T-Shirt Printing
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- jayoh
I want to get some tees printed soon. Normally I order 1-color (white) screen printed tees but I do not like the hard plastic feel to the ink. I have a few shirts at home that feel like there's no plastic ink on them - like the print is part of the fabric.
What process can you use to achieve this?
- doesnotexist0
mmmmmaybe just do 1 pass and not 3? or print it on the inside maybe
- jayoh0
Right - I never knew they did multiple passes - I guess to get the definition on the colored background.
- vanilla_cam0
there is a print technique called a discharge that is more of a bleach or a dye than an ink. maybe that's what you mean? a lot of places don't do it, but i like the feel much better.
- jayoh0
I do have a Zoo York tee that's black and has an abstract cityscape on it that is in a beige that looks like it's bleached.
- jayoh0
I reckon that soft-hand burnout is what I'm talking about.
I also imagine that like you say (doesnotexist), if you do a single screen pass instead of 2 or 3, I can acheive a way softer feel.
- horton0
lemme try that again...
Q: What process can you use to achieve this?
A1: Light color tee = waterbase inks
A2: Dark color tee = discharge + waterbase ink if you want color
- jayoh0
Horton:
Are waterbase inks durable? If so, why do most printers use Plastisol?
- horton0
Durable yes... the ink basically soaks into the fabric. May fade over washes and time but not anymore than the fabric color would.
Printers use Plasticol because it's generally easier and I'm guessing cheaper to work with.
Plasticol is also much more opaque than waterbase so light inks on dark tees is easier.
- horton0
"Among commercial printers, plastisol is popular because it's simple, inexpensive, and well suited to mass production because the ink will not dry and clog screens. In fact, plastisol really can never dry, it stays in a semi-liquid state until a curing temperature is reached, at which point it bonds to make a solid film. To cure water based ink, the item is heated to the proper temperature at which the water in the ink is evaporated, leaving just the pigments."
- horton0
not referrals, just random google results... more waterbase info:
- jayoh0
Thanks a lot guys - QBNers rock
- lackofcolor0
water based would be your cheapest method of getting a soft feel. if you need a quote just email me.
- joeth0
A 'green' t-shirt printing resource...