Discuss the different plastisol, discharge and water based screen printing inks on the market. Share tips on getting the best results with the different ink manufacturers.
I was wondering what inks to use to print gold and metalic foil, as well as how to? Also is there a way to order inks in custom colors, you know like you would go to Lowes or something and have them do with wall paint?
Foil is usually done with a heat press - you screen print a transparent base (or really any plastisol ink works), cure it, and then lay a piece of heat transfer foil on the design and heat press it. The foil will stick to your ink, and presto - a foil print.
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As Aaron stated Foil will adhere to just about any plastisol ink. However, "gels" or clears will adhere foil the best. Your print process would be something like, print white flash, print foil adhesive (every major manufacturer will recommend a particular ink. For Wilflex inks you can use 10009HDC High Density Clear), cure. Cut the foil to fit the area that you would like to adhere the foil to. Place under your heat press with shiney side up and press at 375 F for 5 to 7 seconds with 40lbs of pressure or medium pressure. Let cool and then remove foil.
I am sure that you are aware, but you will use specific foil for this. It is not aluminum foil!
Crown Roll Leaf is a good manufacturer of foil and most distributors will carry some form of foil. They come in a variety of types and colors.
I forgot to address the custom color portion of your question.
Most major plastisol ink manufacturers have color mixing systems.
Wilflex has MX (finished ink), PC Express (base and pigment concentrates) and Equalizers (base and balanced colorants). I will not elaborate, but there are optoins. These are available to printers with formulas that match all of the Coated and Uncoated Pantone colors as well as Wilflex Standard colors.
Wilflex will make custom colors, but there are requirements on amounts.
However, distributors can make custom colors for you as well. You can contact a distributor in your area and request a PMS color and they can mix it for you. To find your local distributor simply go to www.wilflex.com and click on Distributors.
We use Matsui waterbased inks along with Union Ink foil adhesive when printing colors with foil. We have also used Union Ink plastisol with a foil release additive for printing foil with plastisol colors. The foil will not stick to waterbase inks, but an additive must be added to plastisol to prevent sticking.
We use Matsui waterbased inks along with Union Ink foil adhesive when printing colors with foil. We have also used Union Ink plastisol with a foil release additive for printing foil with plastisol colors. The foil will not stick to waterbase inks, but an additive must be added to plastisol to prevent sticking.
Wow, we use exactly the same products in our shop, everything you mention here!
I would like to add my designs in foil to my shirts and wondering if it's possible to print the adhesive on the back of the foils, ship the foil to me, so I can heat set them myself? Thanks and sorry if this was answered somewhere in the 28 pages of posts, I missed it if it was.
Although our printers can't easily print and gel-cure adhesive directly onto the poly-backed foil,
you can ask a screenprinter to print your images onto transfer paper using the Foil Adhesive Ink,
and do a two-step with your transfer machine; heat-iron apply the adhesive layer, then heat apply the foil to that transferred layer.
You'll find it as one of the options listed under "plastisol based adhesive":
Note that it's possible to heat trans the foil onto other (non-adhesive) plastisol inks but the temp/time/pressure range for best peel results is narrower and durability is not as assured.
You may be able to foil onto an existing transferred design if it's not over-cured. Would you like a foil sample to take for a spin?
I think we have a roll of silver open for test sheets, if that works. PM address if so.
I would like to add my designs in foil to my shirts and wondering if it's possible to print the adhesive on the back of the foils, ship the foil to me, so I can heat set them myself? Thanks and sorry if this was answered somewhere in the 28 pages of posts, I missed it if it was.
Sandra
That can be done, although shipping them would be an issue because the adhesive is only partially cured and still tacky and they would all stick to each other... There's a tutorial in this article on printing the adhesive on a manual press directly and reversed onto the back of the foil, then pressing it onto the shirt...
Gold Foil and custom colors? 
