but for the highest gloss transfers, use a high-gloss transfer paper such as Warren O Duplex paper.

Glitter transfers are generally applied using the cold-peel procedure.

Screen Print Supplies
Puff Transfer Tips
For puff transfers, use Trans puff (TRPF) ink printed through a 60 thread/inch (25 thread/cm) mesh.
Print a very thick layer of ink onto Trans-55 paper.

After printing the transfer, apply a transfer adhesive powder.

such as Union’s Unilon Heat Transfer Powder (ULON), either by sprinkling the powder over the print, or by passing the transfer through a tray containing the transfer adhesive powder.

Curing puff transfers is very critical. T.shirt tunnel dryer

The ink should be cured enough that it does not smear or offset in the stack, but not enough to puff.

The temperature window for curing puff transfers is 82-93º C. pply the transfer at 190º C for 5-10 seconds at 2.1-2.8 kgf/cm2).

Remove the paper from the garment immediately after opening the transfer press.

Screen Printing T. shirt tunnel dryer
Testing for Transferability
It is essential that you test your heat transfers for transferability at the start of each production run.
his is particularly important when using a new paper or ink.

You should also do accelerated aging tests which will indicate how well the transfer will release after 6-12 months on the shelf.

Accelerated aging tests can be done by placing the printed transfer in an environment of(49º C for 100 hours.

This will simulate approximately one year of shelf storage.

While this test does not exactly duplicate the effects of aging, it will definitely help you determine whether a particular transfer will release well after aging.

Best screen print supplies
Always Test Inks Before Using In Production
Always test inks to determine their fitness for your particular applications, particularly new types of inks and when printing on new products.

Before printing a production run, print a sample for testing for adhesion, crocking, opacity, washability and any specific job requirements.

T.shirt tunnel dryer
Screen Printing Products focus on promoting.Our high quality bare and meshed aluminum frames.

Silk Screen printing equipment in the UK market at competitive pricing.

Our Advantages that will benefit to clients.

Full series of screen printing supplies such as fabric mesh, squeegee, emulsion, inkjet films, washout booth. T.shirt tunnel dryer

Factory located in KENT UK which is the leading company of screen printing kits with more than 40 years’ experience.
Furthermore Not only successful in Screen Printing products but also great in SMT frames with foils.

Our Advantages that will benefit to clients:

Full series of screen printing supplies uk such as fabric mesh, squeegee, emulsion, inkjet films, washout booth.

Our Ink spatulas have natural wood handles, Stainless steel rivets and stainless steel blade.

The semi-flexible ink spatulas are easier to use.

Ink Spatulas are a key tool for overall profitability by keeping your ink distribution clean, easy, and fast.

Our semi-flexible blade is preferred by screen printers for stirring and mixing colours.

Therefore flexibility allows for easy ink application on the screen making specific quantities a lot easier to manage.

T. shirt tunnel dryer method.
The term refers to a method of pushing paint through a screen made of a fine mesh, prepared so that some of the mesh doesn’t let paint through, to create a design.

It is also known as silkscreen, silk-screening and serigraph referring to the original material that printing screens were made of and the ability to create a series of prints.

Substrate
Substrate it the surface that is being printed. Substrates are varied, with the most common ones being fabric and paper.

Screen printers will refer to their screens as having a substrate and a squeegee side, respectively the side where the screen touches the substrate And also the side where the ink is pushed through with a squeegee.

Squeegee: Best screen printing supplies
A squeegee is similar to a wiper, used to squeeze ink through the mesh of the treated screen onto the substrate.

Squeegee blades can be hard or soft and can have square, rounded or pointed blade edges for the use on different substrates.

Durometer is the number indicating the hardness of the squeegee blade.

While higher the number the harder it is with 70 being the most common durometer.

Soft round squeegees are more often used for fabrics. While hard sharp edged and square squeegees do well on non-porous surfaces.

Best screen printing T. shirt tunnel dryer
Screen Printing Products .
The screen mesh is the polyester used in screen printing for the screen.

Which t comes in a thread count of 15t to 200t. The higher the thread count, the less ink it will let through.

Also Screen mesh comes in either white or yellow.

When exposing a positive onto mesh the colour can make the difference between soft and sharp images.

White mesh reflects the light of the exposure to all sides and so creates softer lines while the coloured mesh with less reflection produces a sharper image.

Screen Printing Frame: Screen Printing Products
Last, but definitely not least, is the screen printing frame which holds the screen mesh.

They’re made from wood or aluminum.

Wooden frames don’t last anywhere near as long as aluminum frames which cost a great deal more.

Frames are often pre-tensioned

screen printed glass Best screen printing supplies
Finally Post-screen printed glass is more favorably welcomed by people used in interior or outdoor design and decoration.

Nowadays, glass containers have begun to apply to medical supplies, industrial products, and the high quality of glass products.

All decorated by screen printing technology will become the new growth point of glass printing.

Screen Printing Supplies.uk are United kingdoms number one supplier of screen printing aluminum frame.

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Pre-stretched frame, Screen printing aluminum frame.