Awwwww yeah! So this is the last blog or article or post or whatever you want to call it, in our 101 series. Today we will be discussing ink types and the effect it could have on your t-shirt design.

Plastisol Ink

Plastisol Ink is our most popular ink type, hands down. When you place an order on haleink.com, plastisol ink will automatically be set as your default, for good reason since it’s an excellent ink. Plastisol ink sits on top of the fabric and is very opaque in color.. in other words, it gives you a very bright looking print. It is a very flexible ink, and we can accomplish just about any look with it. From colorful, bold prints to weathered vintage ones, plastisol works well on just about every type of t-shirt blend and fabric color.

Water-Based Ink

Water-based inks soak into the fabric; thus, it works best with light-colored t-shirts. For darker shirts, we would recommend using discharge. Discharge is water-based ink with an additive added to it. Basically, you have the ink color, then you mix in the discharge additive. The discharge has a chemical reaction with the cotton in the fabric, and it bleaches the material to its natural color, which is typically like an off-white. While that is happening, the ink color is soaking into the same area and dying it a new color. Since these inks soak into the t-shirt, the result is a super soft feeling print.

That super soft print does come at a price. Specific t-shirt colors do not lend themselves well to water-based ink. For example, white ink on a red shirt might have a pink look to it. This would be one of those times where we would recommend plastisol. As I mentioned before, discharge removes the color from the cotton so ideally, you would want to print on 100% cotton. You CAN print on Poly-Cotton and Tri-Blends, but the discharge will only work on the cotton, thus giving you a vintage look.

Another issue we tend to run across is that not all t-shirts discharge the same. Sometimes manufacturers will re-dye t-shirts that aren’t selling well and when we place an order some of those t-shirts might be mixed in, and they will not discharge precisely the same as the others. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about that, so just go into this printing method with an open mind. If consistency is what you seek, plastisol is the ink for you.

Process Printing

We’ll start with 4 Color Process. We use this method when printing full-color images on white or natural shirts. We blend Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black to reproduce full-color images. This is great if your design has a photo-realistic look to it or if it has more colors than we can accommodate on our printing press. If you want full-color images on dark garments, then we would recommend Simulated Process Printing. It’s similar to 4 Color Process, but the inks have a higher opacity which allows them to really pop on darker shirts. Most of the time, we will use 5 or 6 colors to reproduce a full-color image.

If you aren’t sure which ink is right for you, then feel free to reach out, and we can give you our thoughts on how to achieve the right look for your print project. I hope this has been educational, and I wish you all a happy Memorial Day!