[legendinc]

Just wondering if I should make the change from plastisol inks to water based inks? I am more familiar w/ plastisol and have the equipment made for shirts & apparel.

However. I would like to start printing poster boards and other such crafts as just for fun. No major duplications. But can plastisol inks work? Or will I need to make the change?

Thanks

Dan!

 

[lben]

That's a good question. I know you can make plastisol transfers on paper but I'm not sure about printing. I guess you'd have to cure it the same way you would a normal print which may or may not set the paper on fire. I know water base dries on paper without curing. I think it only has to be cured on fabric. You'll have to get the water resistant emulsion.

 

[royster13]

Go on to your ink suppliers website and read the specs for the inks you are using.......

 

[DaveG]

Short answer: Yes you can print plastisol onto paper.

As the final prints of an order, we'll throw a few sheets of 11 x 17 copier paper on the platens and print them to tape onto the boxes for that run. It makes it easier to see what boxes are for what order, and it seems to impress the customers.

I have no idea how long it'll adhere, weather resistance, etc. We've never run them under the conveyor, we just flash them for 20 secs, and call it done. (washability is the farthest thing from our mind).

DaveG

 

[ErinAllen]

I can only speak for Wilflex, but we do not recommend printing our inks on paper. Wilflex inks are designed for printing on textiles and will not adhere to paper.

Erin

 

[tpitman]

From what I've read, plastisols pretty much don't stick to anything, but rely on mechanical grip to something with texture, such as cloth. My kid works in a shop, and sometimes they'll run posters for bands on stock with a little tooth, and it SEEMS to hold okay. You'd be better off getting some Speedball ink, some of the waterbased textile inks, or even a quart of flat latex paint from Home Depot for more reliable results. Use a 230 mesh or higher.

 

[colorondemand]

Yes, we have done that several times on paper bags. BTW we did quickly send them through the oven as well.

 

[splathead]

Even if you could, I guess the question is why? Use air dry waterbased and skip the curing step.

 

[legendinc]

Thanks guys for all your help and advice!

 

[BroJames]

Yes, we have done that several times on paper bags. BTW we did quickly send them through the oven as well.

I think these paper bags have enough texture unlike the smoother "paper".

 

[selanac]

I printed my customers design on paper bags with plastisol ink once for practice. It air dried pretty fast.

I still have the bag, but I've nevered used it for anything other then leaving it on the shelf.

Acrylic or Multi-Purpose Ink is recommended for Paper, and you air dry it. No heating required.

 

[tpitman]

Plastisol doesn't air dry. The paper bag will draw the oil out of it making it see kind of dried up, but it'll still likely rub off. Maybe if it was thinned WAY down and driven into the paper it might hold up better.
The only oil-based inks for paper that will air dry would be solvent based inks that stink like oil-based paint (think Rust-O-Leum). The best thing for paper printing is an air-dry acrylic ink or even latex paint.

 

[iT]

I know you can make plastisol transfers on paper but I'm not sure about printing. I guess you'd have to cure it the same way you would a normal print which may or may not set the paper on fire. I know water base dries on paper without curing. I think it only has to be cured on fabric. You'll have to get the water resistant emulsion.

Is it possible to water base screen print transfer paper that gets heat pressed on a shirt or does that only work with plastisol inks?

 

[tpitman]

I think that only works with plastisols, since they can be flashed or semi-cured and keep that way for quite a while. I would think that waterbased inks would either dry up or smear. I'm not sure they would stick to the transfer paper without beading up, either.

 

[splathead]

Is it possible to water base screen print transfer paper that gets heat pressed on a shirt or does that only work with plastisol inks?

It's been done. Stitches magazine came out with a tutorial a couple of years ago.

Also, Rodney reported on a company that was going to start offering waterbased transfers. That was a while ago, not sure if they ever got off the ground.

 

[iT]

Thanks for the info. That's great news. Hope they're up and running.

 

[gotshirtz001]

Even if you could, I guess the question is why? Use air dry waterbased and skip the curing step.

My thoughts exactly...

 

[BroJames]

I will base my comment on my experience with the inks I've used.

These air-dry waterbase inks are OK with long line table setup of maybe 50 platens and up or averaging the typical amount of shirts you print. But these inks are notorious for clogging screens on a rotary/carousel press. Depending on the volume of paper bags you will be printing, and even if you have a large air-drying space, you may find yourself stacking paper bags on a wide area slowing down production and increasing chances of ink clogging.

Printing only 1 color on a 1 platen press, chances are, you'll be having a clogged screen before you finished printing the second dozen of shirts. I am not sure if loading and unloading paper bags would be faster. There are some workaround to delay the clogging though but that is the nature of these air-dry inks we have here.

If you use the more expensive and longer drying inks, it may solve the ink clogging problem, but you may find yourself running to a farther and farther air-drying space which slows down production.

 

[selanac]

I went back and checked the paper bag I did awhile back. Whom ever said the Plastisol would come off was right. It was semi dri, but still smeared on my finger.

I think you should go with Water base on the bags. Especailly since you don't want chemicals like Plastisol in bags.

 

[LMPromotionals]

I have an order of record sleeves to print and figured plastisol wouldn't work without being cured and not sure how paper is going to stand up to the high temperature.

Looking at using Naz-Dar 5500 solvent based flat poster printing ink. Something that will air dry in a fair amount of time and not be water based.

Does anyone have any recommendations, tips or tricks? someone advised to use 230 mesh or higher. any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!