[wolfbrother58]

hey everyone, k i will just say it im a newbi, i am just now starting a small t-shirt buisness. it will be low volume for now until i get technique,inks,ect down. so here is my question.

i need advise on what would be a good ink to use for screen printing for production, right now i am using cheaper hobby inks to practice with, like tulip slick, puffy paint, speedball, ect. when i go to make small orders i want to use better ink, i have read the forums and see matsui mentioned alot. the concern i have with them is for dark color shirts and having to use discharge. i only have a heat press and a heat gun for curing. would this be adaquate to dry and then cure the inks for wash-fastness? my orders will probebly not exceed 20 shirts an order for now. any help on inks and if heat press with thick wooden planten would be adaquate or not is greatly appeciated.

thank you,

 

[Hegemone]

You don't have to use discharge you can do a white base to put colors on top of. Might be easier to handle and less waste then tossing the left over activated discharge. Just a thought. You can cure with a heat gun but it is inconsistent and time consuming. I would use the gun to cure it as best I could and then heat press it later at 320 for say 20 seconds (paper over the ink so you dont ruin your heat press). Then do a wash test before you gave them to the client. You don't want to look like a newb when under cured ink washes out on first wash. People tend to get mad at you.

My two cents. Toss them in a well and make a wish.

 

[wolfbrother58]

i appreciate the advise, and will try it out. but i still ned to ask whats a good water based ink to use without discharge? i will be printing on dark shirts, black, ect. need something that will stand out have washing fastness and be as soft handed as possible. reason i ask is because i have already been advised plastiols are not they way to go if i want soft handed prints. im also using 220 mesh screens right now until i can get some lower mesh screens.

 

[mimic]

i appreciate the advise, and will try it out. but i still ned to ask whats a good water based ink to use without discharge? i will be printing on dark shirts, black, ect. need something that will stand out have washing fastness and be as soft handed as possible. reason i ask is because i have already been advised plastiols are not they way to go if i want soft handed prints. im also using 220 mesh screens right now until i can get some lower mesh screens.

The matsui opaque white waterbased wasnt too bad, but it has a noticable hand. If you are not gonna use discharge on the dark shirts you might as well use plastisol.

 

[Hegemone]

I still believe that matsui opaque white has a noticeably different/softer hand then plastisol. But perhaps it's because I use a thin 1/1 emulsion coat and 156 mesh to put it down. Discharge is the softest but more difficult then water based which is slightly more difficult then plastisol. IMHO.

A lot I it is technique do you have to do what you are comfortable with.
My two cents. Toss them in a well and make a wish.

 

[wolfbrother58]

well like i said before using the discharge would be perferable, my only concern is can i cure it with the hover method using a heat press? thats the only option i have right now besides a heat gun for drying and curing as my budget is limited. i plan on up grading in due time but taking baby steps for right now.

 

[tpitman]

I still believe that matsui opaque white has a noticeably different/softer hand then plastisol. But perhaps it's because I use a thin 1/1 emulsion coat and 156 mesh to put it down. Discharge is the softest but more difficult then water based which is slightly more difficult then plastisol. IMHO.

A lot I it is technique do you have to do what you are comfortable with.
My two cents. Toss them in a well and make a wish.

I agree. The Matsui opaque white, print/flash/print through a 156 gives a softer hand, and a really nice, bright, matte finish. I have found that I have to add a touch of the retarder to keep it open on the screen. Probably the nicest white ink I've used, all things considered.

 

[tlpe548b]

The matsui opaque white waterbased wasnt too bad, but it has a noticable hand. If you are not gonna use discharge on the dark shirts you might as well use plastisol.

I could not agree more, i waited till i knew a little more of what i was doing before getting into discharge, but it's well worth it. Being able to get any color you want on any shirt with one pass is epic. Sometimes you have to layer up the opaque inks - it can get worse then plastisol.

Either way, ya a heat gun works wonders on discharge i would do that for awhile, once your volume builds up enough you should be able to afford a nice flash.