INK TYPES

INK TYPES: Screen printing is so exciting because there are a lot of options when it comes to inks. Do you want it to glow in the dark, do you want glossy areas, is glitter your thing? Options are near limitless with inks and can really up the value of your shirt when used wisely.

PLASTISOL: This is the most widely used screen print ink. It is a soft rubber like ink that cures in an oven and produces vibrant and resilient colors. Most shirts you see use plastisol inks because they can be printed thick, or thinned out for a soft feel. They are incredibly versatile.

DISCHARGE: These inks are really cool and best used on spot color jobs without a lot of colors. How this ink works is when it’s applied to a cotton shirt, it bleaches out the color of the shirt and replaces it with it’s own color in the curing oven. When this shirt is washed, you can not tell there is any ink on the shirt at all, it’s the softest feel you can get because the fabric is actually dyed. This process only works on 100% cotton garments, and some other limitations may exist. Your blue collar rep can tell you more about this cool process

EXTENDED PLASTISOL: Extended plastisols are simply plastisol inks with an extender added to them. It gives the ink a more transparent, and soft feel. Sometimes you hear this referred to as “soft hand” feel.

SPECIAL EFFECTS: This is where it gets fun. Special effects include metallic, glitter, suede feel, stand up straight where the ink has a sharp thick feel, puff, glow in the dark, clear gloss, foil overlays, and ink companies are always coming out with new products. Ask our Blue Collar rep what’s new.