4/3/2023 0 Comments Silkscreen printing inkIt has been the primary ink until fairly recently as more and more companies have been converting. Plastisol ink is one of the most commonly used screen printing ink type and has been around for decades. Pros for water based ink Softer Feel Natural ingredients (for light garments) Allows skin to breathe through print (less sweaty) cons for water based ink Fabric limitations Less color accuracy Shelf Life That being said, water based printing is still the most eco friendly screen printing ink type available. With this considered, although it is a more sustainable option, there is excess waste for this process which can offset the “green” or eco friendly values of the product. This can be offset by not adding the agent to the ink until ready to print, but it can be difficult to judge how much ink to mix for each job. Once you add discharge agent to the ink, you only have 48 hours to use it again or it expires. Unlike plastisol, water-based ink will dry out and go bad. The other downside to this ink from a production standpoint is the shelf life. This will help reduce the hand (feel) of the ink while still keeping the colors bright. This is the process of using a discharge base, which pulls the dye out creating a soft underlay, and then printing plastisol or fashion based ink on top. One option to mitigate this problem is called hybrid printing. So a 50/50 tee would only show roughly 50% opacity since the Polyester won’t hold water based screen printing ink. When you have other foreign materials in the fabric such as polyester, rayon, or modal, the reaction process is limited, causing the print to look faded or dull. Water-based ink can be used to print on tri-blends or 50/50 blends, but the colors will be muted. For best results and bright colors, 100% cotton is required. If printing on a dark garment, the majority of the fabric must be cotton. Bella Canvas Allmade Apparel Next Level Apparel Royal Apparel The other downside to printing water based ink is the limitations for sourcing the right fabric. We recommend several fashion brands that we found work the best for this process. This can make for inconsistent color matching. Unfortunately, not all shirt dyes have the same chemical compound. Once heated to the proper temperature, it actually pulls the dye from the fabric and integrates the new ink pigment. The discharge agent creates a chemical reaction. In order to use this ink on dark shirts, you need to print a white base or add a discharge agent to the ink. It is truly liquid form with low density making the colors very dull when printed directly on on dark garments. Water-based ink by itself does not have a high opacity (coverage) due to the viscosity (thickness) of the ink. If done right, you should not be able to feel the ink on the garment once it’s been washed. As we discussed, water-based screenprinting ink is typically a better option when printing on fashion blanks because the hand (feel) of the ink is so much softer.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |