[Lexy]

Hi I'm Lexy. I'm very much a newby and very happy to have found this forum! I bought a screen printer a couple of years ago and I've finally saved up a small pot of cash and recently aquired a garage with the idea of printing my own t-shirts. The thing is i don't have much knowledge to go by and trying to decide what types of inks, screen etc. is proving difficult. Wondered if you could help? I'm thinking water based ink, perhaps Permaset and some 170, A2 aluminium screens. Also what's a good, basic squeegee to use? Thanks in advance!

 

[DavidRobison]

Water based inks are not what I would start with if I were you. Oddly water based inks are much more troublesome to work with because they dry very quickly in your screen while your trying to line them up, and they have a shorter shelf life and not always as good a washability. I would recommend you start with plastisols, QCM has a good eco friendly ink (I'm not a dealer LOL) and I like the results of using it. Plastsol has a long shelf life and good washability. It cleans up with soy based ink degradents that can be washed down your sink. The one thing you need to be careful of regardless of your choice of inks is your waste handling. Do you have a city sewer or septic system? I can't tell you how many shops I have worked with that did not consider this before destroying their septic systems. (Very costly and inconvenient to fix) I always recommend print shops to be on a city sewer system that provides for proper sewage treatment or liquid waste containers to allow for solid silt skimming and evaporation of the excess water.
If you decide to do plastisol first and get comfortable with the setup and breakdown of plastisol then transition to water based inks I think you will have better results and feel better about your skills.

Good Luck either way.

 

[Lexy]

Hi thanks for your help with this shall reconsider my options!