As a person just starting out with screen printing, this is BY FAR the best video I have seen on this topic. Much appreciated info and guidance, thank you so much!
Really cool episode! I just starting (or re-starting because I did some works with plastisol a couple of years ago) and you sold me the idea to use water based ink :) Thanks for the content!
SUBSCRIBED! Man I’m brand new to screen printing. Just bought a little Vastex V100 for single color prints, haven’t even assembled it yet. I bought water based ink, I heard the rumors. But I want to be environmentally friendly and I like the water based hand feel. Question: are there water based inks and chemicals that are safe if I flush them down the toilet??
Thanks for the sub! congrats on getting a press. Put that thing together and get started! I think you'll be very glad you went with water based. I use Green Galaxy (ssp.ink/greengalaxy) inks and SGreen (ssp.ink/sgreen) chemicals because of their minimal environmental impact, but I would still caution putting it down your drains without filtering heavily first. Especially if you're on a city sewer system. I've heard horror stories of shops getting major fines as a result of chemicals they're washing down the drain without filtering enough first. I would check with the folks at Ryonet and see what they recommend. I run mine through one of the SGreen filtration systems and I try to always keep the filters clean/fresh so that I have the cleanest waste water possible.
Plastisol for the reason you stated - If your business model involves using a stencil perpetually, then with plastisol you don’t need to clean it after every use like water based inks. Plus the stenciled emulsion won’t start degrading after every use and clean up. Which is a cost savings in labor time and materials. If you do transfers for T-shirts, using a plastisol transfer ink, you can forego the use off an adhesive backing process such as powering or a screen printed adhesive backing layer. This too has similar savings. The No hand you had with water based inks as a top adoption point a decade ago but with the rampage of DTF and hybrid type digital/screen technology, general consumer expectations have shifted again and they expect a hand to the prints they touch in major department stores. The printer has to like water based inks more than the end consumer do, to justify it’s use now. So while a consumer will choose a soft finish waterbased print over one with a hand, they have to select it out of a sea of prints with a hand to it.
all great points to consider in making the decision that's right for you! There's no "right" or "wrong" decision, just whatever is best for your shop. For example, I know of shops printing only water based ink that do 20,000 shirts with the same screen with no issues with the stencil degrading. I know I've printed hundreds at a time, cleaned a screen, stored it, and returned to print hundreds more weeks later with still no issues with the stencil breaking down. I don't think that DTG or any digital printing even gets close to the results, and durability, of screen printed apparel both water based and plastisol. And I don't think people, if given the option, would choose to have a print that's thick and has "feel". For me, water based is much easier to print in my particular setup than plastisol, so it works great for me and almost all of my customers have commented on how much they like the print more than other apparel they've ordered from other places, printed with plastisol. I think you're right in what people expect, but I think if given the choice most would opt for no feel of their print vs a thick plastic billboard on their chest. I think it all just depends on your setup, what you prefer, and what your target market is. The great thing about screen printing, and garment decoration in general, is there are so many different methods and ways of doing things so we can all pick and choose what works best for each of us and our target audiences. :)
@JohnEastmanExAttyAtLaw actually you’d be surprised. Lots of people prefer it and specifically ask for it. Just different tastes for different people 🤙🏻
@JohnEastmanExAttyAtLaw So when did plastisol inks become obsolete? It's market share is $815M annually. That's a lot of nobody wearing plastisol prints. Besides if you hold the sentiment that nobody wants plastisol prints, it's an indication that you don't understand the industry and that hand is dictatated by market segment. Plastisol is still the leader in screen printing and now with the DTF and DST disrupt which incorporates a backing made of the same polymers as plastisol, it's kind of obtuse to not recognize that prints with a hand, does meet consumer expectations. You need to consider that you're enforcing that standard on yourself and your taste and not the industry.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
As a person just starting out with screen printing, this is BY FAR the best video I have seen on this topic. Much appreciated info and guidance, thank you so much!
That’s great to hear!
PLEASE KEEP POSTING!!!!!!! SO HELPFUL
Thanks Josh! So glad it’s helpful! Im definitely going to be posting for years to come 😎
Agree on all points!
Thanks Richard! That’s good to hear 👍🏽
Really cool episode! I just starting (or re-starting because I did some works with plastisol a couple of years ago) and you sold me the idea to use water based ink :) Thanks for the content!
Awesome, thanks Jonathan! I love water based. It's more work and challenging, but so worth it.
SUBSCRIBED!
Man I’m brand new to screen printing.
Just bought a little Vastex V100 for single color prints, haven’t even assembled it yet.
I bought water based ink, I heard the rumors.
But I want to be environmentally friendly and I like the water based hand feel.
Question: are there water based inks and chemicals that are safe if I flush them down the toilet??
Thanks for the sub! congrats on getting a press. Put that thing together and get started! I think you'll be very glad you went with water based. I use Green Galaxy (ssp.ink/greengalaxy) inks and SGreen (ssp.ink/sgreen) chemicals because of their minimal environmental impact, but I would still caution putting it down your drains without filtering heavily first. Especially if you're on a city sewer system. I've heard horror stories of shops getting major fines as a result of chemicals they're washing down the drain without filtering enough first. I would check with the folks at Ryonet and see what they recommend. I run mine through one of the SGreen filtration systems and I try to always keep the filters clean/fresh so that I have the cleanest waste water possible.
Hi. I looked and didn’t see one. Do you have a video of doing halftone or cmyk process print with water based inks?
Thanks
Hi Munawar! No I don't have a video on either of those topics, yet, but I'll add them both to my list!
Plastisol for the reason you stated - If your business model involves using a stencil perpetually, then with plastisol you don’t need to clean it after every use like water based inks. Plus the stenciled emulsion won’t start degrading after every use and clean up. Which is a cost savings in labor time and materials. If you do transfers for T-shirts, using a plastisol transfer ink, you can forego the use off an adhesive backing process such as powering or a screen printed adhesive backing layer. This too has similar savings. The No hand you had with water based inks as a top adoption point a decade ago but with the rampage of DTF and hybrid type digital/screen technology, general consumer expectations have shifted again and they expect a hand to the prints they touch in major department stores. The printer has to like water based inks more than the end consumer do, to justify it’s use now. So while a consumer will choose a soft finish waterbased print over one with a hand, they have to select it out of a sea of prints with a hand to it.
all great points to consider in making the decision that's right for you! There's no "right" or "wrong" decision, just whatever is best for your shop. For example, I know of shops printing only water based ink that do 20,000 shirts with the same screen with no issues with the stencil degrading. I know I've printed hundreds at a time, cleaned a screen, stored it, and returned to print hundreds more weeks later with still no issues with the stencil breaking down. I don't think that DTG or any digital printing even gets close to the results, and durability, of screen printed apparel both water based and plastisol. And I don't think people, if given the option, would choose to have a print that's thick and has "feel". For me, water based is much easier to print in my particular setup than plastisol, so it works great for me and almost all of my customers have commented on how much they like the print more than other apparel they've ordered from other places, printed with plastisol. I think you're right in what people expect, but I think if given the choice most would opt for no feel of their print vs a thick plastic billboard on their chest. I think it all just depends on your setup, what you prefer, and what your target market is. The great thing about screen printing, and garment decoration in general, is there are so many different methods and ways of doing things so we can all pick and choose what works best for each of us and our target audiences. :)
nah....nobody wants a plastic feeling shirt. it is a fact. they just feel cheap.
@JohnEastmanExAttyAtLaw actually you’d be surprised. Lots of people prefer it and specifically ask for it. Just different tastes for different people 🤙🏻
@JohnEastmanExAttyAtLaw So when did plastisol inks become obsolete? It's market share is $815M annually. That's a lot of nobody wearing plastisol prints. Besides if you hold the sentiment that nobody wants plastisol prints, it's an indication that you don't understand the industry and that hand is dictatated by market segment. Plastisol is still the leader in screen printing and now with the DTF and DST disrupt which incorporates a backing made of the same polymers as plastisol, it's kind of obtuse to not recognize that prints with a hand, does meet consumer expectations. You need to consider that you're enforcing that standard on yourself and your taste and not the industry.
@StarChild.no1 so true. Plastisol is the leader and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon!