Should You Use Water Based Inks To Print?
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 8:38 pm
Water based inks are often the most appealing ink to use for beginning screen printing because they learn that water based inks are environmental and they can create very soft prints that feel like the tee shirt. A print that feels just like the t shirt is called a “soft hand” print. The softness of a print may be referred to as the “hand”. The biggest down side to water based inks is that they dry by evaporation. Therefore they can be much more difficult to work with than plastisol inks. However new inks and innovations to discharge printing have made the effort most worthwhile in many cases. Printing on posters or papers of any kind will require a water based ink and plastic or metal signs would too. A basic understanding of working with air dry inks like water based textile inks is a good thing to have even when you run a plastisol ink screen printing shop.
Water based textile inks differ from plastisol in that they are heat set instead of cured. First you let them air dry and then they are set with heat at a temperature ranging between 150 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the brand or type of ink.
Here are a couple of articles that should help you out with working with water based inks:
http://catspitproductionsllc.com/intro-to-inks.html
http://catspitproductionsllc.com/waterbasedinks.html
Here is a video about working with an air dry ink:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfGtAd-Lzg8
Have you worked with water based inks? Do you prefer water based ink or plastisol and why? How do you heat set your water based textile prints? Do you have any suggestions for printing white water based or discharge inks on black tee shirts?
Water based textile inks differ from plastisol in that they are heat set instead of cured. First you let them air dry and then they are set with heat at a temperature ranging between 150 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the brand or type of ink.
Here are a couple of articles that should help you out with working with water based inks:
http://catspitproductionsllc.com/intro-to-inks.html
http://catspitproductionsllc.com/waterbasedinks.html
Here is a video about working with an air dry ink:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfGtAd-Lzg8
Have you worked with water based inks? Do you prefer water based ink or plastisol and why? How do you heat set your water based textile prints? Do you have any suggestions for printing white water based or discharge inks on black tee shirts?