Vastex Conveyor Air Bar – Adjustable Cooling System for Screen Printed Garment
Vastex
The Vastex Conveyor Air Bar mounts to the exit end of your screen printing conveyor dryer and rapidly cools printed garments as they come off the belt — stopping the dreaded ink gassing, ghosting, and dye migration that occurs when hot shirts stack on top of each other. Five (CAB-30) or nine (CAB-54) tightly-spaced fans deliver uniform airflow across the print area, hardening hot or tacky plastisol so operators can fold, stack, or package without smudging or ink transfer to the back of the next shirt in the pile. Available for 30″ and 54″ Vastex belts — also fits most competitor dryers with 33″–39″ or 57″–63″ outside conveyor widths. Independent 120V or 240V power.
Price range: $636.00 through $848.00
Description
Vastex Conveyor Air Bar
Adjustable Cooling System for Screen-Printed Garments — Stop Ink Gassing, Ghosting, Smudging & Dye Migration
Same Air Bar. Better Experience.
You can buy this air bar directly from Vastex — or you can buy it from a team that’s been outfitting screen print shops since 2008, for the same price, with real setup help.
Same or Better Pricing Than the Manufacturer
We match or beat Vastex direct pricing on the Conveyor Air Bar. If you find a lower advertised price, call us and we’ll match it.
An Extra Layer of Support
We’ve helped hundreds of shops mount air bars to everything from Vastex EconoRed III units to older BBC and Interchange dryers. Call us before you order — we’ll make sure you pick the right width and voltage for your setup.
Authorized Vastex Dealer Since 2008
We’re a factory-authorized Vastex distributor. Full factory warranty applies, but your first point of contact is us — not a voicemail queue.
Built-to-Order by Vastex
Air bars are built at the Vastex factory in Bethlehem, PA. Average lead time is 2–6 weeks — chat with us (Tidio), email, or call (512) 454-0505 for an accurate current lead time for your exact build before ordering.
Why Every Conveyor Dryer Needs an Air Bar
Stop Smudging When Stacking
Hot ink is soft, tacky, and prone to transfer when garments pile up at the end of the dryer. The Air Bar cools each shirt the moment it exits the heat chamber — ink hardens, the fabric cools to a comfortable handling temperature, and your operators can stack or fold without gassing or smearing wet ink onto the next shirt.
Speed Up Your Whole Line
Printed garments take time to cool naturally. Shops without an air bar end up with a bottleneck at the exit of the dryer — shirts piling up, operators standing around waiting. An air bar removes that bottleneck so the dryer output stays in motion all day.
Uniform Airflow — No Cold Spots
The CAB-30 houses 5 fans; the CAB-54 houses 9 fans — tightly spaced with no gaps. Cool air hits the print evenly across the full width of the belt. No cold spot in the middle, no warm spot at the edge. Every garment gets the same cooling treatment.
Angled Away From the Heat Chamber
The bar is intentionally angled outward so cool air flows onto exiting garments without blowing back into the heating chamber. Your cure temperature stays stable, your dryer’s PID doesn’t fight the air bar, and your energy use stays flat.
Adjustable Height for Bulky Items
Raise the bar for thick sweatshirts, hoodies, and bulky pads. Lower it for thin tees and performance fabric. The height adjustment means one air bar handles every garment type in your shop without constant tweaking.
Independent Power — No Wiring Required
The Air Bar has its own power cord and plugs directly into a standard outlet. No need to interrupt your dryer’s electrical, no calls to an electrician. Choose 120V or 240V to match the receptacle available near your dryer’s exit end.
Stop Ink Gassing, Ghosting & Dye Migration
You pull 200 shirts off the dryer, they look perfect. You stack them in a box, ship them out — and two days later the customer calls. There’s a faint image of the print showing up on the back of every shirt in the stack. This is ghosting, caused by ink gassing and dye migration. It’s one of the most frustrating (and most preventable) failures in screen printing.
🔥 Peroxide Off-Gassing
Low-bleed and poly-white plastisol inks contain peroxides that gas out during curing. If the shirt is still hot when it hits the stack, those gases escape into the air space between shirts and transfer to the back of the next garment above it. Result: a faint “ghost” of your print appearing where it was never printed.
🧬 Polyester Dye Sublimation
Polyester is dyed with disperse dyes that sublimate (turn to gas) between 260°F and 340°F — the exact temperature range your dryer runs at to cure plastisol. When hot shirts stack, the trapped heat keeps dyes gaseous long enough for them to migrate into the ink of the shirt below, turning your white print pink on a red polyester shirt.
⏱️ Delayed-Onset Dye Migration
The worst part: dye migration often doesn’t show up for 24–48 hours. Shirts come off the dryer looking perfect, get boxed up hot, and by the time they arrive at the customer the damage is done. It’s invisible at QC and catastrophic at delivery.
Cool the Shirts Before They Stack
Every major ink manufacturer — FN-Ink, ScreenPrinting.com, Monarch, Rutland — gives the same advice for preventing gassing and ghosting: don’t stack hot shirts. Get the garment temperature down before it hits the pile. A fan at the end of the dryer is the standard recommendation.
That’s exactly what the Vastex Conveyor Air Bar does — but with uniform, purpose-built airflow across the full belt width, not a shop fan duct-taped to a pole. 5 to 12 tightly-spaced fans drop the garment surface temperature fast enough that by the time the shirt reaches the catch table, the peroxides have finished gassing, the dye has locked back into the fiber, and you can stack without fear of ghost images showing up 48 hours later.
Who Gets Hit Hardest by Ink Gassing & Dye Migration:
- →Red, maroon, navy, or any bright polyester. The classic disaster — your bright white print slowly turns pink over 24–48 hours as polyester dyes sublimate and migrate into the ink.
- →50/50 and tri-blend garments. Even 10% polyester content is enough for visible dye migration on prints that aren’t cooled fast enough.
- →Sublimated or camo-printed polyester. These already have disperse dyes sitting on the surface — they’ll re-release instantly when reheated. Cooling immediately after the dryer is non-negotiable.
- →Any garment printed with low-bleed or poly-white plastisol. The peroxides in these inks continue gassing for minutes after the shirt exits the dryer. Stack hot and you’ll ghost.
- →Performance wear, activewear, and safety neons. The worst offenders — these fabrics are engineered for colorfastness in water but not against heat-induced sublimation.
- →Hoodies and heavyweight garments. Thick fabric holds heat longer than tees. A hoodie can stay above 180°F for 5+ minutes after exiting the dryer — plenty of time for dye and ink gases to migrate.
Which Model Fits Your Dryer?
Two standard models cover the most common Vastex dryers and many competitor dryers. Not sure which one fits? Measure the outside width of your conveyor (not the belt width) and call us — we’ll confirm fit before you order.
30″ Model — 5 Fans
- ✓ Fits Vastex dryers with 30″ wide belts (LittleRed X1-30, X1D-30, X2-30, X2D-30, X3-30, X3D-30, EconoRed II-30, EconoRed III-30, BigRed 4D-V30)
- ✓ Fits other brands with 33″ to 39″ outside conveyor width
- ✓ Voltage options: CAB-30-120 (120V) or CAB-30-240 (240V)
54″ Model — 9 Fans
- ✓ Fits Vastex dryers with 54″ wide belts (LittleRed X1-54, X1D-54, X2-54, X3-54, X3D-54, EconoRed II-54, EconoRed III-54, BigRed 4D-V54)
- ✓ Fits other brands with 57″ to 63″ outside conveyor width
- ✓ Voltage options: CAB-54-120 (120V) or CAB-54-240 (240V)
Need a 24″ or 78″ air bar?
Vastex also makes the CAB-24 (5 fans, fits 24″ belts) and CAB-78 (12 fans, fits 78″ belts). We can special-order either for you — call (512) 454-0505.
What’s Included
Best For
Before You Order
Measure Before Ordering
The air bar attaches to the OUTSIDE of your dryer conveyor frame, so measure the outside conveyor width — not the belt width. CAB-30 fits 33–39″ outside; CAB-54 fits 57–63″ outside.
Not Just for Vastex
Fits most major brand dryers (BBC, Interchange, ROQ, older M&R, etc.) as long as the outside conveyor width falls within the stated range. Unsure? Send us a photo of your dryer’s exit end and we’ll confirm.
Electrical Requirements
CAB-30-120 and CAB-54-120 plug into a standard 120V outlet. CAB-30-240 and CAB-54-240 require a dedicated 240V receptacle. Choose the voltage that matches the outlet available at your dryer’s exit end.
Bundle With Your Dryer and Finance It All Together
Buying a full dryer + accessories package? Equipment financing is available through our financing partner. Section 179 tax advantages may apply. We’ll help you bundle the air bar, dryer, donut probe, and any other accessories into a single financed package.
Talk to an Equipment Expert
Not sure which air bar fits your dryer, or whether you need 120V or 240V? We’ll help you spec it correctly the first time.
Technical Specifications
CAB-30 vs CAB-54 — Side-by-Side
Universal Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Vastex International, Inc. — Bethlehem, Pennsylvania |
| Product Category | Conveyor dryer accessory — garment cooling |
| Mounting | Attaches to rear exit of existing conveyor dryer |
| Compatible Dryers | All Vastex conveyor dryers (D-Series, LittleRed, EconoRed, BigRed). Also fits competitor dryers (BBC, Interchange, ROQ, older M&R, and others) within stated width range. |
| Power Options | 120V or 240V — independent power cord, no wiring into dryer required |
| Construction | Steel frame with tightly-spaced mini fans, angled housing |
| Country of Origin | Made in USA |
Special-Order Models Also Available
- CAB-24 — 5 fans — fits Vastex 24″ belts, or non-Vastex 33–39″ outside conveyor
- CAB-78 — 12 fans — fits Vastex 78″ belts, or non-Vastex 81–87″ outside conveyor
Not sure which model you need? Call (512) 454-0505 — we’ll confirm the right fit for your dryer and voltage before you order. Measuring takes 30 seconds and saves return shipping.
Technical Sheets / Safety Data Sheets / Documents
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Frequently Asked Questions
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