Double Dye

Style 6901 - Blended Black 60/40 Cotton/Polyester - Double Dye

The double dye process uses two dyes, one for cotton threads and one for polyester threads. The process does not leave more dye in the fabric and is not overdying. Normal considerations should be given to temperature settings for flash and dryer settings and dwell times.

Ink Choices

Use Cotton/Poly bleed-resistant inks such as Rutland Street Fighter Low Bleed. If dye migration is a problem on your substrate, use an underbase layer that’s made to prevent dye migration.
Lay down a thin layer of ink. A thin layer of ink means you can cure your ink at a lower temperature to help avoid dye migration. Use the highest mesh count possible for your print, make sure your screen tension is where it should be, and set an off-contact distance of about 1/16 inch to reduce the thickness of your ink deposit. Use a Print/Flash Print method to build cured layers.

Best Practices

Polyester-blend substrates have plenty of benefits, but there are some challenges to printing on them. Mainly, these substrates are at risk for dye migration because of their polyester component. When polyester reaches temperatures above 360 degrees, the dye inside the fabric can turn into a gas and become embedded in your ink, tinting your ink the color of the garment.

You can combat dye migration with a few tricks:

Monitor your dryer temperatures. Know the temperature of your conveyor dryer, and test it regularly. Use a donut temperature probe as you cure your ink.
Test your substrate. If you’re printing on a new polyester blend substrate, test your ink and your normal printing process to see if it avoids dye migration. If the dye does migrate, you might need to consider using a different type of ink on that fabric.
Monitor your flash cure. You don’t have to worry about dye migration only during the final cure; it also can happen if you let your substrate get too hot under your flash unit. Temperature tape on your substrate can help you monitor the temperature of your polyester blend both under the flash cure unit and as your final print travels through the dryer.