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How do you use water-based pallet adhesive?Updated 2 years ago

You can apply the adhesive many different ways. The most popular method is using a cleanup card to spread the adhesive around a platen. Drizzle the adhesive on the platen and use the card to spread the adhesive across the whole platen. Every inch of it needs to be covered. If you've never used a water-based adhesive before, you can put a little dye in the glue so you can see exactly where you're spreading it across the platen (don't worry, it'll dry clear).

Be sure to apply the adhesive smoothly: any bumps, ripples, ridges, or any kind of texture means you will see that texture when you print. 

Once you have that even layer of adhesive on the platen, stick it underneath a flash dryer. The flash will evaporate the moisture in the glue and make the adhesive more sticky. You also use the flash to ensure that the water has evaporated before starting a run because if the adhesive is still wet and gloppy, it'll soak into the shirts and make your life not fun. 

Cool thing about using a water-based adhesive is that you can reactivate it. You finished a run for the day, shut down the shop, and left the adhesive on the platens. When you come in the next day, grab a sponge or scrub pad and a spray bottle filled with water. Mist the platen to get the glue wet and scrub off the lint from the previous run. After that, you stick under the flash again to make it sticky once more and you're set to go!

To learn more about using water-based pallet adhesive, give this article a read.

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