We have seen increased industrial washings of printed garments using unique fabric softeners to provide a soft feel to screen printed garments. This process has most often been directed by designer brands. They require large wash loads using a variety of water temperatures and laundry detergents. These washings can lead to pigment migration when large loads of wet garments are left for a period of time in a bundle. The result is a staining of the fabric and/or print from pigments used to make reds such as our M26447 or CB6447. This migration is common with several pigments used in our industry when subjected to these extreme wash conditions. The most severe migration occurs when the plastisol ink is not fully fused. Fusion occurs at 320°F (160°C) and inadequate fusion is usually due to lack of dwell time or temperature. We have also found that the water temperature during washing and the type of fabric softener on the garments can promote the migration.

Solution:

Non-Migrating Pigments
Rutland offers a non-migrating red (M26449 Permanent Red) as an alternative mixing primary ink for use when creating the shades that are most commonly associated with this migration. The product was developed to withstand the extreme washings that are mentioned above. While this alternative prevents the problem when fully fused, it will not eliminate the problem when cured at lower than recommended temperatures. It should be noted that the plastisol will be more costly because the pigment used in M26449 is considerably more expensive than our traditional red pigment. We do recommend M26449 for use when extreme washes are specified.