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ABOUT
INKS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Business and consumers alike should be informed about
how their choices impact
our environment. The purpose of this article is to
inform our customers and the public of environmental
considerations as it pertains to the use of various
kinds of ink.
The standard types of ink in the industry are classified
generally by the type of base that they use. The most
common types of ink bases are Plastisol Base, Solvent
Base and Water Base inks. Each have their own strengths
and drawbacks for the
type of application and
the environment.
Water-based
inks are very popular in garment printing because
of the soft feel of the prints. Most people believe
that water-based inks are "greener". This
is simply not true. Water-based inks contain
many harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde
that end up washed down the
drain upon cleanup. This and the air-dry characteristics
of the ink guarantee that a higher percentage of the
ink is wasted than reclaimed
for later use. Some water-based inks, such as "discharge"
inks, release sulphur-dioxide
fumes as they cure.
Sovent-based
inks, used primarily for printing on nonabsorbent
material like plastic or glass,
use petrochemical solvents
(similar to mineral spirits) as a base. The flammable
and noxious fumes of
the volatile organic compounds (or V.O.C.s)
are unquestionably the worst
hazard to the environment both outside
and inside the shop.
Plastisol
(or PVC) inks are the standard garment printing ink.
Plastisols contain no V.O.C.s,
and does not air-dry which drastically reduces
waste by making the ink easier to reclaim for
later use. Plastisols are also the most versatile
inks and can produce ultra-soft or super-bright
and high-density effects.
At
Art Factory we reclaim 99%
of the ink left over after a job is printed. Leftover
custom colors are used for new color formulations
whenever possible. While many printers use mineral
spirits to clean ink residue we use a no-V.O.C.
Citrus-based solvent for cleanup (similar to
what the State of California has mandated for years
for cleaning driveway oil-spills and the like).
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SOFT
PRINTS vs OPAQUE
Walk into any clothing store you'll notice that decorated
apparel styles vary wildly
in two general directions often on the same
item!
In
adult fashions the trend is toward very soft, or "soft
hand" vintage style printing that looks
like it's part of the fabric or has been worn and
washed 1000 times. On the other extreme are bright,
high-density techniques seen on sportswear
and children's items.
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Softhand
prints are accomplished in part by ink modification
at the expense of the ink's opacity,
or it's ability to completely conceal the color it
is printed upon. Bright, opaque
prints on dark material are made by underbasing
the colors (usually with white ink) requiring an additional
print screen that can add cost.
The
decision of whether or not to underbase colors rests
with the intention of designer and the final effect
desired on the shirt. We call this the "opacity
standard" and can be classified as "Soft
Hand", "Semi-Opaque"
or "Opaque"
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Semi-0paque orange on Navy Blue shirt and an underbased
Opaque version |
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Discharge
print with close-up of inset - CLICK
TO ZOOM
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DISCHARGE
INK
While browsing high fashion T-shirts at a store you
may notice a style of printing that is very
bright but undetectable to the touch. This
is printed by using "Discharge"
inks.
Discharge
inks are a water-based
ink that evaporates the dyes out of natural-fiber
garments during the heat-curing
process. The discharge base can be tinted
to create bright soft hand colors,
used by itself to reveal the
natural fabric color or even as an alternative
to conventional underbasing.
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Not
all types of garments can be discharged.
Synthetic blends and some types of fabric dyes will
not discharge properly or at all. Consult Art Factory
for brand recommendations that can be discharge printed.
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GLITTER
AND SHIMMER
Glitter
and shimmer inks are
a popular way to add some flash to a design.
Both
types of ink contain metallic
flakes in various colors
that can be used to add subtle
to bold effects.
Glitter
Inks
have larger flakes that
create more sparkle but feel rough
to the touch. Shimmer
inks print a lot smoother,
have smaller flakes but
keep an effective sparkle.
Art
Factory carries six colors
of shimmer inks.
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Metallic
Silver Glitter |
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FOIL
The most effective metallic is achieved
with foil. Available
in many colors and special effects
foil is usually used as an accent
but can be used as a major feature in a design as
pictured here.
To
apply foil is a two-step process.
First an image is printed on the garment with a special
adhesive ink. After normal curing
the foil is then applied to the adhesive print with
a heat press.
Rarely
do you see more than one
type of foil in a design because of handling issues.
However creative dual-color
foil effects can be created on the same graphic
making each print unique!
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PUFF
AND SUEDE
Suede
and Puff inks contain
an additive that causes the ink to swell
as it cures for a high-density
effect. Puff inks are often used in Children's
fashion but can be creatively used to create
areas on the garment that imitate
embroidery stitches for a multimedia look!
Suede
inks swell to a smaller height and create an effective
imitation of leather suede.
Creative uses for suede effects could be for faux
appliqué patches on a design.
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DISTRESS
EFFECTS
The majority of prints in the retail
market feature some sort of distress
effect that imitates the decay
of a well-worn garment. Most distress effects
are created in the artwork itself
but some can come from special ink bases such as crackle
and shatter bases that
break up during curing.
Certain
types of distress effects
lend themselves to different
styles and techniques of printing. The object
of the effect is to appear as authentic
as possible to the print method and opacity target.
Quality
inks that are properly cured
can last for years without
cracking or breaking off of the garment. Part of our
job is to be sure that the image
stays fast -- distressed or not -- until the
garment falls apart!
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FLOCK
Flocking
is a technique that uses tiny
textile fibers to cover an area and yields
a surface that looks and feels very similar to velvet.
Originally developed in the auto industry to cover
the inside of glove compartments, the technique is
also used to create fuzzy high-density
accents on fashionable screen printed apparel.
Direct
flocking is a messy and
hazardous process that
involves spraying the fibers through a metal screen
energized by a high-voltage
current onto a garment with a print of special
adhesive. The printing table underneath the garment
contains an opposite electrical charge that causes
the fibers to embed in
the adhesive standing up
on end.
Art
Factory can print flock transfers
that can be arranged on a garment and applied with
a heat press.
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SCREENPRINTED
TRANSFERS
Screen Printed Heat Transfers
are a common apparel decorating solution for retail
businesses or the designer that wants to be able to
apply graphics to garments that are not yet on hand.
The process of printing transfers can
be cheaper than direct printing with results
that are practically indistinguishable. |
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The
method first appeared to most of us in the shopping
malls of the 1970's where
the desired transfer was applied to the shirt of choice
on the spot. Those transfers felt like a brittle sheet
of rubber on your body, something we in the business
describe as "bulletproof"
and were not the most comfortable thing to wear!
Today's
screen printed transfers are as flexible, elastic,
soft and bright as direct screen printing with vastly
improved wearability and washability. However
when designing for screened transfers it's best to
keep the colors to a minimum
and avoid extremely fine details,
tints and halftones.
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Art
Factory uses screened transfers often on caps, hard
to print items and with our tagless
private label program.
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