WATER-BASED INKS
Going Green::
Offbeat Press offers water-based inks for the ecologically conscious. Water-based inks have proven to be not only environmentally friendly, but offer very high print quality and durability. We use the industry’s best inks, which are solvent free and do not contain PVC, phthalates or toxic chemicals. Water-based inks are available in all standard colors, including clear and metallic colors.
To make your printed apparel order more ecologically sustainable, we recommended organic garment use with water-based inks and we offer a variety of organic garment options. Organic clothing blanks are still quite limited by conventional clothing suppliers. We have wholesale accounts with dozens of companies allowing us to offer a variety of American-made and foreign produced organic blanks. Organic colors and garment styles are limited and vary by season. Please contact us for more information or a quote on the organic garments you’re looking for.
In addition to our inks, our screen printing processes allow us to be green and lean by reducing waste. Our manual printing presses are human powered saving energy and increasing print quality, reducing our global footprint and increasing our print quality.
We use direct to transparency art preparation allowing us to eliminate resources used in screen creation, shortening the screen preparation time and art preparation process. We use low-impact chemicals during screen reclamation and shop cleaning. Additionally we benefit from a large variety of other green processes in the shop, the office and in our daily lives.
The difference between water-based inks and conventional inks::
There are a variety of differences between conventional (plastisol) and water-based ink systems. The most noticeable difference is that water-based inks are softer than conventional inks because they soak into the garment while plastisol inks sit on top of the garment. Water-based ink consistency is also less viscous and cures partially through evaporation making the ink much more complicated to work with. Though we’re always experimenting with new techniques we have spent countless hours and late nights studying the nuances of water-based ink. Water-based inks work best on 100% cotton fabric and some hi-percentage cotton blends. We do not recommend any discharge printing on cotton blends.
Plastisol ink is a much more versatile ink. Plastisol ink can be printed on and adhere to virtually any imaginable garment. There are special ink additives used to activate ink curing when printing on specialty fabrics. If you have a specialty fabric order we encourage a sample order to ensure the garment and ink quality meets both your needs and our specifications.
Printing on dark shirts with water-based inks::
Printing water-based ink on dark shirts requires a process known as discharge printing. Water-based ink technology has evolved to allow for professional-grade inks to print effectively on light and dark colored shirts and a variety of fabrics. Water-based screen-printing and discharge printing requires garments with a high percentage of cotton. We have a large amount of experience in water-based printing & discharge printing. Please contact us to discuss your water-based/discharge order.
Water-based ink Quality::
Water-based inks are considered “soft-hand” inks and they soak into the garment for more exact detail. Water-based inks do not crack, fade or wash out when printed on 100% cotton or some hi-cotton blends. They offer both environmental benefits and quality benefits over conventional plastisol inks. Water-based inks are created for professional garment printing; they are permanent and will not wash out when cured properly. The inks themselves will fade like any other garment through strong exposure to light, washing and regular wear. After garments are printed they are double-heat & double-air cured in our professional garment dryer to ensure the quality of the printed apparel.
Washing requirements::
It is recommended to wash all printed garments inside out. Water-based inks require no additional washing requirements. Please follow the laundering instructions on your individual garment(s).
Water-based inks cost::
Yes water-based inks are more expensive, more complicated to work with and take more time and attention during the printing process. Prepping water-based & discharge inks for printing can be a time consuming process and while we don’t charge a water-based setup fee, we do charge more for the printing of water-based inks. Because of the additional prep time, we have recently increased our minimums for water-based printing to 36qty for all water-based discharge printing.