Plastisol has an almost indefinite shelf life, can be left on screens without damaging them, and is extremely long-lasting on garments when cured correctly. Plastisol is essentially a liquid plastic combined with unpolymerized PVC. It’s made out of unpolymerized (read: viscous) PVC (polyvinyl chloride) via chemical process through a combination of ethylene (an oil-based product) and chlorine suspended in a liquid plastic. Durable, versatile, opaque, and able to lay down a crisp and detailed print, plastisol is still the go-to ink for screen printers. This is the most widely used ink in the industry. Plenty of businesses crank out one and two-color prints all day and absolutely make a killing.īut if you want to know what’s possible, you need to understand the tools of the trade. Not every print shop needs to be like Denver Print House, churning out complex art printed with scientific precision in a tightly controlled environment. There's not a single brand or type of ink that will work perfectly every time – you've got to know your stuff! You should know about the major types of screen printing inks, understand their applications, and know whether they’re something you could work with in your shop. Some are better for certain applications, and not so great for others. But I’m always honest with shops about the inks that are out there. I’m a former screen printing supplies salesman. What type of screen printing inks are there? So let’s get into the weeds and remember: caveat emptor (buyer beware). Do you have a long-term relationship with them?.Which ink distributor is going to help me the most when I need it?.How long will it take to get a small (or large) amount of ink to your shop when you really need it?.How often do you need to rush order ink?.Do you need dozens of custom colors or a handful of stock shop colors?.What special effects do your customers want?.What do I actually need from my screen printing inks?.Don’t ask “what’s the best ink for screen printing?” Instead, ask these questions: So trust your ink salespeople.but verify that they're being truthful. A clever salesman can make any ink work during a demo – or make it fail. The truth about screen printing ink is this: most inks that you can buy from a major supplier are good screen printing inks. It’s also one of the most loaded questions I get! This is one of the most common questions I get when I’m talking to screen printers.

Air dry fabric screen printing ink