Underarmor

[Ochtees]

So any thought or ideas how to print on underarmor type material? Don't you need a special ink?

[Catspit Productions]

I don’t print that stuff. It can be very difficult due to the stretching. You may need a stretch base to allow the ink to stretch with the fabric and the body it is on.

I think that stuff is a wicking polyester. Sometimes those fabrics with water repellants or wicking characteristics need an additive to bond well. Normally people would use a nylon additive as a catalyst. Or perhaps an athletic ink made for polyester.

But as long as it is polyester or a blend thereof then you should be able to use plastisol polyester inks with a stretch base additive. You may add the catalyst if the bond needs help.

But I would do some testing for bond.

The other issue you can have is dye migration depending on the color of the garment and the inks being printed. You may need a gray or white under base to prevent the dye bleeding into the ink form the garment.

You'll have to consider all of these factors into the print job.

[woveninc]

We have a client who regularly gets a high quantity of under armor printed and the way we do it is to screen print onto transfer paper then heat press them on. It seems to be the way we get the most consistent results and they look just as good as direct prints. Hope this help

[Leadfoot]

I have started to print UA type material frequently. The ink I use is Excalibur 1550 which is their 100% poly/athletic ink line. It cures at 290 so you just have to be careful with your curing process, it cures FAST. I have had great success with it!

If anyone is interested and wants a good & affordable alternative to Under Armour, Badger is about as close fabric wise as you can get and it can be purchased at wholesale pricing a lot easier than UA.