Diluting the Pre-treatment Solution

If you are applying a pre-treatment solution to a T-shirt, you may need to dilute it with distilled or purified water. Dilution and the necessary dilution ratio depend on the pre-treatment solution, the ink used, and the device you are using to fix the ink.

Cotton pre-treatment

Caution:

If you do not dilute the cotton pre-treatment solution, or it is not diluted enough, it leaves noticeable traces on the T-shirt or the printed surface cracks after washing. If the pre-treatment solution is too weak, White ink does not adhere to the fabric and standing fibers may not be adequately flattened, resulting in uneven print results.

When fixing ink with a heat press: Start with a 1:1 ratio of pre-treatment solution to water and test by increasing the water up to a ratio of 1:3. If the printing area is letter-size or smaller, start with a 1:2 ratio. If the printing area is larger than letter-size, start with a 1:3 ratio.

When fixing ink with a heat tunnel: Start with a 1:2 ratio of pre-treatment solution to water and test by increasing the water up to a ratio of 1:3.

Before applying pre-treatment solution to the entire T-shirt, test it on a non-visible area.

Polyester pre-treatment

When printing with White ink: Use the solution as-is without diluting.

When printing without White ink: Dilute the solution using a 1:6 ratio of pre-treatment solution to water.