[Crazy Tharun]

We are a in the process of deciding to get into the screen printing business. I am researching on waterbased printing, so my concerns are

1. Most of the people say plastisol is easy than waterbased because waterbased is MUCH more labor intensive than plastisol

2. The ink dries really fast on the screen, so you really can do only one batch with the ink and can't keep it for a next job.

3. As I am new to screen printing I don't know the technics about waterbased.

4. But people are saying Water based inks have improved significantly over the years... while a bit more technical to work with, the benefits can be big.

5. We have a small shop I don't want a big curing machine for plastisol inks.


So we are really having a tough time and so confused

Need experts advice.............



Thank you,

 

[Crazy Tharun]

Hello ? is there any suggestions ?

 

[Onewithpez]

I am not an expert by any means, but I could perhaps clarify a few things. The ink dries quickly, but that is compared to plastisol which can stay in the screen for a year and still be good (I wouldn't try it, but my inks are stored without lids w/o any issues). The problem is volume. I am a one person manual shop. When I have to stop and start projects and deal with customers, I may have to leave ink in the screen for a couple of hours to a day or two before I can get back to it. you just won't have this flexibility with WB ink. It will dry on you.

Secondly, while there are "air dry" inks, they are generally for poster/sign printing and not for textiles. WB inks for garments need the same conveyor dryers that plastisol needs.

If you are just starting out, I would go with plastisol as it is a little more user friendly to begin with. But that is just my opinion.

 

[Crazy Tharun]

I am not an expert by any means, but I could perhaps clarify a few things. The ink dries quickly, but that is compared to plastisol which can stay in the screen for a year and still be good (I wouldn't try it, but my inks are stored without lids w/o any issues). The problem is volume. I am a one person manual shop. When I have to stop and start projects and deal with customers, I may have to leave ink in the screen for a couple of hours to a day or two before I can get back to it. you just won't have this flexibility with WB ink. It will dry on you.

Secondly, while there are "air dry" inks, they are generally for poster/sign printing and not for textiles. WB inks for garments need the same conveyor dryers that plastisol needs.

If you are just starting out, I would go with plastisol as it is a little more user friendly to begin with. But that is just my opinion.

Hi thank you so much,

in waterbased inks apart from quick dry is there any other problems ?

 

[Boxtopus]

I too have a small shop. We have been in business for 4 years and have had great success with plastisol. We have not had any success with water based inks. (We need more practice).

One of my concerns with WB printing is volume. Plastisol only needs to cure at 300-320 degrees for a few seconds. That can be accomplished with a good flash unit, or if willing to invest in a small conveyor dryer you can knock out a good amount of shirts per hour.

WB inks need to cure for 90 seconds at 300 degrees. It practically requires you to own a compatible dryer and it brings production to a crawl.

Plastisol is much faster and easier.

 

[lben]

I use my flash dryer to cure both plastisol and water based inks. I don't have room for a conveyor dryer, so the flash dryer takes longer to cure with, but it gets the job done.

 

[OneTrickPony]

I started with water based and have never ever used plastisol, so I have no idea if it is easier.

More Eco - Friendly is a big selling point to me and clients
Soft hand
Easy and inexpensive to clean up - water needed

I had issues with ink drying doing runs larger than 50 especially more than one color, but after really adding a lot of ink in the screen and flooding properly have not had a issue since.

Pint - Flood - Print

Also nifty trick I learn't recently water based ink spilled on a t-shirt, i used the high pressure washer and blew the ink right out once dry reprinted.

Heat gun works just fine if you starting out to cure.

 

[miktoxic]

We are a in the process of deciding to get into the screen printing business. I am researching on waterbased printing, so my concerns are

1. Most of the people say plastisol is easy than waterbased because waterbased is MUCH more labor intensive than plastisol

2. The ink dries really fast on the screen, so you really can do only one batch with the ink and can't keep it for a next job.

3. As I am new to screen printing I don't know the technics about waterbased.

4. But people are saying Water based inks have improved significantly over the years... while a bit more technical to work with, the benefits can be big.

5. We have a small shop I don't want a big curing machine for plastisol inks.


So we are really having a tough time and so confused

Need experts advice.............



Thank you,

water base ink does not just evaporate. the problem printing water base is that if you don't back flood (the process of flooding the area of your design with ink after you have printed the shirt) the ink in the design area will dry and clog not giving you a clean print.

you can mix water base ink and store it like any other ink. it doesn't go bad (at least i've never run into that problem). you can buy pre-mixed water base ink or mix your own.

once you learn water base printing you then know how to print discharge, which is my favorite type of print and is also my customers'.

discharge and water base can be cured using a $60 heat gun. although big prints and large qty orders can be a pain.

the reason people prefer plastisol is they don't have to worry about back flooding and the ink won't dry in that design area, heck you can leave ink in the screen, go home come back the next day and everything is just as it was the day before. the problem is you have to use chemicals to clean up the screen, you can't just scoop out the ink and spray water through it like with water base. but you are going to have to use chemicals doing this line of work any ways, just buy eco-friendly stuff.

also plastisol can go on thick which is felt in the end product. water base if done correctly goes into the fabric not on top of it.

 

[Crazy Tharun]

water base ink does not just evaporate. the problem printing water base is that if you don't back flood (the process of flooding the area of your design with ink after you have printed the shirt) the ink in the design area will dry and clog not giving you a clean print.

you can mix water base ink and store it like any other ink. it doesn't go bad (at least i've never run into that problem). you can buy pre-mixed water base ink or mix your own.

once you learn water base printing you then know how to print discharge, which is my favorite type of print and is also my customers'.

discharge and water base can be cured using a $60 heat gun. although big prints and large qty orders can be a pain.

the reason people prefer plastisol is they don't have to worry about back flooding and the ink won't dry in that design area, heck you can leave ink in the screen, go home come back the next day and everything is just as it was the day before. the problem is you have to use chemicals to clean up the screen, you can't just scoop out the ink and spray water through it like with water base. but you are going to have to use chemicals doing this line of work any ways, just buy eco-friendly stuff.

also plastisol can go on thick which is felt in the end product. water base if done correctly goes into the fabric not on top of it.

Hi tim thank you so much for your info.

after so much of research I found that plastisol is easy print but thick layer on fabric, if I go with plastisol every one recommends me to use soft base additive, but about the result I am not sure.

so I decides to go with water based inks because as of now I am not worried about the production which 20 to 30 shirts per day what I have planned now, and that to 1-3 color prints.

problem is how to flash waterbased ? I have IR flash cure which is good for plastisol. so I should buy a air flash dryer ?

I can use IR flash for cure water based inks but how to flash between colors ? I don't have air flash dryer and I don't think heat gun is right option because it takes long time and ink will dry on press.

 

[lben]

I've cured water based ink with an IR flash dryer. Just put it about 5 inches above the fabric. It takes a few seconds longer, but it works.

 

[miktoxic]

i just bought my own flash cure unit so i'm not the most experienced to answere the question..

BUT

water based ink can be cured by no heat at all by letting the shirts sit wherever for a day. the thing with doing mulitcolor is if you need your first print or every print to be cured before the next color you MIGHT need to flash cure it depending on the colors.

so i bought my flash dryer (best investment ever) and if i needed to print flash print you need to go longer than a plastisol cure (which is usually 15 secs at 350 degrees). use the flash dryer and cure it longer like 50 seconds and have a fan that blows throughout the area that actually brings in natural air with the heat.

 

[Crazy Tharun]

I've cured water based ink with an IR flash dryer. Just put it about 5 inches above the fabric. It takes a few seconds longer, but it works.

Loretta thank you for the reply, Loretta I know with IR flash dryer we can cure water based but I am not asking about the final cure I am just asking can I use IR flash dryer to print flash print for waterbased ? between colors or specifically I need air flash dryer? since u working with waterbased I hope u will help me on this.

 

[miktoxic]

water based inks always cure faster/better with the addition of airflow no matter if it is for the final cure or for print flash print cure.

 

[Crazy Tharun]

water based inks always cure faster/better with the addition of airflow no matter if it is for the final cure or for print flash print cure.

tim thanks again, what u said is correct airflow is very important to cure waterbased and as u said using of fan with heat is good option but what about hot air blower instead of using heat gun ? do u think its good option ?

 

[miktoxic]

yes. i don't use heat gun anymore unless it's a very small print. i bought a direct heat flow flash from ryonet for $400. besides the actual screen printing press it's the best investment i've made.

they do make a similar flash with an air flow system directly within itself which would be great for water base and discharge printing but it is more money.

i'll cure my waterbased prints longer and save that money AND if i have to i'll het the print with the heat gun for like 15 seconds after a real good cure...just to make sure.

hey look...i'm a rapper!

 

[Crazy Tharun]

yes. i don't use heat gun anymore unless it's a very small print. i bought a direct heat flow flash from ryonet for $400. besides the actual screen printing press it's the best investment i've made.

they do make a similar flash with an air flow system directly within itself which would be great for water base and discharge printing but it is more money.

i'll cure my waterbased prints longer and save that money AND if i have to i'll het the print with the heat gun for like 15 seconds after a real good cure...just to make sure.

hey look...i'm a rapper!

he he he he good rap........

 

[Crazy Tharun]

Also nifty trick I learn't recently water based ink spilled on a t-shirt, i used the high pressure washer and blew the ink right out once dry reprinted.

Hi Robert thanks for the reply, Congrats for your awesome "DIY Line Table and Screen Stretcher" awesome thread.

Robert if you don't mind can you explain me how this trick works ? need some detailed info...thanks

 

[miktoxic]

before the ink cures.

 

[NoXid]

If you have the time, you can print the shirts in a batch and just hang them up or drape them over something as you go, then come back later and heat cure them with a heat gun, heat press, flashdryer, or whatever.

Waterbase is hard to cure only because it has all that water in it (duh). Once most of the water has evaporated, it is as simple and quick to cure as Plastisol. But if it is wet, it takes a lot of heat/time/airflow to drive out the water, and until the water is gone the ink will not get above 212 degrees no matter what you use to cure it.

 

[OneTrickPony]

before the ink cures.

yes before the ink cures as in almost as it happens, use the high pressure hose and spray the ink out , I hung the shirts on the washing line ... but do not get to close since i did cause one to get a hole ...