Water Based Ink Screen Printing

Water Based Ink Screen Printing

Custom screen printing is a world full of options so sometimes it can be overwhelming to find what works for you.  Traditionally, screen printing was done using plastisol inks, which are composed of microscopic solid pigments.  Plastisol inks work very well for printing onto fabrics and they are easily reclaimed to cut down on waste ink, which is a huge money saver.  Some people, however, aren’t in love with how stiff plastisol prints can be, especially with a lot of ink coverage on the fabric.  Luckily for those people, screen printing with water based inks was developed! 

Water based ink screen printing is, as the name suggests, screen printing done using water based inks and the effect it has on the print is profound.  Water based inks are much thinner than plastisol inks which means they leave a softer “hand” to your print.  When you run your hand over the print, you’ll barely be able to feel the ink from the fabric.  Since the ink is much thinner you can print over the seams of a garment without distorting the print, which makes it great for all over T shirt printing!  By adding a discharge agent to the water based ink you can perform a process called discharge printing.  The discharge agent removes the existing color from the fabric and so that the ink can deposit a new color in its place.

So how will you know if water based ink screen printing is right for you?  Why not reach out to us at AMBRO Manufacturing to find out more?  Our support team is always here to answer questions and to help provide guidance so that you can reach the customization goal you want.  We are a contract screen printing, embroidery, and sublimation company so we’ve got the knowledge and ability to meet your printing needs.  If you would like to place an order or find out more about us, you can contact us by email or by calling us at (908) 806-8337.

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Discharge Screen Printing

Discharge Screen Printing

So let’s talk screen printing.  Firstly, what is it?  Screen printing, at a glance, is applying ink to the surface of a garment through silk screens.  The screens have designs etched out in an emulsion that covers the holes in the mesh.  Once all the layers of the design have been applied, the garment can be dried and it is ready to hit the market.  If you’ve been researching around, you might have heard about discharge screen printing.  You may be wondering what that might be and how it is different than other screen printing.

Discharge Screen Printing

Originally, practically all screen printing was done with plastisol inks.  Plastisol inks are made from PVC and contain virtually no solvent, which means that they won’t dry up when left exposed to the air.  They are user-friendly inks that can be re-used over and over again with no degradation in quality.  For some, however, the ‘hand’ that plastisol inks leave behind is unappealing.  Also prints printed with plastisol inks cannot be ironed as it will re-melt the ink.  Luckily, screen printing with plastisol inks isn’t the only option around anymore.  With discharge screen printing, you can get a whole new look for you custom goods.

Discharge screen printing is a method of printing that uses water-based inks to create the image.  The ink is specially formulated to remove the existing color in the garment, the ‘discharge’ step, and then apply a new color in its place.  This method leaves behind a very soft ‘hand’ which many people like for their prints.  If you are interested in having your own custom discharge screen printing projects done, I urge you to come visit us at AMBRO Manufacturing.  You can contact us to place an order, or to find out more about our company and services, by email or by calling us at (908) 806-8337.

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