What Dusty Has Tested

Dusty runs an in-house bleed-through test on its own concrete test slab. Here is what it covers and what it has shown:

One limit on what that result proves:

• It covers the materials Dusty tested, not yours. Different flooring products, adhesives, sealers, and slab conditions can behave differently. A result on vinyl and carpet over a lab slab does not transfer to a specific resilient sheet product over a specific sealed slab.

Why No Guarantee Is Possible

Bleed-through depends on variables that live on your jobsite, not in the ink:

• The slab — its porosity, moisture content, and how long it cured before being covered.
• The covering system — the type and thickness of the sealer, coating, or adhesive, and the flooring product itself.
• The conditions — ambient temperature and humidity while the covering cures.

These shift from project to project, and often from one area of a slab to another on the same project. That is why no ink manufacturer, Dusty included, commits to immunity across every condition — and why the flooring manufacturer will usually decline to commit either.

The Safety Data Sheets and Technical Data Sheets Dusty can share are published in Ink Safety and Technical Data Sheets. If a flooring manufacturer asks for composition data beyond what those sheets contain, tell your Dusty representative exactly what is being requested and who is asking.

Test Your Own Flooring, Sealer, or Coating First

This is the recommended practice on every job where the slab will be covered or sealed, and it is what a flooring sub or GC quality manager is usually asking for:

1. Pick an inconspicuous area, or a spare piece of the same concrete.
2. Print a small section of layout in the ink you plan to use for the job.
3. Apply your actual sealer, coating, or flooring product with your actual adhesive, exactly as it will be installed.
4. Let it cure under normal site conditions.
5. Inspect it before you commit to printing the full layout.

You will know whether your specific combination of materials is compatible before it matters on a finished floor. If you would rather not run it yourself, ask your Dusty representative what testing support is available for your project.

Choose Your Ink for How the Slab Will Be Finished

Your ink choice is made before you print and it decides whether removal stays an option later. Get this decision right and the bleed-through question mostly answers itself.

The practical rule: if the slab will be sealed or covered and anyone in the chain wants the ink gone first, print with water-based ink. Choosing solvent ink on that slab commits you to living with the marks, or to removing them mechanically as part of the floor finish.

On clear coats: a clear coat makes the layout last longer, and that is the same thing as making it more permanent — one property, two consequences depending on what you need. Apply clear coat when you want the layout to survive traffic and weather. Skip it when you need the ink to come off later.

Removing the Ink Before You Cover or Seal

Removal is the only guaranteed answer, and the full method-by-method guide lives in How to Erase or Remove Dusty Ink (When Possible). The short version for planning purposes:

• Water-based ink generally comes off with a stiff-bristle broom, deck brush, or floor scrubber pad plus an over-the-counter cleaner — a citrus degreaser, an all-purpose degreaser, diluted dish soap, or a concrete cleaner. Pressure washing works on larger areas.
• Solvent-based ink is not removable by these methods. Where it has to come off, that means mechanical abrasion — floor buffing with an abrasive pad, or grinding — which changes the surface finish.
• Faint residual marks can remain after any cleaning method, on any surface. Getting the ink off is what removes the bleed-through question; it does not always leave a slab that looks untouched.
• Do not use harsh acids. They can permanently damage the concrete.

Sequence the work: finish every install that depends on the layout, remove the ink, then seal or cover the floor. And align with the GC and the flooring sub on who owns ink removal and its cost before layout starts — that conversation is cheaper before the print than after.

Related Articles

• How to Erase or Remove Dusty Ink (When Possible)
• What Surfaces and Floor Types Can the FieldPrinter Print On? (Plus Limitations)
• FieldPrinter Water and Solvent-Based Ink Types and Best Practices
• What Is the Best Ink to Use for Different Environmental Conditions and Flooring Types
• Ink Safety and Technical Data Sheets