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Technical Information for Excalibur® 581 Series
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Drying: Excalibur Ink will fully heat cure when the entire ink film reaches 310°F (154°C). Light colors may require longer periods to obtain this temperature.
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Heat Transfers: See the Making Cold Peel Heat Transfers section of this website.
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Ink Cleanup: Use Enviro Series 2000 Green or Enviro Series TR Blend.
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Screen Mesh: For direct printing, a 40-305/inch (16T-122Tcm) mesh may be used. For heat transfers, a 80-125/inch (32T-50Tcm) screen mesh gives the best result.
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Ink Modification: For softer hand, limited amounts of 502 Reducer may be used to achieve the desired consistency. Limited amounts of 502 Reducer will duplicate the look and feel of a water based-print. The only minor drawback is that as you increase the amount used, the plastisol loses some stretch and abrasion resistance. Excess amounts may increase curing time. 501 Curable Reducer can be added in any quantity and will soften hand, reduce viscosity and extend ink. Excess amounts may reduce opacity.
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Squeegee: Medium Durometer is recommended.
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Stencil: All types of stencils may be used for screen printing 581 Series Plastisol Inks.
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Important Information
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Drying: The amount of time it takes for the ink to reach a curing temperature will depend upon the color and thickness of the ink deposit. Curing is a time and temperature relationship. The longer the time or the higher the temperature or combination of these, the faster the cure. Generally plastisol prints should be cured at temperatures of around 320°F (160°C). Temperature strips are an ideal way of determining the exact temperature of the printed ink film. The absolute test is whether the print will stand repeated washings. An initial test to determine cure is, after curing and cooling, the print should feel dry and firm when rubbed with your thumb. It should be able to stretch and relax without excessive cracking.
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Heat Transfers: Prints on heat transfer paper must only be semi-cured, as over-curing may cause adhesion problems in the adhesion step of applying the transfer to the garment or cap. The plastisol ink should be dried so that the transfer may be handled and stacked without removing the ink from the heat transfer paper.
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