SCREEN PRINTING:
Industry Standards Vs. Our Standards
What Is Ink Exactly?
You can’t print a graphic onto a garment without some sort of ink. In the mid 1950’s a new ink called plastisol came out that revolutionized screen printing at the time. Plastisol is a petroleum based ink that’s easy to use, mix, and has a very stable/long shelf life. Today, plastisol is still widely considered to be the industry standard. There are quite a few ingredients within the makeup of the standard plastisol ink and many of them can be harmful to the environment and humans. So what other options are there?
You would think that in the 21st century, the screen printing world or even the broader textile industry would have formulated better ways to create dyes and inks that are used on a mass scale. But sadly, that’s not the case. There are a handful of slightly better inks out there. However, we feel like we need to state the unpopular fact here that no inks are actually eco-friendly. If other ink manufacturers or printers are claiming their inks are eco-friendly it’s just a marketing ploy. That’s not to say that some inks aren’t better than others. We just want to make that point clear. We do our best to use the most environmentally friendly inks that are available. Here are some descriptions of those better alternatives.
PVC and Phthalate Free Plastisol:
The name PVC Free is slightly misleading. PVC Free basically means that they are acrylic based rather than petroleum based which isn’t easily taken from the name. Simply put, acrylics are less impactful on the environment than petroleum. But phthalate free doesn’t actually mean they are 100% free of phthalates. They should really be called “Phthalate Alternative” inks instead. However, the good thing is that these inks don’t contain any of the six regulated orthophthalates which are the dangerous phthalates that have been linked to some more serious medical issues both as a result of direct contact and the phthalate waste/by-products being released into our water and landfill systems. The thing is, inks still seem to need some sort of phthalate makeup in order for the ink to cure properly and maintain it’s integrity. By now you’re probably wondering, what the heck are phthalates anyways? It’s pronounced ("thal-ates") and they are a group of industrial chemicals used as plasticizers that add flexibility and resilience to many plastic consumer products. They’re everywhere. PVC and Phthalate free inks are better than the standard plastisol inks out there but we’re hoping there will be continued improvements to their chemical makeup so they become even better.
Soy Based Inks:
Soy is a renewable resource and these inks do not contain as many VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) which are chemicals that evaporate and react to sunlight and cause air pollution. We like these soy based inks but they are still relatively new to the market and they haven’t been able to dial in the proper makeup of ingredients just yet. The formulas have changed recently because the original formula would cause the ink to expand and even push the tops off of the unopened ink containers. Imagine the ink on your shirt expanding the same way and causing cracks in the print. The truth about soy inks is that they really just have a soy base, but the large majority of the remaining compounds are most likely the same as other plastisol of phthalate inks. We can only speculate about that since the company that manufactures these inks is not transparent about this and will only state that there may be about 25% soy in the ink. Still, we commend their effort in trying to create a better alternative and we truly hope these soy based inks can become the ink of the future. We like using them for simple 1 color prints. They’re also the most expensive ink out there and have recently raised prices even more so it’s a bit tough for printers to offer this without charging the customer a little more than their standard rate.
Water Based Inks:
Water based inks are just as they sound. They are made with a base of water. This makes them inherently thin and semi transparent. This is neither bad nor good. It makes the prints generally more soft handed compared to some other inks out there. It’s tougher to get opaque prints on dark shirts without using a white under base. Cleanup is pretty straightforward since all you need is water. One of the downsides of printing with water based inks is the increased drying time required. These inks need to stay in the conveyor dryer for a much longer time than the other ink options out there which can slow down production and use more energy if you don’t have a really nice conveyor dryer that’s designed to force airflow up through the dryer in order to make it more efficient.