Plastisol ink is the standard and has been one of the most commonly used inks in the industry for several decades. Plastisol is opaque and vibrant, making it the best option to make bright colors really pop off of dark fabrics. It is the easiest ink for color matching and has a long shelf life, making it the cheapest option we offer. However, plastisol is thicker and sits on the surface of the fabric, resulting in a heavier, textured feel which can be more prone to wear and tear.

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Still plastisol, but now with more comfort! By thinning out plastisol ink with a soft hand reducer, we can make the standard plastisol ink lighter, softer, and overall more attractive for those looking for a fashion feel on a budget. Because the ink is thinner, we can also print your design through a higher mesh screen, leaving a thinner deposit on the febric. A downside of reducing plastisol ink can be diminished opacity on darker fabrics causing more muted colors.

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Printing with water based ink is quickly becoming the more popular solution for a lighter, more fashion forward, soft hand feel. Water based inks can print so soft that often you will not be able to feel the difference between the print and the shirt. Due to the low viscosity of water based inks, they are not as opaque as plastisol, and will print quite a bit duller on dark fabrics. Typically we recommended printing darker inks on lighter fabrics and using a discharge additive for achieving brighter colors on dark fabrics.

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To combat the failings of water based inks on darker fabrics, we mix up a special water based discharge ink. Once activated, discharge has a bleaching effect on fabric. By itself, the discharge will strip most of the dye from the shirt leaving a natural tinted print. When mixed with water based pigments, this process will also re-dye the fabric resulting in a brighter, more vibrant print on darker shirts than water based can achieve on its own. Due to the chemical reaction involved, this process works best on 100% cotton, but can also turn out great on some blends.

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In addition to our standard inks, we can print with a selection of specialty inks to achieve a variety of special effects. We can print with an assortment of metallic inks, glitter inks, reflective inks, high visibility inks, and glow-in-the-dark inks. Due to the specialty nature of these inks and effects, there may be limitations to what we can achieve and additional costs will apply. Please reach out to us for a consultation on your project.

You can learn more about some of our special effect inks and options here >