The Advantages Of Using Water-Based Inks In T-Shirt Printing

[Marie Ponsaran]

The t-shirt printing process uses two major types of inks: water-based and plastisol. Many people have begun using water-based inks more often now compared to plastisol. Knowing the reasons why water-based inks are better than plastisol will help t-shirt printing enthusiasts understand which ink is better suited to the design they are going to print.

Plastisol used to be the ink preferred for use in screen printing t-shirts. Plastisol inks are believed to be more durable and long lasting than other types of inks. Fabrics also absorb more of plastisol inks, making them less
likely to peel off after repeated washings.

Water-Based Inks Are Environmentally Friendly

However, these attractive qualities of plastisol inks are now also found in new types of water-based inks. Comparing the two major types of textile inks, water-based inks are a much better option than plastisol because they are more environment-friendly. Artists and t-shirt printing companies that have adopted green practices will surely choose water-based inks over plastisol inks.

Water-based inks are easy to use and simply needs water to clean off the t-shirt printing equipment. Plastisol inks, on the other hand, need possibly harmful solvents to clean them off screens aside from containing PVC and phthalates that are non-biodegradable. Water-based inks do not contain ozone-depleting chemicals such as CFC's and HCFC's, aromatic hydrocarbons or any volatile solvents, and lead or any other heavy metal.

Water-Based Inks Produce A Softer Hand

Aside from being environmentally friendly, water-based inks also produce a softer hand than plastisol inks. When t-shirt printers say “soft hand,” it means the ink is thoroughly absorbed into the fabric that you will not feel the surface when you pass your hand over the t-shirt’s design. Because plastisol inks have a “heavy hand,” people think the t-shirt’s design was made of rubber.

Actually, plastisol ink is made of PVC liquefied into a paste without any water-based solvent. Unlike water-based inks, plastisol inks are more solid than liquid. They also have a thicker consistency because they look and feel like paste. This paste-like texture lends that rubbery feel after the design has undergone the curing process where it is exposed to intense heat.

Water-Based Inks Also Have Opaque And Vibrant Colors

Traditional t-shirt printing used to prefer plastisol inks because of the quality of color they produce. The colors used to remain as vibrant as they were newly screen-printed, even after many washing and ironing.

However, because of advancements in chemical science, water-based inks can now match plastisol inks in terms of vibrancy and opacity of colors. Lighter colors can now be printed on dark thick fabrics using water-based inks without resorting to bleaching or discharging the fabric first.

In general, water-based inks are very much as good and reliable as plastisol inks. They are less harmful to our environment and do not have that rubbery feel that plastisol printing or thermal transfer printing produces. More importantly in t-shirt printing, water-based inks produce vibrant designs as well as plastisol inks.