I have been printing with regular plastisol inks for over 8 years, but I would like to expand my line with these newer techniques.
I really like the look, but I dont know the first thing about creating it. I have heard about soft, fashion and discharge printing but am unsure about what the differences are. Does the ink seep into the tshirt fabric unlike how a plastisol will basically dry on top?
What are the drying processes like? I have a flash and conveyor that I use for my regular plastisol drying.
I have new artwork ready to go on my fall line, but I dont know if these require different screens and supplies.
This is my first post ever on this site. After reading other threads I didn't come across this information. Sorry in advance if this is a repeat question.
Re: Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Solmu
They might - depending on the emulsion you are using, the inks may not be compatible (they could wear through it).
i've heard my ulano qtx photopolymer emulsion isn't suited for waterbased... anyone know an emulsion that would work for it? and that would also be suited for discharge inks as well?
Re: Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing
Fashion Soft base is an additive you add to plasticol inks to mimic the soft hand waterbased inks have. You print normally and recommend using higher mesh frames 196-305.
Ulano carries some great emulsions for waterbased, plasticol and discharge inks.
Richard Greaves here in the forums is the Ulano Product manager, he can help with your selections
Be careful with the discharge emulsions as the hardener you add is almost impossible to remove
Re: Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fluid
Fashion Soft base is an additive you add to plasticol inks to mimic the soft hand waterbased inks have. You print normally and recommend using higher mesh frames 196-305.
recently i ordered a "soft hand clear" from wilflex and not two minutes ago let an order out the door where i used it with my white, for a mix of black and hot pink tees. the customer was thrilled about the hand and didn't mind the loss of opacity... is this the same softhand additive? or is there another that helps retain pigment?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fluid
Ulano carries some great emulsions for waterbased, plasticol and discharge inks.
Richard Greaves here in the forums is the Ulano Product manager, he can help with your selections
i was wondering if Mister Greaves would pop his head in at the mention of Ulano... the research for a particular emulsion probably won't be too hard and i will tonight... just thought i'd cheat and see if i could get someone to throw me a quick answer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fluid
Be careful with the discharge emulsions as the hardener you add is almost impossible to remove
Re: Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing
Quote:
Originally Posted by darwinchristian
recently i ordered a "soft hand clear" from wilflex and not two minutes ago let an order out the door where i used it with my white, for a mix of black and hot pink tees. the customer was thrilled about the hand and didn't mind the loss of opacity... is this the same softhand additive? or is there another that helps retain pigment?
No two different things. be careful using soft hand as you have to stick to the ratio's or the ink will not cure properly
Fashion Soft actually feels like waterbased inks on lights.
I never modify my white inks. If I want a softer hand I use a higher mesh frame or use discharge with white pigments added - like I did on the t-shirt forums shirts
Re: Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fluid
No two different things. be careful using soft hand as you have to stick to the ratio's or the ink will not cure properly
Fashion Soft actually feels like waterbased inks on lights.
I never modify my white inks. If I want a softer hand I use a higher mesh frame or use discharge with white pigments added - like I did on the t-shirt forums shirts
curious-
with darks could you or do you use discharge with white pigments to create a white plate that you could print your colors on with the fashion soft additive?
or perhaps the modified ink wouldn't lay on the discharged layer well.
getting a good soft hand on a dark garment would be essential knowledge, and the amount of variables and techniques are almost overwhelming.
Phillip(sp?) of Newell Graphics had a good post on those (Matsui?) waterbased inks, and though i'd love to try them, I feel more comfortable with the properties of plastisol and their modifiers right now...
my new homework is emulsion types and discharge printing. thanks...
Re: Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing
Kiwo Polycol One Coat and Polycol Discharge are both excellent emulsions for for discharge printing.
Fashion soft is essentially a soft hand base with a low pigment load. Most soft hand additives are curable so the ratios are not important if you are looking for very soft low opacity prints. You should be able to achieve similar results without buying a specialized product. Make sure however that the additive you are using is curable.
Re: Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing
Quote:
Originally Posted by darwinchristian
curious-
with darks could you or do you use discharge with white pigments to create a white plate that you could print your colors on with the fashion soft additive?
Absolutely! This works very well. The only problem with the white discharge is that it isn't as soft as the straight discharge. Especially right after you cure it, it's a little stiff. Once washed though, it softens up. I tend the think that it may be better to run a straight discharge underbase and use a highlight white screen when possible. You could really base down your white that way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by darwinchristian
getting a good soft hand on a dark garment would be essential knowledge, and the amount of variables and techniques are almost overwhelming.
Amen to that. You just have to experiment to find what's right for you, and what's right in each situation. Unfortunatley, discharge isn't perfect. It is VERY hard to match colors perfectly when using discharge, since the discharge agent tends to alter the colors a bit. And every shirt may discharge a little differently. You need to warn your cutomers up front about the possible issues.
Quote:
Originally Posted by darwinchristian
Phillip(sp?) of Newell Graphics had a good post on those (Matsui?) waterbased inks, and though i'd love to try them, I feel more comfortable with the properties of plastisol and their modifiers right now...
Matsui inks make it a lot easier to move from plastisols to water based. They're still a lot different than plastisol, but a lot more user friendly than a lot of other water based inks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by darwinchristian
my new homework is emulsion types and discharge printing. thanks...
I'll save you some time. We use Saati Textil PV. It is not labeled as an emulsion for WB inks, but we've found that when it is post exposed it holds up well for small runs. I ran 90 shirts with discharge inks the other day with this emulsion and at the end it showed no sign of breakdown.
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Re: Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing
we use our regular Ulano RLX with our discharge inks. Largest run with the same screens was 350+ t's without any breakdown.
We burn the job, rinse the screen, let dry and burn for about 30 seconds more to help harden the stencil more. Sunlight works well for this method if it is a good sunny day as well.
Re: Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing
Phillip- are you using the Matsui 301 ecoseries inks? i may have to purchase a few colors and play around.
Ulano states their qtx emulsion resists plastisol and water-based which is awesome for me, but i still don't know about the properties of the discharge chemical...
it'd be neat to see a breakdown on discharge printing... use of chemicals, variability in aesthetics, adding pigment, curing paramaters and all of that. i couldn't find anything searching the forums. or you tube.
Re: Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing
Hi, first of all thanks to everybody for the great informative posts. I m new to this and they are very valuable.
I recently visited a show and got a sample of Murakami HV emulsion which I've been playing with. I noticed most ppl use Ulano. Is anyone familiar with Murakami.
Re: Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing
Quote:
Originally Posted by dee305
Hi, first of all thanks to everybody for the great informative posts. I m new to this and they are very valuable.
I recently visited a show and got a sample of Murakami HV emulsion which I've been playing with. I noticed most ppl use Ulano. Is anyone familiar with Murakami.
Is it any good?
I've used the Murakami Aquasol HV emulsion with fair results. For my waterbased printing I prefer either ProChem DXP, ProChem WR-12 or Ulano QT discharge. I've had quality results with all of those emulsions.
Some help with soft/fashion/discharge printing 
We use Saati Textil PV. It is not labeled as an emulsion for WB inks, but we've found that when it is post exposed it holds up well for small runs. I ran 90 shirts with discharge inks the other day with this emulsion and at the end it showed no sign of breakdown.
