# Reflective Ink advice



## Archer (Aug 15, 2007)

I have a customer who wants a one color reflective ink design --- can anyone recomend a reflective ink? If so, are there any special printing issues with reflective ink?

Thanks

Archer


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## davisint (Oct 9, 2007)

I would recommend International Coatings Optilux. Has the best reflective properties of any plastisol reflective I have seen and is also avaiable as a "foil" transfer. Print adhesive and transfered material only stick to adhesive.


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## prograffiti (Dec 7, 2007)

I had a fire department order screen printed tees but weren't happy with them. I asked to see a sample of what they had done in the past and they showed me a nylon jacket that had been heat transferred. They are convinced it was screen print even tho' the printer left some transfer adhesive outlining the image but sold it as screen printing. I don't understand why this is happening. Ahh but I digress. I have used the Optilux 505. I use a pretty coarse screen mesh and make sure my design isn't too finely detailed. This ink isn't supposed to be base coated or struck twice due to loss of reflectivity but it's thin enough to flow through well. It's expensive and it's two parts, a curing agent bottled separately to be mixed just before use but it goes a long way.


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## TatteredTees (Aug 9, 2010)

Well I know with ic optilux 505 ink they say to use between 160 and 230 screen mesh. I just ordered a quart from ryonet to try it out. My question is anyone know how many prints I can do with a quart with the 3 standard stripes on front and back??


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## sdprinting (Sep 23, 2010)

<bump>

Anyone ever added colors to this? How did it work?


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## tjolley2000 (Sep 23, 2010)

What color does this ink print as, black/white/clear?

Has anyone had better results with light color shirts or dark color shirts?


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## buehrle (Jan 14, 2008)

i have done both, reflective ink and vinyl. the vinyl blows ink away by a mile (you can literally see vinyl a mile). vinyl is more money but worth the money if you want reflective.


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## tjolley2000 (Sep 23, 2010)

I have heard the same thing but you need plotter cutter and heat press to use vinyl right?


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## CNClark (Mar 2, 2010)

IMO, the optiux is better used on light garments or as a highlight on darks. It doesn't cover well, but it's very reflective. Most FD's and government orgs require 3M.


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## tjolley2000 (Sep 23, 2010)

What color does the optiux print as, when a light is not on it.. Black, clear, gray?


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## CNClark (Mar 2, 2010)

It prints gray, but you can add pigment to the optilux.


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## TatteredTees (Aug 9, 2010)

I know its been a minute since anyone has posted on this thread but i used some of my quart of the optilux 505 at first doign 3 solid stripes and the ink wasnt going far at all i used 1/4 of my quart and only got 12 shirts printing through a 230 mesh. then about a month ago i switch to the common high vis you see construction guys wearing with the white underbase and mixed up the remainder of my ink thinking i could easily finish the 75 shirts i had on hand and printing it with a white underbase and a 160 screen, well the ink went alot further and i had about 1/3 of my wuart left so i start to play around with it on some custom designs i had and actually found that the ink prints alot better and more consistent through a 110 mesh but you do have to be quick and not let the ink sit over the artwork on the screen or youll get a drip on the bottom of your screen. and the reflective was alot better due to having more ink on the shirt vs a 160 or 230 mesh


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## rudi (Mar 7, 2007)

Yeah do it with reflective vinyl.


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## Hellok (Aug 26, 2011)

Has anyone ever used One Stroke Ink's reflective ink?


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## madmanmagee (Feb 1, 2009)

I used this reflective in by International Coatings too. I was not impressed with the quality at all. I tried a dozen different ways to get this to reflect, and it somewhat did have a reflection, but no where near the quality of 3M.

- I tried 165 mesh
- print
- print flash print
- white underbase
- 110 mesh
- clear base underlay
- jelly base LOL

The one thing I didn't try was a 200 mesh, and maybe that is the problem, but for now I think I am going to stick with 3M due to their high reflection, and its CSA approved here in Canada. The ink for me was about $119 quart Canadian plus shipping. I would of rather printed it because it would of been cheaper and faster, but the quality for me is no where near the quality of prints I let leave my shop.


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## Wig (Jul 8, 2014)

I have a customer wanting reflective ink - white on red shirts and white on gray shirts. I'm looking at the new Allure Galaxy White Reflective Water Base Ink. Before I plunge ahead and purchase a (expensive) quart I'd like to get some feedback here about this brand in particular and reflective printing in general. Can I print a white underlay, flash and then print the white reflective on top in order to achieve best opacity of white as well as best reflective qualities.


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## Industryps (Aug 9, 2016)

Wig said:


> I have a customer wanting reflective ink - white on red shirts and white on gray shirts. I'm looking at the new Allure Galaxy White Reflective Water Base Ink. Before I plunge ahead and purchase a (expensive) quart I'd like to get some feedback here about this brand in particular and reflective printing in general. Can I print a white underlay, flash and then print the white reflective on top in order to achieve best opacity of white as well as best reflective qualities.


Reflective water-based ink is pretty new, not sure if a lot of us have tried it. With the reflective plastisols we've tried at our shop, you can do a p/f/p, but it doesn't seem to help too much. It works better to lay down a thicker layer of ink in one hit. The ink is super runny, more like water-based so it does not have as much of a hand as you would think it would.


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## LucidDavid (Jun 6, 2014)

There are a couple of reflective solutions available with laser toner print transfers. These are weedless no cut options that can be used with very intricate designs and can also incorporate full-color prints.


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## MuddyWater (May 22, 2015)

Wig said:


> I have a customer wanting reflective ink - white on red shirts and white on gray shirts. I'm looking at the new Allure Galaxy White Reflective Water Base Ink. Before I plunge ahead and purchase a (expensive) quart I'd like to get some feedback here about this brand in particular and reflective printing in general. Can I print a white underlay, flash and then print the white reflective on top in order to achieve best opacity of white as well as best reflective qualities.



Skip it. It's not actually made by Ryonet or a subsidiary company, but is from an affiliated company, and it's quality is crap. We just wasted $300 on this ink and replacement apparel, plus the cost of finding a different brand that'll actually work on trying a quart here for a hoodie job a client asked us to set up samples that they wanted eco-friendly ink on. 

We bought a quart of the white and gray, and even being very good at eyeballing colors I can't honestly tell the difference in shade, either in the bucket or on the shirt. We're printing on heather gray slub hoodies, so it's not even a high-bleed fabric color and the stuff is so translucent that it looks more like a ghost image from wet ink on the back of the screen that accidentally made it onto the shirt than an intentional print. I could handle it being slightly transparent personally, but it's almost invisible and applies unevenly.

One of the staff here also put in a call to Ryonet to ask about print-flash-printing or double hitting with it because he knew that reflective inks tend to be translucent and wondered if we could hit it twice without flashing to get a more opaque print that reflected better, the Ryonet customer sales guy said yes, and you definitely cannot with this stuff. It builds up too much and you just end up with a white-ish print that bubbles and fails without reflecting light. These inks still need the tooth of the fabric to make the micro beads work just like the older types of 2-part reflective ink. I ended up finding the actual manufacturer's website later where it says on the product description that you can't overprint it.

Supposedly Magnacolours makes a clear reflective that can be printed over a base, along with black and white reflective inks that we're looking at as an alternative, but it's only sold through Nazdar and costs ~$30 more a quart. Otherwise, Union also sells a water-based reflective called Pavoreflect and Opti-lux and 3M 8000 are still the reigning champs in this field as far as I know.

Long story short, don't skimp on quality with reflective ink.


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## printsfordays (Oct 6, 2017)

I use union flashback neutral gray 1500 for that reflective effect. Works quite well. 

Burn your artwork on a 110 mesh screen. Flood screen and give it one pull.

DO NOT FLASH AND REPRINT, it will reduce or eliminate the reflective effect.

The ink is very runny so you gotta work pretty quickly to keep it from running all over the screen. Don't let the ink run into the image outside of the flood or it will distort your final image.

Cure at normal plastisol temps.

A quart goes a long way and the image will light up brilliantly under the flash of a camera. 

Great to spruce up garments, or as a fashion print.

NOT for use as Safety Device.


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## velospeed (Nov 29, 2017)

Hi guys. 

Seeking advice on printing these.

Screen or vinyl?

Vest material: 2.3 oz. / 78 gsm 100% polyester pongee, water-resistant finish

Who can print a few dozen of these for us?

Thanks!


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