Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more...
I've always worked with printers who screen printed tees with Plastisol inks, but my new printer uses Discharge printing. The designs were printed on black tees, and I have to say I'm disappointed in the end result. I wanted the colors to really pop, and thought a white underbase would be best. But my printer said no white underbase was needed because they were going to be printed via Discharge, but the colors turned out pretty dull and the white ink turned out almost cream colored? I'm not so much worried about the hand, as I am having a lively print.
Are these issues normal when printing on black tees via Discharge printing?
Would Plastisol ink with a white underbase give the colors more pop?
Are there any other printing methods that can be used to get great colors using dark tees?
Re: Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more...
i also started to print with discharge inks for my personal line. its pretty tricky to get those colors to pop on dark garments. then again i aim pretty new to the discharge method. I also wanted a brighter white then the cream color i was getting on black or dark tees. i used an ink from Union Ink called "plasticharge" i think thats the name. its 250am and im upstairs, but give that a shot for a nice bright white with a soft hand. see if your guys will sample that for you. Union ink has great customer service. tell them what your looking for.
Re: Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more...
Yes, getting specific different colors can be almost impossible with discharge inks too - a red ink that looks really good will fade to a pinker color after washing, but discharge should be washed prior to wearing too - it is a skin irritant.
If you are not concerned about hand then there is really no good reason to do discharge and yes, plastisol with an underbase will pop.
Dave
__________________ www.spreadingink.com - all over prints, jumbo and full color screen printing
Re: Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more...
Quote:
Originally Posted by allgooddc
i also started to print with discharge inks for my personal line. its pretty tricky to get those colors to pop on dark garments. then again i aim pretty new to the discharge method. I also wanted a brighter white then the cream color i was getting on black or dark tees. i used an ink from Union Ink called "plasticharge" i think thats the name. its 250am and im upstairs, but give that a shot for a nice bright white with a soft hand. see if your guys will sample that for you. Union ink has great customer service. tell them what your looking for.
Thanks for the feedback...being new to Discharge printing, I wasn't sure if a bright white was even possible on a black tee or if it was the ink or what?
Re: Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more...
Quote:
Originally Posted by spreadingink
Yes, getting specific different colors can be almost impossible with discharge inks too - a red ink that looks really good will fade to a pinker color after washing, but discharge should be washed prior to wearing too - it is a skin irritant.
If you are not concerned about hand then there is really no good reason to do discharge and yes, plastisol with an underbase will pop.
Dave
...yeah the white came out cream and the red came out almost orange?
I actually prefer colors with a lot of pop and the ink to have a glossy look...so Plastisol right? Is a white underbase definitely necessary when printing light inks on a dark tee with plastisol? My printer said they don't usually do white underbases....maybe that's because they're always using the Discharge method?
Re: Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more...
If you want brighter colors and still have a softer hand on dark shirts you can use a discharge underbase and print with reduced/ultrasoft plastisol inks on top of it. This way your basically turning the image area of the shirt from dark to light and using the same softer inks you would use on light shirts. Discharge should not have nothing to do with a smaller logo. I think they probably just output the film at a smaller size.
Re: Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more...
Quote:
Originally Posted by spreadingink
No underbase for discharge inks - not required. Light color plastisol on dark garments, underbase unless you want a very muted look.
Dave
That's what I thought, but my printer said he doesn't like to print with Plastisol because it's not as good quality and eventually cracks. He also said that he doesn't like to print with a white underbase because the ink spreads and it's hard to align with the colors on top or something like that...are these legit issues or am I with the wrong printer for my needs?
Re: Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more...
Sounds like he is struggling with both processes. I've seen really bright discharge, and we have no problems with plastisol underlays. I would suggest shopping around a little more and see if you can get someone with more experience. You were asking if he should be adding an underlay with discharge. If you did that then it would completely defeat the purpose of discharge because you would lose the softhand. I sounds like he is just using straight discharge ink for his white areas instead of using a white discharge ink. When you just use clear discharge, then it just removes the dye from the shirt and the original color of shirt is usually a cream or grey color. So if the discharge has no pigment in it, then it doesn't work.
Re: Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more...
Quote:
Originally Posted by screenprinter1
Sounds like he is struggling with both processes. I've seen really bright discharge, and we have no problems with plastisol underlays. I would suggest shopping around a little more and see if you can get someone with more experience. You were asking if he should be adding an underlay with discharge. If you did that then it would completely defeat the purpose of discharge because you would lose the softhand. I sounds like he is just using straight discharge ink for his white areas instead of using a white discharge ink. When you just use clear discharge, then it just removes the dye from the shirt and the original color of shirt is usually a cream or grey color. So if the discharge has no pigment in it, then it doesn't work.
Mmm...the printer actually does a lot of high end printing and is respected here in town. Maybe it's just a case of a bad fit, not a bad printer.
Really, I could care less about a soft hand. The discharge printing was not even my idea, but he said it would produce a much better quality print. And the print quality is good, it's just that the colors are really dull and the white is cream. I'm sure it would look great for some vintage looking designs, but I want a bright, glossy look, which I guess leads me to Plastisol which is an ink he doesn't like to use. Damn, nothing is easy...
Also, don't you have to have reactive dye tees for discharge printing to even work properly?
Re: Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more...
not necessarily, I've done it with several different brands and it works pretty well. I would say that plastisol is the way to go for you. I have never printed as bright with discharge as is possible with plastisol. In my opinion, a lot of printers print their whites too thick with plastisol. You can get pretty good softhand and good white brightness at the same with plastisol. Definitely not as soft as discharge though.
Re: Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more...
Agree on all counts - both with the plastisol being brighter than discharge and also discharge has the best hand, but that doesn't mean by any means at all that plastisol should have a bad hand. It is all in how you treat it and how you apply your knowledge and skills to the job and materials at hand.
Dave
__________________ www.spreadingink.com - all over prints, jumbo and full color screen printing
Plastisol vs. Discharge Printing on dark tees & more... 
