Which type of ink to use?
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
Joined
·
897 Posts
Water base typically gives a softer hand but is more environmentally unfriendly in the waste stream. There are also a lot of substrates you cannot print with water base.
Plastisol clumps back into solids in the waste stream making it easier for the treatment plants to remove from the water. It is also landfill friendly when cured. So far I have not found much I could not print with plastisol. We just printed a bunch of shirts that had a UV protectant and water resistant coating. Water base would not have worked on these shirts but plastisol worked great on them.
Bottom line is if you are going to print with water base then you are still going to need plastisol from time to time.
Joined
·
626 Posts
yeah I agree. if your going to print oh lets say a recycled t-shirt then I have a feeling your going to want to a water based since they are looking for a eco friendly shirt to promote. but you can have like me a gross of shirts and I'm using plastisol ink and that is what I use. I would see what you print more of and go with that route. It wouldn't hurt to keep water based but if your not really doing alot of those shirts then I would say to people if they ask that you can do it upon request.
Joined
·
609 Posts
Why couldnt you offer h2o based inks ONLY? and NO plastisol? If I were to do that I would pitch myself as an eco friendly,"green" shop. Some will care, most wont, but a lot of folks like the softer hand and feel of the water based inks. Or use plastisol when it appropriate....athletics, specialty inks etc...
Joined
·
62 Posts
I have not used WB inks or emulsions at all. However, I do know that WB inks dry in the air, which goes back to a similar process of solvent printing. You are going to have be a quicker and be clearing the screen every so often. I love Plastisol because it can literally print on almost everything (sometimes a Catalyst is needed but big deal) and it doesn't dry in the screen. You can print and print and print and even leave the ink on the screen overnight if you really wanted. One day I will give WB a try, but I am in no hurry.
Joined
·
1,262 Posts
Technique is critical with water based inks. If your technique is impeccable then you will not have problems with screens clogging. The key is to wipe ink over the image area between flood stokes to keep liquid ink over the image area and a thick blob cannot dry in the screen. Also use a spritz of water every so often to keep the wb flowing. Don't overheat your pallets while flashing. Good solid strokes from time to time can clear a screen if there is any clogging. I will do a test sheet once every 40-50 strokes with a high pressure stroke to force the older ink out. Wb is not necessarily harder to print but it does force you to keep your technique efficient and consistent.
My two cents. Toss them in a well and make a wish.
My two cents. Toss them in a well and make a wish.
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
