Epson Stylus Pro 9600 printing on polycotton

[piers]

Hi Andreas , thanks for that explanation. In that case I guess I wouldn't be able to examine the dampers for leaks without removing the head which I don't think I am brave enough to do.
Had a look at the printfab software, looks interesting and will give it a go, but at 200 quid for the version I would need it might be a little out of my price range for my amateur playing. It will be interesting to see if it solves the problem however ! I will let you know.

 

[piers]

Hi @Andreas, just printed a lovely fabric to make a shirt, unfortunately when i rinsed it before attaching the collar it totally ran. I attach photos. You mentioned chemical baths and basic composition. would you be able to share so I can try again. Thanks, I attach photos of before and after :-(


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[piers]

as you can see the blue of the forget-me-nots completely disappeared and much of the grey for the smart car and glider . In addition the grey of the apple logo/tennis racquets and five fingered shoes (these are all pertinent to ex-boss whose retirement I want to commemorate) have gone red

 

[Andreas S]

Hi piers, sorry to reply so late. As the plant is closed for holydays I can pick up the composition in one week (I don't remember the exact composition as I never did the mixing job, I only gave the orderers and I don't have the documents at home), but there is some potassium in. Anyway, your problems are the inks you are using as it seems that your cyan and black don't withstands rincing. That means that your ink isn't resistant to water. Can you tell me the ink supplier? And what kind of ink are you using?

 

[piers]

Hi Andreas, no problem and enjoy the break. I was using the matt black ink I had and it was on polycotton (against your advice). I did an ink change and printed off several feet of black on some old lining paper. Interestingly I kept getting banding after 6 or so inches of printing as though bubbles had worked themselves into the head, a quick clean cycle sorted it each time. After that I created a pattern in microsoft paint of solid blocks of colour, working my way through the standard palette. I printed this on some pure cotton sheet and then cut it into test strips with each colour on a strip. I then tried washing in water, washing in soda crystal solution, heating in the oven then washing in water etc. In all cases there was a discernible leaching of the black ink and a slight fading of the other colours. Interestingly not nearly as much as on the polycotton. The soda crystal solution improved the colour retention. I noticed in the first couple of instances that the black ink continued to spread by capillary action after I had finished rinsing, I guess I should leave it to soak longer to lift the ink away as it dissolves. I am convinced that the photo black is much more water resistant than the matt black. I did try leaving one of the strips in some soda crystal solution but ended up with transfer of the black from one part of the cloth to part that was touching so I guess mechanical agitation is required during the process. I have seen vinegar and salt suggested online as other rinses, I should try again with those. I still have some of the test strips and will post some pictures next time. The ink was dead cheap off ebay (£48/Euro 52 for 8 cartridges) and was probably chinese but for my purposes I can't really justify the Epson inks at 12 times the cost.