# Screen Printing on Polypropylene Grocery Bags WATERBASED!?



## JetGirlArt (Sep 11, 2009)

Howdy, I know lots of folks have given advice on how to heat transfer onto the new reusable grocery bags. I saw how to use plastisol as well. However...

Has anyone attempted waterbased ink on these suckers yet? 

Seeing as I want to keep to an eco friendly ink route I want to know if anyone has tried it with Permaset Supercover or anything as I know it will print on poly jerseys, tho I totally know that polypropylene itself is far from eco friendly.


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## Dan K (Nov 15, 2006)

We've tried water base on polypropylene bags just to see what happened, and the results were not very good. The synthetic material resists the water base, so 1) you get very poor coverage/opacity and 2) the pigments will wash because they do not adhere or become embedded in the fabric...


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## rbforrest (Mar 20, 2010)

Hi, I'm a total newb so take this for what it's worth. 

My wife and I attended a screen printing class and this topic came up. Ink type was never specifically agreed upon but the topic of washability did come up. The group consensus was these bags never really get washed anyway so washability is a moot point. Just a thought.


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## adivito (Aug 25, 2006)

It all depends on the material the bag is made from. As Dan already pointed out they tried one type with no luck. Inks all have suggested substrates you just have to match ink and material.


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## tlbays (Apr 9, 2008)

Good responses from all.

One of our customers is a national producer of printed bags; grocery and retail.
They do screen, flexo, and digital heat transfer on many bag types.

Woven Polypro can be printed with water-based inks,
but the adhesion catalyst needed for best bonding to tightly woven "synthetic fabrics",
like treated nylon or poly, doesn't meet the eco-friendly criteria set out:
Pavonine phthalate free and PVC free ink

Note that phthalate-free plastisols are the best eco-compliance option for efficient production on woven polypro.
JetGirl had a good insight when stating that polypro is not an "eco-friendly" substrate to begin with.

Happy trails!


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## JetGirlArt (Sep 11, 2009)

Yep, I'm totally going to go with the sturdier cotton tote bags. Even the guys at work told me it was too much effort for something that folks generally view as a cheap item.


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## professaurus (Feb 16, 2008)

You could also try Permaprint Premium which is made by the same company as Permaset


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