Ready to Press DTF Hazards

[northafricanwonder]

Hi,

I was thinking of starting a DTF business but due to not being able to provide proper ventilation , I decided to back away and decide look to get ready to press DTF films. 

My question is , is the process of pressing the already cured DTF film onto the t-shirt or apparel release toxic fumes?

[anum11]

Some, most likely. I don’t see any fumes after pressing, but by logic there should be some unseen.

[johnson4]

3 hours ago, northafricanwonder said:

Hi,

I was thinking of starting a DTF business but due to not being able to provide proper ventilation , I decided to back away and decide look to get ready to press DTF films. 

My question is , is the process of pressing the already cured DTF film onto the t-shirt or apparel release toxic fumes?

I personally do not believe so. once cured properly, there is no smoke, no smell, nothing coming from the shirt/transfer. Sometimes a bit of moisture comes from the garment if you pre press. 
 

For me all of the smoke comes from the ink and initial melting of the powder during production. 
 

for example, if I press 200 of 12”x12” in a 5 hour period in a smaller 10x10 room without ventilation I smell nothing, I see nothing. People from outside the room who enter the room- nothing. It doesn’t mean nothing is there, but it’s been 2 years and I’m fine. 
 

like HTV, sublimation, laser transfers, DTG- ALL have some form of smell or smoke come from the final press. So if I had to guess, I’d say it’s fine IF they are properly cured. 
 

The main thing is the ink and it’s carrier. It’s poisonous if absorbed into the body. Once cured properly, it is removed entirely from the transfer and goes through the ventilation on the machines making them. 
 

Without having the air collected and tested no one will know 100%, but I don’t see it being any more harmful than any other process. 
 

you could look into TPU temperatures and ventilation requirements from 3D printers using the same stuff, have the air tested or even the finished transfer. but overall when in doubt do without. It’s your health and your decision, I seriously doubt anyone has tested this. DTG could steam up a room when curing, and people just said “ it’s water” when it wasn’t. Same for screen printing, pretty much anything. 
 

A good example, there is a manufacturer around 50 miles away which has been open and operating for almost 40 years. I forget what they make. Recently they have been testing the air and found there are known cancer causing particles in the air from this plant. Slightly over the legal limit and I live out around a ton of trees in a small town type of setting. So- my point is- even the air you breathe outside isn’t likely to be “ safe”. This “ legal limit” when exposed to continuously or for extended periods, is known to cause cancer. They didn’t factor in that people would be sitting in the stuff 24/7 since the “limit” was with 8 hour a day exposure. they are reevaluating. 
 

The tested “Safe” drinking water from a filtered well that fed about 80-100 homes outside of the previous area I mentioned- at least 8 of them were family/acquaintances. Within 2 years of moving in- 5 out of 8 ended up with cancer in various forms within that time period. This is from otherwise healthy people who only had one common denominator.

 

 

My point is, who knows. Even with testing and regulation- it doesn’t mean it is safe. Personally I accept this risk daily. I’ll also personally pay the price if I am wrong.