Different Types of Flash Dryer Units

Whether you're just starting out in screen printing or running a large screen printing shop you're going to have at least one flash dryer rolling around the shop if not several. As you start and grow in screen printing it's important to understand the different types of flash drying units available on the market place and understand which one is right for your needs. We've split this up in three categories.


Entry

Most entry dryers fall into two categories. Infrared Ceramic Element or Coil. The Ryo Flash Dryers are manufactured by BBC Industries in Missouri and use the same high quality Infrared Ceramic Elements used in our production-oriented flashes. Though they are built from thinner metal, not as heavy duty, and don't have lots of options like temp control and forced air they get the job done and last a very long time.


Infrared Ceramic Panel VS Heat Coil Flash Dryer Design


  • Both of these provide a consistent curing temperature throughout the entire Flash Dryer

  • Hot & Cold spots throughout Flash Dryer causing inconsistent cures.....BE CAREFUL.

  • All of our Riley Hopkins Flash Dryers are Made In the U.S.A with the highest grade materials available.

  • Most coil units are made outside the U.S. using cheaper materials. These have also been known to start fires from faulty wiring and poor insulation.

Intermediate

For a larger manual or small automatic shop a more powerful and heavier duty flash dryer is key for production and consistency. Typically we see shops in this category use Infrared Ceramic panel flash drying units starting at an 18x18" size but more prevalently see a 18x24" flash dryer in use. For screen printing shops using water based ink the Riley Hopkins forced air flash dryer comes in handy to during the flash drying process in order to speed up the water evaporation from the ink. Both of these flashes can also be retrofitted with auto rotation stands which automatically rotate the flash over and off of the platen. This enables the printer to automatically flash the ink at the proper amount of time, speeds up production because the printer does not have to step over to rotate a flash, and increases safety by minimizing the chance of burning the shirt or platen.


Advanced

Large automatic shops and technically oriented manual shops typically adapt Quartz flash drying technology. The ROQ Quartz Flash Dryers incorporate both quartz bulb and airflow technology which is great for both plastisol and water based inks. The ROQ Quartz Flashes use top of the line modulating quartz bulbs which last up to 10x longer than the bulbs competitive flash dryers use in the market. The ROQ Evolution Flash Drying unit also has a patented temperature probe built into the flash dryer. The flash temp probe reads enables the flash to read the temperature of the garment and automatically adjust the time and intensity of the bulbs when the desired temp is reached. The ROQ Evolution Flash also plugs in and communicates directly with the ROQ automatic screen printing press and tells it to speed up or slow down depending on the temperature of the pallet or garment.