Know About The Inks That Are Used During Screen Printing On T-Shirts

Everybody seems to love screen printing t-shirts and if you see behind the scene, the whole printing industry seems to be getting behind water based printing. Fashion heavyweights like Nike and Adidas have fallen in line, completely moving away from traditional inks. Apparel companies on the whole are beginning to recognize not just the demand for, but the superior feel and breathability of water based prints.So what is water based ink anyway? And what makes it special? Simply put, water based ink is any ink which uses water as a solvent base to carry the pigment. From Ready-For-Use (RFU) inks, to newer formulations like High Solid Acrylic (HSA), water based inks deliver unique benefits. Here are some highlights on the two most common categories of water based inks: RFU Inks: Ready-For-Use (RFU) inks are the easiest for beginners to use. RFUs come pre-mixed, in a large selection of the most commonly used colours. You can print with them right out of the bucket onto lighter fabrics, or use a white or discharge under base to get more vibrant prints on dark garments. Some inks are available with a ratio of 80% transparent base, 20% opaque base and pigment, which gives the inks high coverage and helps to keep them on top of the fabric for the most vibrant colours possible. High Solid Acrylic (HSA) inks are ideal for more complex jobs. A newer formula, HSAs include a thickening binder that mimics plastisol ink, keeping them from drying too fast, while ensuring they can easily stretch and stack on top of each other while applying halftones or simulated process printing techniques. At the same time, they still offer the soft feeling of a water based print t-shirt when properly cured. Some inks are an HSA water based ink hybrid, made with a 20% opaque HSA base that allows the ink to remain vibrant, sitting on top of the shirt fibres versus down into the fibres. HSAs give you the best of both worlds.

But it’s not just about the ink, right? It’s also about how it’s mixed, and the additives you put into it. Mixing systems allow you to design your own colours and ink mixtures. Using a mixing system, you can create literally any colour of ink you want, tapping into a full range of colours using pre-designated formulas. Need more opacity or better coverage? Simply use more opaque base in the mixture and modify the pigment ratio slightly. Some mixing system pigments also allow you to use each individual pigment as an additive to use in special effect bases, like discharge, metallic, and reflective inks, giving you the freedom to tint and create different colours with a wide variety of effects.

You can actually be the star of the gathering, and the jealousy of others with such clothes.