Discuss the different plastisol screen printing inks and curing methods on the market. Share tips on getting the best results with the different ink manufacturers.
We've been using Manoukian's (Italy) 'Mono a freddo' for dark coloured textiles and 'Airtex' for light coloured fabric. The reason we chose these types, is because they are waterbased inks that do not require heatcuring. There's a catalyst that improves the washfastness, but doesn't harden out the ink. That way, you don't need electricity to heat cure and you don't have waste because of the ink hardening out. And now i've become allergic to them, probably the ammonia.
My problem is, in the Netherlands, there's not that much waterbased inks to get your hands on, let alone an air-drying type you don't have to cure and doesn't harden out the ink. Has any of you ever come across a similar product?
Re: Waterbased air-drying ink that doesn't harden out
Hi Annelot
Many water-based ink formulas employ ammonia as an anti-fungal agent, but it's also worth investigating sensitivity to hardeners,
which often are more readily reactive and can cause "allergies" also, but vary more so in differing ink formulations.
Considering the health related import of your question, I'm going to recommend that you contact a chemist at Visprox (Netherlands) regarding their offering:
and raise the issues to that expert that you've raised here.
Note that if you find few options exist, enabling a heat-curing ability would allow you to consider inks (modern EF plastisols) that have few, if any, reactive chemicals present in their formulas compared to many of the "water-based" types.
Re: Waterbased air-drying ink that doesn't harden out
Hee Tom,
The reason i raised this topic is not to get this allergic reaction fixed, but to find an alternative for the ink i'm using, with - if possible - all the benefits of the one i'm used to.
Yesterdayevening i might have found the answer!
I came across an inkmanufacturer called Grafco(.it). They have a relatively new product on the market, caled newtex. No catalist, no heat-curing, as they say : you print and thats all!
Also, yesterdayevening i got in contact with a dealer of Modatex, waterbased ink whitch kan also be re-catalised and doesn't require heat-curing. Has anybody ever heard of or worked with these lines of products Newtex (by Grafco) or Modatex?
Re: Waterbased air-drying ink that doesn't harden out
Hi Pagou,
Yes I finally got my hands on Newtex and we love printing with them. They are extremely matte (no shine) and very opaque and elastic. A bright red printed with red-flash-red is perfectly opaque. There is no tack, so printing multi-colour designs (always with drying in between each printed colour) gives no problem at all. The only thing, with any water-based ink you always have to flood the screen after printing to prevent the image from drying in the screen.
good luck!
This is a discussion about Waterbased air-drying ink that doesn't harden out that was posted in the Plastisol Ink Screen Printing section of the forums.
Waterbased air-drying ink that doesn't harden out 
thanks
