My printer finished some sample shirts with water based inks. I am not sure what went wrong but only one of the designs feels super soft and you don't feel the ink at all. The others feel as heavy as plastisol. I thought that the inks should be thinned if that is possible. My printer hasn't done water based inks in a long time and we could use some suggestions. We also had the problem of the ink drying up in the screen. Are there any experts out there who know how to do this? Are all water based inks created equal? Thank you.
All waterbased inks aren't the same.I have two blacks where one gives a lovely soft hand ,and the other feels similar to plastisol.Have a spray bottle with water to mist the screen if your ink is drying,and always flood the design in between prints as this keeps the design open. Try matsui or grafco as I have found these to be superb(particularly like grafco).
All waterbased inks aren't the same.I have two blacks where one gives a lovely soft hand ,and the other feels similar to plastisol.Have a spray bottle with water to mist the screen if your ink is drying,and always flood the design in between prints as this keeps the design open. Try matsui or grafco as I have found these to be superb(particularly like grafco).
Could this even come down to specific colors? What was really odd was that two designs felt soft and smooth. The same brand of ink was used for all. I washed them all and the prints still feel like stiff cardboard ink. I don't know how else to describe it.
Then I started to wonder if maybe the ink was cured incorrectly but then why would two prints come out perfectly soft?
Could it be that there is too much ink on the print? We had to run it a few times to get it to print correctly and completely. I washed them and they still have a stiff hand. The worst ones have pinching of the fabric of the shirt bordering the print.
Well, the drying of the inks seems to be a standard in the industry unless you are using Permaset inks. Also, the mesh sizes differ considerably from printer to printer.
Well, the drying of the inks seems to be a standard in the industry unless you are using Permaset inks. Also, the mesh sizes differ considerably from printer to printer.
Mesh size should depend on your design, not really the printer...
I use Nazdar 9500 RFU water based inks. they work really well and dye the shirt, giving it a smooth feel. Other waterbased inks i've used print on top of the fabric and are much stiffer and also more difficult to cure properly
I havent used the softener for the Nazdar inks. The texture of the printed design is really nice though. I had the same problem as you with other water based ink and I think its because the nazdar products penetrate the fabric vs others that just print on top. I also ran into curing problems with other inks for designs that I had where there was overlapping printing in the designs. I also use the nazdar aquacat product with is a chemical that you combine with the ink that helps cure simply by air drying. Nazdar has good customer service and technical experts that know a lot more than me so I would suggest giving them a call if you have more questions. I hope this helps! (your private inbox is full)
I havent used the softener for the Nazdar inks. The texture of the printed design is really nice though. I had the same problem as you with other water based ink and I think its because the nazdar products penetrate the fabric vs others that just print on top. I also ran into curing problems with other inks for designs that I had where there was overlapping printing in the designs. I also use the nazdar aquacat product with is a chemical that you combine with the ink that helps cure simply by air drying. Nazdar has good customer service and technical experts that know a lot more than me so I would suggest giving them a call if you have more questions. I hope this helps! (your private inbox is full)
Thank you for this info. I also have overlapping printing in the designs. I will give them a call. Did you ever try the Permaset or Matsui inks that everyone here talks about? (fixed the inbox issue, thanks)
I have a lot of experience with water-based colours. In Germany we print predominantly with watercolors. There are 2 different systems. The first one is diluted only with water and then is printed. One reaches(achieves) the washing permanence by a heat fixation. The second one becomes washing-resistant by addition of hardener and must be fixed not. Importantly the right amount(crowd) in hardener is those of the colour is added. This kind(way) feels harder and gets the soft clutch(handle) at the first one wash. There is a similar colour also on solvent base. All fabrics(tissues) for textile pressure can be used. Importantly the data sheet is always the manufacturer! Absolutely read, then nothing can fail. We use colours of Marabu or Sericol.
Help with water based inks 
Re: Help with water based inks 
I'm so sorry for my english
