# Plastisol ink vs. water based



## Graphics Man (Jun 12, 2008)

Hello

I am having a design silkscreened. It is one color. Its a halftone with some type on it.

My question is if I want my design to pop from the shirt, should I use plastisol printing as oppose to water based.

When I say "Pop", I mean I want it to contrast from the shirt color. The color of the design is dark blue on a silver color Alstyle shirt.

Does Plastisol have a shinyness to it that water base does not.

I will attach, an example of what I am going for.

thanks


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Graphics Man said:


> When I say "Pop", I mean I want it to contrast from the shirt color. The color of the design is dark blue on a silver color Alstyle shirt.


High contrast is more about colour choices than anything else. It is harder to get a good result with waterbased ink printing light on dark, but that's not a factor here.



Graphics Man said:


> Does Plastisol have a shinyness to it that water base does not.


It can. Plastisol can be made to have a variety of different appearances - moreso than waterbased. Sometimes it can look quite shiny. For example if you want it to look that way, you can add a gloss agent to the ink, print it thicker than usual, or hit it with a heat press afterward.



Graphics Man said:


> I will attach, an example of what I am going for.


That example actually seems at odds to your description. It's relatively low contrast (all things considered), and it's definitely matte looking rather than shiny. It actually looks like typical waterbased printing.


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## corradomatt (Jan 16, 2007)

Plastisol inks are usually shinnier than water based inks. For the sample that you posted, in my opinion, water based inks would give the best result.


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## DAOP702 (Jul 15, 2010)

I would have to agree, if you wanted contrast I would use plastisol ink, but as stated above the image you have posted would look best with water based ink. Plastisol inks look good on big solid areas for example, big lettering but you would have to take account of the heavyness it would bring to the fabric.


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## Paulie73 (Jul 24, 2009)

yep waterbased. A design like that is very hit and miss. from start to finish EVERYthing has to just about be perfect for it to work. I have one tip, have the screen as close to the shirt as possible.


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## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

Paulie73 said:


> yep waterbased. A design like that is very hit and miss. from start to finish EVERYthing has to just about be perfect for it to work. I have one tip, have the screen as close to the shirt as possible.


Why would you print that with less off contact?


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## m_short (Nov 3, 2009)

For large image areas I've really liked the results of plastisol w/fashion base. I noticed that this combination sometimes tends to give a little more durability for larger images while still giving a pretty good soft hand feel to the print.


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## mediapress (May 9, 2010)

THat would be looks good in DTG


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## corradomatt (Jan 16, 2007)

m_short said:


> For large image areas I've really liked the results of plastisol w/fashion base. I noticed that this combination sometimes tends to give a little more durability for larger images while still giving a pretty good soft hand feel to the print.


We have some customers who print lots of All Over prints with discharge inks and/or water based inks with excellent results.

Fashion bases are great as long as you can get soft and opaque prints. Sometimes this is hard to do, like with yellow on black. You end up having to use less fashion base and that makes the ink heavier.


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## n.signia (Nov 21, 2007)

TshirtGuru said:


> Why would you print that with less off contact?


I agree.....why? The sample looks like a pretty simple one color, I wouldn't mess with the off contact at all. Don't change the fundamentals.


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## n.signia (Nov 21, 2007)

Furthermore Susan.... Lol... (sublime song) I think for this design it really doesn't matter what ink type you use. Plastisol or waterbased you'll get a similar result if the sample photo you posted is what is to be printed.


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