PRINTING ON DARK GARMENTS:

Water based Inks are not recommended to print on Dark garments, due to low opacity. It can be done using a “white base” just like Plastisol, however even though the white base is water based; it still can tend to create a plastisol feel. We have found that since this now takes away the extreme “soft” hand, you might as well use all plastisol colors, thereby eliminating all the other potential challenges and problems that come with using water based inks.

An alternative to printing a “white base” you can DISCHARGE the base. To learn more about this process please go to the DISCHARGE section.

PRINTING ON LIGHT GARMENTS:

Light and white garments are the ideal surface colors to print on. Since the opacity is low with water based inks, careful consideration must be taken if the same design is to be printed on multiple garment colors. For example if printing yellow on a white and a light blue garment, the ink will appear yellow on the white, but could look “greenish” if printed on a light blue surface. Best results are achieved with 100% cotton fabrics, however blended and other synthetic fabrics will usually work, testing is recommended before running production.

BRANDS WE USE:

There are a number of manufacturers to choose from, of which we have sampled all the major brands. Our recommended Ink Manufacturer for Water based Inks is MATSUI COLOR. We have found that this brand tends to be the most stable throughout production. It also has the capability to PMS color match, where other brands do not. It has superior color brilliance, and cures quickly without the use of activators and other additives.

DISCLAIMERS:

Images can appear to fade faster than plastisol prints. This is not a result of the ink coming off, but since the ink does not create a barrier over the fabric, when the garment is washed, fiber breakage creates fuzz over the printed area, making the image to appear faded.

Water based printing creates a greater potential in “damaged” items in production, so compensation for this should be considered when using this process.

For the best wash results of water based prints, use cold water, and flip shirts inside out and hang dry if possible.