Before answering the big question - "Why Plastisol is rated as the best screen printing ink", we should get the answer for - "What is plastisol ink?"
Plastisol is a suspension of PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) in liquid plasticizer. Plastisol easily flows like a liquid when poured into a heated mold. Holden's Screen Supply has our own line of professional plastisols.
It is commonly used as an ink in screen printers for textile for screen printing. As stated above, it is used in the textile industry for screen printing purposes, and hence are often called textile ink.
Since its inception in the 1970s, plastisol screen printing inks have transformed the whole screen printing industry. Now it has become industry standard, all credit goes to its ability to develop permanent and glossy finish. Screen printing ink plastisol is one of the best and most durable screen ink types in the market.
What Made Plastisol Ink Popular?
The main reason behind the popularity of screen print plastisol inks was that it provides printers with the ability to make vibrant and eye-catching prints that stand up on top of the garments. It is created from plasticizers and PVC resin which functions when the temperature or heat transfers to 330° F. The plasticizers and resin reacts to make a permanent and direct print that doesn't wash away.
Different water based inks can be used for printing on light color fabrics, but it not always provides a burst of color. The basic issue against plastisol inks we find is that they are thicker as compared to water based inks also it is not easy to push with a squeegee. One of the best ways to help resolve this issue is mixing inks before a print run.
Ink mixing creates the friction that makes your ink smoother as well as easier to work with. Adding a reducer allows you to thin plastisol ink. Caution should be taken while adding a reducer as too much reducer can also affect its opacity. In this manner, the ink will not be shown as vibrant on darker garments and will lose glow in the dark.
Uses of Plastisol Ink
Plastisol printing inks can be printed on different items that can withstand the heat needed to fix the ink and is permeable enough to allow good ink color. They don't damage the threads of your fabric like traditional screen print inks and dye material. Plastisol screen printing ink folds over the fibers and creates a mechanical bond with that fabric.
These screen print inks will not adhere to water-proof nylon material if a bonding catalyst or agent is not added. They also will not adhere to non-porous substrates, such as glass, wood, metal, and plastic.
Do you know that plastisol inks can be used for printing on T-shirts? Yes, it is true, plastisol inks are easy to print on more than just T-shirts. You can utilize true ink with a soft hand to print all types of natural substrates like wood posters.
The basic reason that more people don't use printing plastisol ink on a substrate other than T-shirts is that they think that the substrate will not hold up during the curing or removal process. The reality, however, is that not exclusively will they hold up to the fix yet they also will not most likely require to be washed which implies they only need to be dry by manual presses or heat press or conveyor dryer.
One of the best uses of plastisol ink is in the poster printing process. Either you use green plastisol ink or yellow plastisol ink or others all these are highly opaque, incredibly versatile and provide a wide variety of unique ink additives that can make your poster highly impressive.
For example, if you want to print a nature part you can use HD additive or puff to add texture to your print and to make trees stand up. with glow, metallics, shimmers and glitters in the dark inks the color matching possibilities are endless.
Advantages Of Using Plastisol Ink
Plastisol Ink Doesn’t Dry Out
When plastisol ink was used with screen printers who were dedicated to printing only with water-based inks, one of the best advantages is that plastisol ink doesn't dry out. During long press runs plastisol ink do doesn't hard in the screens because it has to reach extreme temperatures to cure. It not only makes individual printing task easier, however it likewise implies that screens that will be reused sooner don't need to be wiped out between tasks, and ink that is remaining in the screens can be scraped back for reuse into the bucket.
Makes Printing Easy
Plastisol is a highly user-friendly option for screen printers and special effects as it has different uses. It can be well print wet-on-wet in which the printers use under the base, streak fixes it and prints over rapidly. Moreover, they impact the pinholes faster with a spot gun.
Suitable For All Additives
With plastisol ink you can easily use different kinds of specialty ink, ink additives and reflective inks, so you can modify it to accept any look and color design you need on your T-shirt for all screen printing tasks. If you need a lighter feel then you can use soft-hand additives and standard colors. You can also use curable reducers to make the ink thin and easy to print with. If you need special effects and colors like royal blue on your T-shirt then you can use puff, suede, and glitter with blue plastisol ink.
It Creates Vibrant Prints
If you need a vibrant and vivid print then Plastisol ink is the best choice. It creates a vibrant print even with the darker color substrate. Unlike discharge ink or water-based inks, it stands up on the top of the fabric rather than absorbed by the fabric, in this manner, it helps you to create solid and bright prints on any substrate.
Health, Safety and Environmental Concerns
Plastisol inks are safe when used with proper care. Most plastisol inks contain no air-polluting organic compounds or solvents. The manufacturing, storage, transportation, usage and disposal of plastisol inks do not cause any environmental contamination, illness, or injury as long as the environmental protection procedures and appropriate safety is followed.
Interested to know more? Wanting to place an order for screen printing ink or other materials? Browse our line of plastisols here>>
