Most Current Printing Methods

High Quality Ink!

WATER BASED INK

Water based ink has been around for years. The objective of printing water based ink (unlike plastisol ink) is to penetrate the garment fibers and change the color of the fabric. It can be more troublesome to print on garments for the printer but is very comfortable to wear. You can not feel the print on the garment after washing. If water based inks are printed correctly they will not washout after washing and are the most comfortable to wear. The only set back to water based ink is that they are not very bright on the shirt, they do not work well on dark shirts and the cost is a little more expensive.

FOUR COLOR PROCESS

This is a system where a color image is separated into 4 different color values (called a color separation) by the use of filters and screens. This used to be done with photographic film on a graphic arts camera, but is mostly done digitally now. The result is a color separation of 4 images that when transferred to printing plates and sequentially printed on a printing press with the colored inks cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black (the k in cmyk), reproduces the original color image. Most of the entire spectrum or gamut of colors are reproduced with just the four process ink colors. The four color printing process is universally used in the graphic arts and commercial printing industry for the reproduction of color images and text. Both 4 color process and index screen printing are priced individually and each design is unique.

PLASTISOL INK

The vast majority of t-shirts printed in the United States are printed with a plastisol base ink. This is a good ink that should last a life time on your garments, as long as the printer did their job correctly. If not, the ink will begin to washout of the garment after a few washings. The other most common problem with plastisol ink is that it is often applied to heavy. Too thick a layer of ink on the garment will result in the ink cracking after being washed and it will be uncomfortable to wear. It can stick to your skin and will not “BREATH” (let air through). The objective of printing plastisol ink is to lay a thin deposit of ink on top of the fabric so that it does not penetrate the fabric. A thin deposit of plastisol ink when cured correctly should not wash off and have little or no discomfort when wearing. Like most other printers plastisol ink is what we print with on the majority of the shirts we print.

DISCHARGE INK

Like water based ink discharge ink has been around for years, it is a water based ink that changes the color of the garment. The way discharge ink works is a little complicated to explain but the ink will penetrate the fabric and “discharge” the dye in the fabric and replace it with pigments in the ink. For dark colored garments this is the most comfortable shirt to wear. The image cannot be washed out, it will not crack or fade. Like water based inks the cost is a little more expensive.

INDEX COLOR SEPARATION

This is a process of choosing a few colors to represent millions of colors that built up an image/design. It breaks down millions of colors into a few colors that BEST represent an image when they are printed back together on a t-shirt. Choosing the best set of colors is extremely crucial in order to produce an excellent print. The more colors allowed the better an image looks. 12 index colors image looks twice as smoother than a 6 index color image. Both 4 color process and index screen printing are priced individually and each design is unique.