T-shirts Org

Old t-shirts never die, they just get used as rags

2008-06-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

I had a flood in my shop last week. For some reason I had woke up at 2am and actually headed to work at 3am. I never do this, but I was drawn to the disaster that was going on. I opened the door and water was 1" deep in the shop and spraying from a nozzel that had broke in the night. I grabbed what I could find, t-shirts, and threw them on the floor. By 5a.m I had done enough to where I could leave and go back to bed hoping somehow that maybe the entire fiasco was a bad dream. It wasn't, but even though the damage was limited I am most impressed that I somehow got up in the middle of the night and found this mess before it got any worse.

I am working on installing a wholesale t-shirt wiki at WikiTshirt.com I plan to use the site as a more definitive place to develop descriptions of all of the different aspects of screen printing and t-shirts. This blog works good, but the organization is linear by date and I need a place to organize the information I need for my customers by subject. Just text editing on a blog is tough, but limited information edited over time should provide useful tips that will be helpful for hundreds of years. Once it is up and running I'll start pasting some of the information about shirts from here on the wiki.

I also need to block the spammers from this wiki. This is the only reason the t-shirt wiki has been postponed. Everytime I start a bulletin board / forum it gets overrun by spammers. the same thing happened as soon as I started a wiki on toptennewstories.com Then I went to upgrade to a more recent wiki from wikimedia.org and I needed php 5.0 to run the database. This required me to try a new server for the database to work on, so I am trying a new company that hopefully has the php5.0 built in to thier database servers. La, La, La. I can only say that if you think screen printing is tricky, you should try networking and running a database. It makes screenprinting fun.

I don't remember if I mentioned this the other day, but I am working on a list of categorized characteristics for the various brands and styles of shirts that are commonly available for wholesale t-shirt printing jobs, hoodies too. There is a wide range of styles for t-shirts, some of which are organic t-shirts, some are ringspun, not printable, cheap, expensive and so on... Well I am going to try an summarize these items for a sort of cheat sheet for people to quickly figure out which type / brand of tshirt they are looking for. A briefing of this list can be found here: Wholesale T-shirts Brand List - work in progress.

My old post was about saving the world, but I digressed

2008-06-17T01:03:00.000-07:00

yes, i was going to save the world. My co-worker, Aaron, sent me a PDF of photos with sympathetic sayings about the use of plastic bags and the effects on the environmen. After viewing it I realized that there is no reason to be using said bags in our store since number one, we can print on inexpensive canvas bags and practically give them away for free while advertising simultaneously, duh. Who needs a number two, duh. Ok, I have a number two, its, uh, number two...oh, yeah, paper bags, yes, paper is fine since wood is divine. I rymed, oh yeah. All things break down, but paper breaks down quicker, which makes bags superior. Earlier today I had to cut my entire shower curtain section after hearing that the release of phalaytes from opening a shower curtain is dangerous, hazard to your health. I will admit, those things stink after you open them. Now I'm on a search for an organic shower curtain that won't kill me while bathing. Rayon, Bamboo, Hemp? You would need a very strong rod to be able to sustain a cotton shower curtain. It would need to be water-resistant, flexible and light, like a force-field against water.

Comparing T-shirts for what they are, Cotton fiber knitted together

2008-06-17T00:42:00.000-07:00

That's all there is my friend, cotton fiber. Let's throw out the dye and rip them all, if that's all, there is. When I was a young boy I used to fish at the pond by the mill and one day when daddy caught an bright orange fish and said, it's the from "The Mill". I thought to myself is that all there is to mutation? Then one day I was standing around a boat listening to racist talk about things that happened over 100 years ago from three-fingered people when I asked, "what happend to your hand?". The old man called Whitey (because of the lint in his head) said, "The Mill". I though to myself is that all there is to a hand? Then one day I was at a party for 4th of July that was put on by "The Mill" and since I went to the Mill school and lived in "The Mill" house on "The Mill" street I was able to attend. They had some of the best free hot dogs and the people that worked at "The Mill" got two weeks vacation. It was a lot of fun, but I couldn't help but wonder if they should've have to lose their hands, catch glowing fish and eat hot dogs for fun. Now I've worked for 20+ years in the cotton pushing business and although I still have all my fingers I can't help but think when people ask me stupid questions about t-shirts and printing on fabric that they shouldn't think it to be that important. It's not all it's cracked up to be to be in the fashion business, because it is still business. That's all it is.

Old t-shirts never dye, they just become rags

2008-06-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

Pardon the pun, but I can't help but try and bee punny when writing on this blog. Who could possibly care this much about t-shirts to follow or not take humor in every nook and cranny of life when it comes to t-shirts. The only reason I've been successful at this is I don't care about being serious, otherwise I would've gotten a real job at the local money making factory. My point here is that I have been spending my afternoons drying old t-shirts that I used to soak up water from a flood I had in my new warehouse. Nothing like the floods that people are suffering through in Iowa and along the Mississippi River, but my own little version of a hose breaking and watering the cement. Luckily I woke up at 2a.m. that day and decided to go to work early, otherwise I could've increase the water-level of my the San Francisco Bay by a couple of inches had I shown up on my normal schedule around noon.

These shirts are still not worthy of being thrown away where they could decompose quietly. No, I'm planning on drying them out and printing on them again, for test prints and for cleaning out old ink. I just can't let them go. They aren't worth much, but what the hey it would cost more to buy rags than t-shirts, so why not. Plus I like the idea of drying clothes in the wind. I hang them all over my truck and then when I have to go somewhere I remember that they are hanging and I pull them all down quickly and toss them in the back, still damp.

Did you know that original photo-chemicals are commonly recognized as being when people dried their clothes in the sun and the light made the colors brighter. Without this type of human-brilliance we never would've had photography. The effect of the sun and air on garments makes them stiffer, but somehow they feel cleaner too. It's as if they fibers got to breath and they are empty of soil that comes from wearing clothes. These shirts aren't exactly clean either, since they have soil caked on them from the ground and from laying in the back of my truck, however, after they have hung for a few hours they seem cleaner, not quite wearable, but cleaner.

This is how I think the American people feel. There is nothing funny about it, but it is coincidental that the last time we elected a new Democratic President there was flooding in the summer in the Iowa region. This indicates that the nation may be going through a cleansing of sorts, baptismal-like, rinsing away the misdirected passions of the past so that we may move forward in the fall with a new approach, a new government. I couldn't help but mention this as something that only being old enough to notice would allow someone to consider the similarity of the times. Sure, there are also paralells between the end of the Nixon era and the begining of the Carter term, but I wasn't paying attention to politics and weather then. This is symbolic and as indicative of events as the Presidential polling.

Water-based short runs

2008-06-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

I've been using water-based for my t-shirt samples since I don't have to heat up a dryer and for one-color jobs the inks are similar to plastisol inks. For bigger t-shirt printing runs white t-shirts I've been thinning down the black to make it similar to the water-based and have come to find that I like it a bit more than water-based because it doesn't bleed through to the inside of the shirt. Back and forth, that's how this challenge seems to be going. Water-based inks are good for this bad for that and the same goes for plastisol inks. There has been a lot of discussion lately about phalaytes. I wonder how that effects t-shirt inks. Basically if you are concerned about your carbon footprint then I suggest only white or natural shirts since they must have less coloring in them and require less ink to print.

Back to Mr. Nice Guy - How may I help you?

2008-05-21T23:08:00.001-07:00

Ok, I realized that speaking truthfully is risky from a business perspective. Just like I rant on about how my customers often don't provide me with decent artwork I must be sure to see that they can just as easily tell the world how shitty I am to work with. I'm not sure that I would work with me if I read this blog. T-shirt printing isn't such a skill that people should learn it before they learn to make a living or even before they learn to drink beer. It's a craft that every now and again someone is forced to do for the group or event that they are involved in. It's good-natured fun, not rocket science and I shouldn't expect the customers to know any more about doing artwork than you could expect them to know about how a mechanic fixes their car. They drive in to an auto shop and say "fix it".

Who am I to think that people should be able to provide artwork or communicate specifically about a t-shirt print job? It would be nice, but it's not gonna happen. This job is basically about hand-holding and customer service. The customer doesn't want to know any more than they have to and I don't blame them. I don't like it, but I don't have to do it if I don't want to, so if I am going to do it I need to be Mr. Nice Shirt instead of saying "NO" everytime I get a stupid quote. I should explain why I can't do things instead of just saying go to my competitors. I should lower my price when everyone ask for a discount below my already low prices. Or better yet, I should raise all my prices so that I can lower them for everybody. I should promise to do artwork for people and not charge them for it since they don't want to pay for artwork. I could just raise my prices on the printing for everybody and then I could give artwork away to those that need it.

I could, but I won't. I don't have time to do the good jobs and the jobs for the customers that do have artwork if I did that. If I spent time explaining why I'm saying "No" then I won't have time to say "Yes" to the guy who has a real job. Being Mr. Nice guy is kinda like taking spam seriously and it just doesn't make sense from a business standpoint. I'm going to try to be nicer and try not rag on the fact that I have to answer redundant questions for a living, but I hope that people realize when I say "No" it is simply a way to save time for both of us in the long run.

The Angry Professor - Teach your kids art...

2008-05-21T08:53:00.001-07:00

I often hate my attitude when I get bad art and stupid questions, but I try my hardest to be understanding and sympathetic to the fact that many people don't review the pricelist and or can't provide graphics in an easily screen printable format. I would have also liked to be something more professional in my career than a hack printer putting crappy artwork on t-shirts for a living, but this is how I pay my bills and it's too late to turn this ship around at this point. In college I remember a few professors who were upset at answering stupid questions, yet they were stuck teaching remedial math, while the other, higher tenured professors were doing research and dating the grad student helpers that worked with them on special "astral physics" projects. In fact I think they added that department just so more women would come into the Science building, but I digress.
Being a professor is as close to comparing my job to a respectful career as I can come up with, frankly it is more like being a janitor, but I do have to interact with customers and janitors get to work alone and have an office/closet. So when I get mad it is only because I feel like I am wasting my time and no one has any respect for the artwork that is required to patch, copy and paste together the crap they give me into some kind of printable design. The reason they have no respect is that nobody wants to pay for artwork, yet they can't do it themselves. These people are very much like the entitled type of students who marched into college without having studied in High School, but were determined to be doctors, lawyers and leaders of the free world (myself included). Heck if it wasn't for college I would've never learned what I was supposed to have learned in High School. These types of professors didn't like their job and I don't blame them, but you didn't want to feel their wrath.

I've become this giant fish in a small pond. I pull my hair and roll my eyes each time a new email is slid under my door asking for a better grade. I regret fixing problems for people who should've gotten the answer correct, but for their simplistic adding mistakes. I stomp when a customer wants a job by the end of the week, but they haven't completed the artwork required or made any of the decisions that are necessary to even place the order. Why, why, why am I forced into this demeaning servitude even though there is no such thing as tenure in the t-shirt screen printing world? There is no "3 months off" in the summer. There is no retirement fund or union to protect my interest. There is only a never-ending flow of competitors and cheaper companies out there stealing my good jobs. And a bunch of crappy companies that make printing seem easy who I gladly send my ungrateful bad artwork customers to whenever I can to get rid of them like, cafepress.com and customink.com. If they think I'm bad or expensive then they can go there and either pay through the nose or get crappy t-shirt with their crappy artwork.

Just teach your kids art PARENTS. Because people surely can't learn this stuff as adults. You get stupider as you get older and apparently if you don't learn how to be artistic as a kid then you just keep creating crap as adults, but as an adult people have confidence, arrggghhhhh. This confidence keeps bringing them back with more bad artwork as if they've "figured it out" by opening the file and changing the resolution, but they haven't changed the quality of the original crap they did to begin with. This is why I hate my job, but this is why I get paid. If they could do the artwork, then they could print the shirts and they wouldn't need me. Just like if you're so smart, then why the hell did you go to college to begin with???? I've got to go now. I have some quotes and shitty artwork to finish. I've got to take a screen shot of a Power Point file and then increase it to 12" wide from a 3" image and hope that somehow it is printable.

Life is a bowl of cherries, listed, organized and sorted in columns and rows.

2008-05-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Learning new things is supposed to be fun, unless you constantly hit roadblocks. Don't get me wrong, I like a challenge, which is why I keep hitting roadblocks. I just can't give up this one project of working on a database on the OSCommerce platform for managing my t-shirt collections. Time after time I think I have it right and then when I check my data or move on to another step I get garbage, jumbled data and formatting messes. I want to move on, but since the OS Commerce platform interfaces with Google Checkout I am drawn to organizing my products there for the long run. Google itself has a lousy interface for shipping and options, but a great search engine. T-shirts are riddled with options and different characteristics that require a rather complex management system to keep them up.

Even changing the look and feel of OS Commerce seems easy, but it's the backside of the operations that need to be created before any of that stuff is relevant. Here is what I'm working on now: http://t-shirts.org/shop

The concept of a no-cost shopping cart is great because then I can upload as many products as I want and not have to worry about charges for this and that, as well as, I would be able to use the cart as a job management tool. None of the current carts on the market deal with everything that a t-shirt business needs, especially the accounting and custom printing stuff, but it seems that a universal cart like the Open Source OS Commerce cart would do the job. I plan to finish this so I can get back to selling, so if you have any suggestions on the best shopping cart for t-shirt businesses on earth please let me know.

Meanwhile, I've gotten my solar panels installed and am currently running office equipment on the battery system I've got up that is converting the DC to AC. I don't think I will have enough amperage to run a full-blow dryer to set plastisol inks, but for the basic water-based t-shirt inks I can now print and run most of my operation off-the-grid. I need to test an exposure unit for making screens to see if I have enough juice for that. I am currently running two high-efficiency light units that should be able to do the job, but it would be quicker with UV bulbs and that would shorten the exposure times.

Discharge Inks Water Based Inks and Discharge Plastisol T-shirt Printing Inks

2008-05-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

Forget everthing I said on this blog about discharge and water-based inks for t-shirt printing. I drove to LA and purchased a water based discharge ink and a hybird water based / plastisol discharge ink. This particular ink claims that the use of these inks is not harmful (whatever that means), they do not stink and they can be sold on the finished product without having to be labeled or washed before they are sold. So if I close my eyes, ears, shut my mouth and just print with these inks I can assume that what is written on the fact sheet is true and just enjoy the effects, which is what I did today.

The water-based t-shirt discharge ink had a nice thick consistency and it was easy to handle. It printed through a wide mesh and although it bled a little, it was very bright and knocked the shirt color and provided a nice bone finish. I did several test like this, including printing from the inside of the shirt to allow a half print type effect to show through the shirt on the other side. The finished product didn't stink and although you couldn't see the residue on the fibers of the shirt it was a little stiff. I am sure it will soften a bit when it is dried and from what it says on the fact sheet I can send this shirt to market as it is. Later I'll mix some color water-based inks, which seem to be softer, into the discharge ink and see if it pops. I was haunted by dirty fingers and little spots showed up afterwards on the shirts I was printing. Solve one problem and find a new problem. Theres no way to clean out derelict discharge spots on shirts, I would just need to print or spray something around it to make it a part of the design.

The plastisol /water based discharge ink was thin and I added some color inks to the ink to see if thickening would make it printable or easier to handle. I could've used a tighter mesh, but I wasn't ready for that. I did a split fountain and used the Haight Inc design that was still in the press. To make things interesting I mixed red and yellow and did a split fountain horizontally through the peace sign on fire design. The mixed ink was thick and although the colors brightened up when I flashed the design they were still thickish and it didn't make sense to use plastisol. I left the ink in the screen to see if it set-up since longer working time is the main advantage of plastisol over water-based inks. I can see using a plastisol discharge for one-color prints and longer working times than water based and less bleed. Also for creating a base for lighter, multi-color, plastisol prints that require more detail than water-based inks provide. I could increase the softhand in plastisol and make a rather smooth plastisol print and not have the screen drying issues to deal with that water-based inks create.

I am making some new screens using a different emulsion, water-resistant no phalaytes (whatever those are), with a hardener to use with the discharge inks. Regular photographic emulsion breaks down quickly.

I also have been able to print and test some water based inks that have a super high opacity and I am pleased to announce that they did not require a discharge ink to make them printable on darks. This long awaited surprise that somewhat anti-climatic in that I ran to the store to show off the samples and several people could not tell the difference between the water based inks and the plastisol. Because the opacity is created by the thickness of the ink this made the prints a little thick. So what, it is water-based inks on dark t-shirts, Woo Hoo! I did a wash test after only 1-2 days of dry time and they didn't break down or dull out. The ink is very expensive, almost 4 times the price of plastisol but there is not odor and this means I could do single prints almost anywhere and not require a dryer or any special chemicals to clean the screen.

As such, I am going to put individual one-color screen printing presses in the store for retail customers to print their own shirts and we won't be limited to only white garments. Finally a few break throughs that have a practical application, as long as I don't over analyze the inks and I just go along with what they claim. The other fact is that I am going to have to reshoot many of my screens to create water-based printable screens for use with these new inks. My silk screen supplier should be happy about that.

Makers Faire, Windmills and Drainage

2008-05-07T11:58:00.001-07:00

I've been busy on side projects, but no matter what it always comes back to t-shirts. I went to the Makers Fair show hoping to find a cheap way to screen print or make solar panels, but I didn't find any. All of the kits and robots were made to entertain and educate and they all came with pre-assembled solar panels. My son purchased a robotic mouse that follows light and we also bought a simple engine that runs on solar power.

Near the end I found the exhibit with a vertical windmill and scrutinized the design so that I could build one once I got home. The idea is the same as solar panels in that I need an affordable energy source to pile power into a battery bank to run a flash unit and a dryer. Lights aren't a problem, but to get enough energy to run equipment you need more amps. More amps mean more batteries and a bigger inverter. I've got a large battery bank and a decent inverter, but I don't want to rely on standard commercial solar panels, but a windmill will actually work pretty well for my home workshop since it is on Mount Tamalpais and the wind comes through like clockwork.

I'll link to the design and other info later, but it isn't just putting itself together so I moved back to my drainage project for cleaning screens and inks. This relates to the second project I did with my daughter at the Makers Faire. There was an exhibit that allowed people to print their own shirts for $15. They were using basic water based inks, which don't produce any odor and were allowing people to dry the shirts with a blow dryer. The screens were rather large, which kept the ink from running into the corners. The designs were one-color, which eliminated the need for flashing. The inks weren't very opaque, but it didn't matter for kids and crafts.

Only small amounts of ink were used at a time and to keep the screens from drying the helpers would immediately get a squirt bottle and clean out the screen. Also they would scrape off all the excess ink after a single print. My daughter wanted to make a shirt and was familiar with the process, so she picked a dark shirt and a light ink. After a brief drying time she also went and tried a second color that didn't show up that great. The real test is whether or not the inks will wash out if the shirt is washed in the next couple of days. I think so. Not their fault, just a reality of the process. It was a fun exhibit and I was surprised it worked at all. The person working the both also mentioned a discharge plastisol ink that may be available from Wilflex. I was heading that way with my own test, which confirms the obvious, but the real test for any ink is if it needs washing before it is sold.

I liked the water based project at the show and have been wanting to build a drain because most likely a screen will need to be cleaned with water and for quick action a filtered drainage system would allow the cleaning of inks with more than a bottle of beanie-do and a rag. I purchased bags of rock, sand and gravel and positioned them in containers, then drilled holes in spots to expedite the flow of water. I'll post some pictures, but I look forward to seeing if some plants will grow in the residue from this system.

Lastly: I was making a few shirts with Rodni, from Rodni.com, at the new Richmond location and he had a design of a burning peace sign. I was determined to add some goofy slogan to his artwork and came up with "San Fran Peaco" which made him upset. I also added to the bottom, "Haight Inc", which had a nice ring to it. The screens didn't shoot out very well so the to part didn't print, but the Peace Sign and Haight Inc printed looked great together. Rodni has put the design in the window of the store an people seem to like the slogan with the design. I also am going to setup a website to promote products specifically from the Haight Street store through HaightInc.com.

International Shipping for Blank T-shirts and T-shirt Printing

2008-04-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

Question on International shipping and shipping prices for blank t-shirts and t-shirt printing:
I'm looking to buy Organic T-shirts in quantities of 100 at a time to start.
I would like them to be shipped to Sydney Australia. The shipping seems to be more than the cost of the product.

Answer:
Yes, the shipping is expensive and not guaranteed internationally. We can estimate your shipping in the cart as you have seen or we can provide an exact quote with an exact address and quantity of shirts. For exact shipping quotes we require orders to be prepaid via wire transfer before processing the order for shipping. Any final adjustments to the shipping cost will be done via credit card. Typically we use the USPS Global Express for international t-shirt orders. Sometimes we have to break the order into several shipments for handling purposes. We cannot track products shipped internationally, but the Global Express service is the most economical, almost trackable service for international shipping. This means we also cannot guarantee international shipping because the final shipment depends on the carriers inside other countries.

Shipping internationally is executed at the risk of the customer although there is significant price differences between the dollar and other currencies right now. If you are considering a large purchase, then you may want to get a freight agent who imports to your country in order to process the potential taxes. In this way you can control the shipping cost because we will only have to ship to the local delivery point. For orders over $25,000 USD we can arrange to find an agent or international delivery. I've found to countries like Japan the final cost, including taxes, can be as high as $2/shirt. In the Netherlands it might be higher. I'm not sure about Australia or New Zealand, but we ship to these countries.

bill

yque.com

Casey Harvey wrote:

Hi my name is Casey, I'm enquiring to see if shipping on t-shirts is as expensive as your site says.
I'm looking to buy American Apparel Organic T-shirts in quantities of 100 at a time to start.
I would like them to be shipped to Sydney Australia. The shipping seems to be more than the cost of the product.

Ventilation Emancipation

2008-04-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

After 7 days of ladder hopping and duct taping I've gotten a reasonable combination of fans and ducts that no longer resembles a scene from the movie Brazil. Grainger has an amazing selection of fans and switches that came in handy. Most of the ducts came from Home Depot. Now I have a small variable speed fan at the exhaust vent of the InfraRed dryer and a suspended 8" vertical exhast fan above the flash unit. This is assisted by a remote vertical exhaust dryer booster that turns on automatically with a pressure sensitive switch.

I also picked up a couple of window fans, but I am worried that it may interfere with the venting. Now I can experiment with the discharge inks in a more reasonable way. I've always associated air ventilation with air conditioning and it's never been within my price range, so from a working environment standpoint I feel like I've been freed from the restraints of working with some chemicals. At the very least it will make the shop more bearable when toasting plastisol like burning bread for multi-colored prints. If this works I'll always install an overhead vent from here on out like an overhead vent on a stove, why not? I'm never going back.

Update on Phot-Fresco frames: I covered several test Photfrescos with clear exteriors. The idea is to encase them for waterproofing and to protect from the degradation that the inks suffer when exposed to direct sunlight. I realized some of the similarities to t-shirt printing to ink jet printing on paper when researching the inks versus dyes article listed in a previous post. This makes me aware of the archival nature of all products, prints especially. One of my arguments for the Phot-Frescoes is that they are like having a photograph in stone. However, my test have shown that in direct sunlight the inks from the inkjet printers that I use breakdown quickly on the top surface of the plaster and turn to white dust. Not so good for a Rock Photograph.

I've tried several sealing methods like brushing on acrylic clear varnish, but it dissolved the prints and smeared the designs. I used spray paint acrylic varnish, but this required too many coats as the spray was absorbed into the plaster like a bisque clay is absorbed into the sides of a mold. Yesterday I tried a clear epoxy, more expensive, on one framed fresco and a polyester resin, less expensive, on another. I poured them in the parking lots of the respective stores where I purchased the materials and let them dry as I drove over the Richmond Bridge to my laboratory. I thought this was good for spreading, ventialating and working out air bubbles in the material. The polyester resin butterfly fresco was yellowed and it dulled the colors of the image. The Epoxy dried clear and increased the vibrancy of the colors.

The Epoxy coating was superior for the opacity of the top coat, but it also may have changed the image, making it blurry and glossy. The cleark at the store described this as making the image look wet if it isn't sealed before the epoxy is poured. At a marine store I am investigating a penetrating epoxy which sounds good and I am familiar with this stuff from working on boats. Basically it follows into the pours of wood and seals off the rot and is used to seal a spot before filling and sealing the opening.

My goal is to understand the inks that are being fixed with these chemicals is at issue with the Frescos, as well as, with the t-shirts. These last frescos I fixed were made with the cotton dyes that I have been using and the Seaweed paste I have been experimenting with. As the residue dried on the leftover material it turned back into a sea weed like film. This means that the pigments from t-shirt dyes can simply be taken over by the longterm breaking down of the plaster below and simply overwhelm the pignments and turn them to white just like the sun can do as it breaks down the pigments. Possibly a penetrating epoxy may substitute enough of the plaster to create an internal barrier to this decay.

Today I am going to make two new phot-frescos with wooden screen printing frames as the base with the images of a Loch Ness Monster passing under the Golden Gate Bridge. Here is the t-shirt version of this modified postcard image of the bridge. I don't want to go into details, but there is indeed at least one Sea Monster that lives in the cavernouse waters below the inlet to San Francisco and on foggy days it has been spotted following boats that have veered off course.

Photovoltaic inks paints or sheet film for Solar Panel production

2008-04-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

There are two other side project experiments that keep pulling me back in. One is the ,Phot-Fresco or Photo Fresco which bettere describes the transfering of images to plaster. This is mostly an artistic endeavor, but it is fun as it mixes sculpting with imagery in a grafitti-esque way. The other is investigating Photo-voltaic inks and chemicals to find an inexpensive way to screenprint solar panels on a variety of materials. This weekend I've found a way to mix them both.

Over the years I've accumulated over one-thousand wooden frames with old designs on them from customers and I've moved these frames from warehouse to warehouse, until they've come to rest in a warehouse on the outskirts of Las Vegas. I call this area the end of the earth. Because of the waste as a result of cleaning out ink in screens I archive these frames and avoid any chemicals and labor associated with disposing the inks down the drain. Also I go through these screens each time I move them and find old images that are interesting or fun to bring back out and print again. Now they are deep in the archive stored safely away like a pop-art library waiting for future generations to discover the silly stuff that we used to print on our clothing.

I often think of uses for these frames and this weekend I finally got around to pouring some plaster into a couple of frames and transfering some images using some of the Seaweed Paste inks and Proactive Dye pigments to see if it reacted differently with the plaster. The image results weren't great, but one thing led to another and I was back on the web looking for a screenprint photovoltaic ink or paint. I could solve several problems if I could find this material:

1) The frames that I have would serve as a holder for the photovoltaic reactive material or base to create a small solar panel.
2) The poured plaster can serve as a non-conductive base for the material and house the wiring safely, like a ceramic light socket.
3) The inside of the frame can then provide a decorative function with the abstract effects of the photfresco inside the frame.

Largely this project is an attempt at finding a fun way to use up these frames, but I am serious about finding the photovoltaic inks and or paints that could be used for cheap solar panels and could be screenprinted. I've heard of films for windows and shingles, but as a finished product these things are too expensive still and ineffecient for any large scale use, so unless I can get the raw materials it isn't really affordable to work with these items.

The cool thing with the inside of the panels is that each one can be treated like a pixel in a larger image and when they are mounted together they can make a mosaic or simply a random array of images and patterns. I need to do the calculations, but they could even be fitted together in a circular structure by mounting them together around a curve and angling each one in slightly. It would even be simpler to mount the frames on plywood and position them in a more traditional structure, but the crevices between each frame would need to be sealed like a deck on a boat to keep moisture and dirt from building up under and between the frames.

Seaweed Dye Paste endurs the test of time, but...

2008-04-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

The previously mixed batches of the Seaweed Paste with Fiber Reactive Dyes were still malable after a week of sitting in open containers. I did a couple of test prints with the black dye paste on light colored t-shirts and it moved through the screen reasonably well. Afterwards I had to do cleanup the squeegee and screen with water spray in a sink I am back where I started 15 years ago with waste products. Since the dye has been suspended in water for several days it must be Spent from a chemical standpoint and therefore is not in a toxic format. This makes it similar too the acrylic water based t-shirt inks. The dye is no longer technically a dye because it's active ingredients are spent and therefore the paste isn't dying the tee shirt any longer, but staining the shirt. The residue of the sea weed paste may dilute differently than a water-based tshirt ink, but that still depends on the pigments.

If dilution allows the ink residues to pass into the water system then the ink dye is plausable, as well as, the water-based acrylics from that standpoint. This only works on white or light garments and unless there is sufficient drying some of the left-over, but spent inks will either stain the t shirts or wash out and dull the color. Dark t-shirts are a different issue altogether and most likely require the discharge type inks or a bleach paste to clear the color of the t-shirt while printing.

Here is an article on ink jet printers and the use of pigment based inks versus dye type inks:
Pigment vs. dye inks - Which is best?

In the Union - Made in USA and Union Made T-shirts

2008-04-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

I once tried to join the union, any union, all the unions. If it wasn't for the pre-qualification that you had to learn a trade I was going to join them all. I wanted a carpenters card, a truckers card, a metal-workers card, why not? Then when someone asked it I was in the union I could say, "Which One?". Or I could whip out my cards and say, "I got your Union right here buddy!" Now that I get request for every type of t-shirt on earth I've had to make sure we have a Union-made t-shirt. For political purposes Union companies can only buy from Union made shops and many of the political and governmental organizations can only buy Union products. Most of the time they don't want to pay the additional price, just like with Organic products, but I feel like we should make the Union Made USA t-shirts that we carry known here.

Wholesale Bamboo T-shirts by Onno

2008-04-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

I ordered some organic??? well, bamboo t-shirts from a company called Onno. There was no white in stock, but I ordered a selection of colors and sizes for what they had. I'll test printing on them and see if the customers in the retail store in LA like them. Even at the wholesale prices they are very expensive, so my expectations are high and my wallet is flat.

Seaweed ink base update: In my quest to find or make a real drain-safe ink I have been testing a seaweed past I mixed. After approx 5 days the mixture has finally dried beyond use. This was in an unsealed jar, so that is quite a long pot-life for a non-plastisol mixture. Regular water-based inks won't last that long in a gel state without covering over and being unusable.

Discharge: The discharge ink t-shirts I printed and washed are impressive, but it required several extra days to complete an otherwise immediate task. This would add a minimum of $1/ea shirt for the washing process in my view, even at large quantities and that does not take into account the printing with water-based ink cost.

Bamboo t-shirts and water-based inks

2008-04-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've gotten enough request that I have started to seriously look for a bamboo shirt to provide wholesale. There seems to be a few companies out there, but the prices are significantly higher than regular cotton t-shirts. I know the fabric is available as a hybrid bamboo cotton mix, but I haven't had time to play with it yet. Cotton is getting a bad name as if it has done something wrong other than provide affordable clothing to the masses, cause slavery and pollute the world due to the chemicals used in growing the cotton. Bamboo has a reputation of being nice, softer and is renewable.

At this point softness seems to be a stronger marketing force, regardless of how either product is made. I keep getting request for "soft vintage environmentally friendly inks" as if the softness makes it environmentally friendly. I still think it is the wolf in sheeps clothing from my experiments, however, the final result of discharged ink with water-based printing feels better and I would love to think that it was better for the environment regardless of the truth.

Sometimes I think I am the one living in a delusional world, but I have to work with and handle the production with the types of products that I am discussing here. When I offer organic t-shirts and water-based printing services to the customer and explain the price differences of organic t-shirts or water-based inks then they want them, but at the same price as the cheaper readily available plastisol based products. I explain that the inventory is spotty, at best, for these items and then the customer doesn't understand why I don't have all the shirts that they ordered.

I love this latest request, after giving a price quote for the water-based ink printing the customer asked if I had one just like that only at the price of the plastisol. I try to restrain from being obnoxious, but I don't see the point of giving an estimate if the customer isn't going understand it. Today someone didn't understand why I can't do holographic foil all over a t-shirt since it may be available somewhere in the world. I said, yes, I can do that, but do you want to pay me $100 a shirt?

I understand the customers want these things that are possible, but not readily available or cheap. I want the bamboo shirts for the same price as the regular t-shirts. I want the soft shirts for the same price as the rough shirts. I want the stylish cuts for the same price as the boxy cuts. I want plastisol to be soft. I want to print on darks without having to use discharge and without having to print a white underbase. I want holographic clothing from the 99 cents store and I want the 99 cents store to sell only organic holographic foods.

Gimme, gimme, gimme, ...Gimme some more. Gimme, gimme, gimme, don't ask what for. I know the world's got problems, I got problems of my own. Not the kind that can't be solved with an atom bomb. Germs / Black Flag???

Fashion conciousness is not going to save the world, but it can make a difference if we truly understand what we are doing to make a difference. I don't know how bamboo is grown and although it may be grown without chemicals how is that different than organic cotton and why is it better? I understand that bamboo may be softer, like rayon, but that is a style decision, not an environmental decision. It makes me wonder how they can make it soft. I'll do the research, but 9 times out of 10 my research conflicts with what is common knowledge and what people want these products to be. I'll sell these products too and figure out how to print on them, but unless we are willing to pay the price for some of these products now to have this stuff made then it won't happen or be available cheaper on a larger scale later on. I want to provide this stuff and affordability is my goal within the reality of the manufacturing restraints and availability of products that exist.

Organic T-shirt update: The organic shirts from Alstyle proved to be an affordable alternative, but because of the rough cotton and stiffness the sales in our retail store aren't positive. The organic tag has not made a difference when compared to softness, which means the American Apparel organic shirts are the organic shirt of choice, albeit their prices are higher.

Bamboo research here: Soon to come. I've gotten some feedback that bamboo prints differently than cotton, more like rayon. Let's see?

Landlord Insanity - Rents too high to open new stores

2008-04-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

I constantly look for new locations online, mostly through Craigslist, and the market is still crazy after all these years. It seems to me that Landlords are spoiled, especially commercial ones, and they expect a company to sign off multiple years at exhorbant rates in order to guarantee a fat commission for the agent and allow the owner of the property to go on an indefinite vacation. Unless a business can remain profitable, and rent is the largest expense with the exception of labor, then it doesn't seem rationale to have such high rents.

Deep pocket companies can afford rents on the basis that they are branding and a storefront could be considered an advertisement that may in the end pay for itself. In fact malls and such will do everything they can to get in a store that will draw traffic while simultaneously jacking up the rent on paper for the other customers. For example, many of the cost of establishing a lease may be covered by the landlord for a larger tenant and the rent on paper appears higher than it really is. Then the market value of the property to a new tenant or to a bank is greater than the actual cost.

Based on the current marketing conditions and rental values for properties we will only be able to consider a new location if it fits the budget and/or the landlord is willing to offer complimentary terms. The benefit for the consumer is that more and more business will naturally flow to the web where the overhead cost are less and the savings are passed on to the customers. Once the market changes and there are more "For Lease" signs on the streets, then we may be able to expand further.

Questions and Answers

2008-04-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

Question:

Ok. Do you require deposit?

Couple more things, can you use water based ink on the design, so to give it a softer feel & a vintage look? Also, how do we view the first design before proceed with the rest?

Answer: Yes, we require a desposit which usually covers any setup cost and the cost of the shirts for the order. Water-based ink printing would be double the print cost or $3.50/ea for the printing part of the order for a 2-color job. After we receive a deposit then we will proceed with processing the artwork and making a sample. The sample generally takes 3-4days. We would either mail you the sample or send you a photo jpeg of the actual shirt. For water-based inks we prefer that you approve the actual sample. To get the order started you can call in the card number for the deposit to Brandon at 323-664-0021 after 10am. Mon - Friday. Let me know if you want to proceed and I will write up the order.

Question: Attached is a logo that we would like to use for our t-shirts. We're going to be supplying our own 250 shirts. The logo will be 3 x 4 inches and we'd like it to be located in the back center upper part of the shirt, and in the front part we'd like a solid one color word: BREATHE that should be 1 1/2 inches tall.

Answer: Typically we don't print on provided shirts, but if we decide to take the job then all setup cost for screens will be charged at $30/ea and we don't bear any responsibility for mistakes in the printing, loss or damage to the shirts in printing.

From the artwork it is hard to tell exactly how many colors are in your design which makes it difficult to give you a quote. The quote would also depend on the color and type/brand of shirts you want. Here is a link to the printing prices to give you an idea of the prices. If the logo is going to be only 3-4 inches across then you shouldn't waste your money printing all of those colors, but should consider re-designing your artwork to make it printable in 1-2 colors.

http://yque.com/tshirtprinting2.html

California Proposition 65 / Conforming to ASTM D-4236

2008-04-22T09:09:00.001-07:00

Here are two references that may put the legal ramifications of these inks and dyes into perspective, Proposition 65 and ASTM D-4236. MSDS Sheets to follow.

Labeling Law regarding Art Materials - Google search

""Conforms to D-4236" on an art material label does NOT mean the product is "non-toxic." Rather, it means:
• the material has been evaluated by a toxicologist for acute and chronic toxicity;
• the label names the ingredients identified as presenting a chronic health hazard, if any;
• a product presenting a chronic health hazard comes with safe use instructions."

Basically this means that handling instructions are included with the material or are posted on the label. Since the label I am using for discharge inks does not list any ingredients specifically as ASTM D-4236 conformity dictates, then I must conclude that there are no chemicals that present a "chronic health hazard" in this material. Let's hope this is true.

California Proposition 65 Toxic Enforcement Act - Google Search

" Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, was enacted as a ballot initiative in November 1986. The Proposition was intended by its authors to protect California citizens and the State's drinking water sources from chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm, and to inform citizens about exposures to such chemicals."

Note: I am thinking of setting up a shop outside in my backyard which would maximize air-flow. Also I want to drain off the excess inks and create a toxic garden where I can allow the inks to filter through dirt/sand chambers and see if grass will grow or if the flowers will bloom in this material.

Discharge: With the discharge paste that I have been using it releases ammonia during the process. Since the shirts are being heated to dry I am assuming the ammonia is being diluted in the air as it sets and floats upward until it is cooled and/or dispersed. I can't imagine that t-shirt printing can release excessive amounts of ammonia at any one time except in large automatic printing shops. Other discharge inks may release different chemicals, but I am still not clear about the liquid state of discharge and any leftover discharge ink would be in the garment until washed. Also bleach or a bleach paste may be the simplest least caustic chemical to experiment with next. I've used hydrogen-peroxide in the past to eliminate scorching, so that may have some ability to remove t-shirt dyes from cotton as well.

Facts for Screenprinting and/or purchasing items made with Discharge Inks

2008-04-22T00:53:00.001-07:00

My last major point, without actually trying to figure out the chemistry of these inks is the handling and final sale of the garment. Would a person buy these garments if they knew the details and contents were formaldehyde? Are these garments being sold without being washed? Like I said in my previous post, I can feel the burn. I think this explaination below says it all in describing the user as taking an allergy test while wearing this type of garment for the first time. If these garments are washed before being sold then that is the only way that I can accept these items to be passed on to the consumer. A tag is not a sufficient identification of the risk of having printed with these inks.

Some listed Facts about Discharge inks -

Hazardous Material Information: Manufactured using the safest possible ingredients and represents no health hazard in normal use.

Safety Considerations: The ZFS discharge agent recommended (ZINC FORMALDEHYDE SULFOXYLATE) is not toxic or hazardous but it should be handled as specified in the MSDS and direct contact, ingestion or inhalation of the dust or fumes should be avoided.

Tagging Of Discharge Printed Garments: As the chemicals remaining in the print are highly water soluble they can be removed by rinsing the garment in warm water. It is because they are so soluble in water or perspiration that residual chemicals in an unwashed print might irritate the skin of sensitive people. In effect someone wearing an unwashed garment is preforming their own allergy test and a few are bound to test positive. For this reason and because the possible problem is easily eliminated by washing the garment in plain water we recommend that discharge printed garments be tagged " WASH IN WARM WATER PRIOR TO WEARING".

It's More Than a Feeling

2008-04-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

It's more than a feeling,
I began to itch again,
more than a feeling,
feel my life slip awaaaaay, aaaawaaaaayyyyy...(music continues for 20 minutes).

I've been here before and I think I am going through this process of testing inks to see if I end up at the same place I was 10 years ago. Discharge inks are exotic and toxic. There is an appeal to the non-ink ink, the missing link of screenprinting, the botox of fabric, but it is no less dangerous. I am yet to read the MSDS sheet of the inks I printed with today, but my skin was itchy, my throat was scratchy and I felt a slight amount of naseau that came and went. When I showed my wife the shirts I printed she said they made her eyes burn when I brought them into the room.

I am very sensitive to chemicals and part of this may come from the fact that I have worked with everything from frying grease, bottom paint, kevlar, silicone, t-shirt inks and photo-chemicals to varying degrees over the years. When I open a container of poly-urethane I feel the burn. I know the taste and I feel lucky that I have made it to this point without falling over. Many of my friends have died from either brain cancer or liver disease and suspiciuously I must wonder if it was the chemicals that they were around. There is one advantage to being older and that is that I can feel my way through the bad stuff while experimenting like a blind mouse and I am most likely past the stage where the slower diseases can take root and knock me out. Most of the stuff I am now working with would take 20-30 years to kill me, so I can guess that something else should kill me first. I may as well try and experiment while I can and try to find something better for the printers to come.

I sat through a Saturday seminar on discharge inks in 1990-1 and it was clear to me that I did not want to work with formaldihyde. Who would want to work with something that you are only supposed to have in your system when you are dead? This was a chemical used to discharge the dye in t-shirts. It sounded great, printing water-based on darks, but I knew I didn't have the equipment to properly vent the stuff and I decided I couldn't go forward with printing discharge at the time. Several times over the years it's come up and always the same result. There is an active ingredient necessary in discharge inks when in order to knock-out the dye in the inks. This is similar to a bleaching process, but the idea of discharge is that it won't destroy the fibers in the cotton.

I used to work in boat yards and the rule was that the younger you were the more deadly the more toxic chemicals it was that you had to work with. It was explained to me as everyone can absorb a certain amount of these things and everyone else had already reached their limit. This meant that I was handed the gilded brush and can of toxic paint then directed to crawl into a 2-3 foot space while painting upside down on my back. I did my job then, but I learned that some things will kill you and you should limit the intake of these chemicals if possible. Discharge inks still seem like a bad idea to me for regular screen printers to be using. I'm going to experiment some more, maybe I can get over the thrill of seeing the ink change color under a flash unit which causes the fumes to seep out like the after-smoke from a bong. I like the feeling of the non-ink ink and the bone colored look on the shirts, but is it worth it. Plastisol isn't pretty and PVC's may be bad somewhere in the manufacturing process, but I don't want to smoke these other potentially caustic chemicals just to get a softer shirts.

It is the misinformation about these materials that upsets me the most. I'm not a chemist and I'm not a hippy, but as a worker, a printer, I am going to try and give my customers what they want if I can. I don't want to try and change the guidelines for printers either, but I don't like the idea that the marketing of green products is infering that something is good because it looks and feels better on a shirt when it may be significantly worse for the people who have to print the shirts themselves. I am trying to reserve judgement until I completely understand the technical data on the inks I am experimenting with, but my body is an indicator of the toxicity of products too and I am not encouraged by water-based inks, discharge inks and dying type of inks as an environmentally-friendly solution for the screen-printing industry.

Frequently Answered Questions

2008-04-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

Questions:

1- How do we get an account set up with you guys.
2- Whats your turnaround time (say on an order of 100 T-shirts, two
color, one side.)
3- Can we get some samples of work you have done on different types of
T-shirts.

Answers:

You don't need an account. You can purchase shirts from our website if you need samples, unless you are in LA or SF, in which case you can visit one of our stores. The turnaround time is 2-3weeks on average, including shipping, depending on what part of the country you are in.

thanks bill

yque.com

Link to pricing:
http://yque.com/tshirtprinting2.html

Bad Artwork Submitted:

Answer:
Shirt design is too low of res. It has tons of shading in the grey area and is unprintable in it's current form. The tones need to be solid and the resolution better in order for us to be able to print your design. This design would also require a white layer to be printed on dark shirts. Here is a link to the printing and shirt prices in the meantime.
http://yque.com/tshirtprinting2.html
If you need an estimate for artwork to fix this design it would be $200 and it would end up as a 3-color design.

Question: hi, i'm making tshirts for my house and i just wanted to know how long it will take for an order of 25 tshirts with a front design to arrive?

Answer: 2 weeks, from the time the artwork is approved and payment or a deposit is received.

Wholesale T-shirts - Market driven commodity pricing

2008-04-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

I have decided to follow the market with t-shirt prices more closely. I am attempting to pass these savings on to the customers by watching for sales and posting updates on my t-shirt pages of cheap t-shirts when they are available. I am going to apply a lower margin than I currently apply in order to sell more of these cheaper items. Shipping cost are a big issue and I may have to work out a generic formula, but it is impossible to exactly calculate shipping prices so that will be left up to my shopping cart.

I have just worked out some Sale prices on Gildan Heavyweight and Gildan Ultra T-shirts which you can find here. Basically I've got the Gildan Heavyweight White t-shirts down to $1.50/ea and the Gildan Ultra down to $2.00/ea. Color tee shirts are an additional $1.00 for each style. Both of these styles are good quality and are available in a wide range of colors. They are a bit boxy from the fit standpoint and not super-soft, but you get what you pay for and these are completely acceptable for an affordable basic t-shirt.

T-shirt inks are colored glue / Organic Inks = +1

2008-04-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

Tee shirt inks are essentially colored glue, plastisol is anyway. Other inks are basically stained and screen printing in general is controlled staining to the degree that it is plausible to control the inks. More control of the ink equals more detail. The issues of envrionmentally friendly inks is complex depending on which environment you are talking about. The waste product environment, the work environment and or the manufacturing environment.

I've concluded that water-based inks are essentially not environementally friendly from the final waste of the printing standpoint, but they have significant appeal from the end-user and marketing standpoint. My argument is that the ink as a waste product in the work environment causes air pollution for the printer and water waste in the form of diluted ink that ends up in the drain. The final result also creates a shirt that should be washed, an additional step, before being sent to the consumer, which also increases the cost. However, the appeal of this type of garment may allow for those cost to be absorbed by the consumer if that's what they really want whether it is environmentally friendly or not.

To reach a final conclusion though I have tried to find out what is in water-based inks and it seems to be that a resin-polymer makes up the actual color that is suspended in a geletan paste-like liquid which we refer to as INK. My initial attempts have been to attempt to mix a food-grade ink/glue and those failed in the wash test, so I went to a craft dye supplies store, Dharma Trading, and purchased several items to continue my test. My next attempt was to compare dyes to inks and this is technically interesting and the final solution lies within, but I don't have the answer yet. I do however have a new assumption that if it is correct would allow me to drop my contention that water-based inks are bad for the waste-environment.

A dye is diluted into a liquid and permeates the cellulose structure of the host material and makes a chemical bond with the fabric. Once this chemical process is complete then the active ingredients in the dyes, which may be potential pollutants, are spent suggesting that they are inert for contamination purposes. The final wash which removes the excess dyes from fabrics then completely neutralizes the spent chemicals still in the garment and washes out inert diluted liquids into the drain. As this appears to be a chemical process the completion of the dilution renders the chemicals that are mixing with water as inert and therefore drain-safe.

T-shirt printing isn't dying, but this helped me understand the difference between dyes and acrylic water-based inks and in the end plastisol inks. A water based ink is not a dye although it is sold on the market like a dye and it for all intensive purposes it looks and feels like a dye on the shirt. A dye is a chemical reaction and a water-based ink is a stain that is saturated and fixed onto the material because the chemical nature of the acrylic ink is a poly-resin coloring that mixes with water and can permeate the fabric, but it does not dye the fabric. There is not chemical reaction other than drying and once dried then then acrylic inks may become inert, but the dilution of the inks in cleaning would continue to dilute and disperse the acrylic coloring.

The environmentally friendly issue then with water-based acrylic inks is the underlying resin-polymer and I don't have a clue what that is made of. If these colorings, which are not dies, are drain-safe and dilutable in the public water system then I would drop my position about these inks. The manufacturing of these can then be compared to the manufacturing of plastisol inks and/or dyes.

Experiment: I mixed a batch of seaweed paste by following the instructions provided in the Dharma Trading catalogue. After letting it sit overnight it was very similar in color and consistency to the honey I was previously using as a base. The difference this time was that I was going to mix clothing dyes into the base instead of food-grade dyes. The dyes were in a powder form and therefore the inhalation of them is one potential hazard that is easily remedied with a mask. The pot life issue of the seaweed paste is also an issue, so I mixed enough to use as needed with the various dyes. Since the paste is a water-based mixture the chemical dying reaction begins once the color is mixed into the seaweed paste and that starts the activation process. I printed a once-color random design on a white shirt with a bright red dye paste and it was clear, easy to handle and the lines were well-defined through a 125line screen.

I washed out the remainder of the ink and it was globular and diluted in the waste water. The technical assumption here is that it will be spent before it moves through the drain system and within 3-6 hours it should be completely spent / inert. My attention was then drawn to the labels on the dyes and there were clear references to Proposition 65 and the fact that these dyes contain ingredients known to cause cancer. My assumption is that the cancer causing substances are in the air during mixing and in the diluted mixture up until the point where the chemicals in the dye are spent, otherwise these chemicals shouldn't be used as washable and/or drain-safe. Finally, the detergents in a final wash may indeed make these chemicals inert, which is why I conclude that final wash would be necessary before passing these types of products on to the consumer.

How does this compare to the acrylic polymers? Technically I don't know. If the acrylic polymers are harmful or not when they are in the liquid/printing state then they may not be harmful in the drain or as they are further diluted. I didn't see any references to cancer causing ingredients in the water-based acrylic inks that I purchased for testing. There are references to these types of substances in the "drying agents" which I call "Activators" that can speed up the drying time and fixing of water-based inks. Also the manufacturing of these inks may have the same underlying problem of the plastic industry to make the acrylics. The ink / coloring has to come from somewhere or something but I need to do more research on this.

I did several samples also using discharge inks and combining the Seaweed Dye Paste and Water-based Acrylic Inks to varying degrees of success. In the end the purchased Water-based Acrylic Inks had a better hand, look and feel, than the more washed out effect of the Dye Paste. I was able to mix the Acrylics with the Seaweed base and even got the Dye Paste to print on Dark garments. I could see doing further test with the Seaweed Dye Paste as an inexpensive base to extend the Acrylic Inks. After washing there was no difference in the feeling of the dyes and the inks. The chemical used for the dischare will require more research too.

My big question is whether or not the Water-based Acrylic Inks are releasing toxins in the air while drying or down the drain during washing and dilution. If screens are used once and inks are not rinsed through cleaning then the Water-based Acrylic inks would eventually be dried and a solid, but the cost of processing screens and handling t-shirt jobs significantly increases as a result.