# Bleach like print....



## ffokazak (Feb 23, 2006)

I've been seeing these designs printed on shirts, and they resemble bleach. 
Soft hand, { so soft in fact you can still see all of the fibres in the shirts}
And not quite white colour. { more off. And lighter fabrics have lighter prints.}

What do they use to do this?

Thanks guys!


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## jdr8271 (Jun 16, 2005)

Do you have a picture of what you are talking about? If you have been seeing it all over the place, it is most likely screen printing with a thin amount of water based ink.


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## ffokazak (Feb 23, 2006)

I dont have a picture. More so than a layer of ink, { I have used waterbased for a while} it looks like bleach. 
Could waterbased ink Lighten that much while looking like bleach?


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

ffokazak said:


> it looks like bleach


Could it be... bleach? 

Joking aside, you can print with bleaching agents (and I've known some DIYers to use actual bleach). It's not something I know much about, but it has come up recently on the forums. Other than that, I did some experimenting with washing uncured waterbased ink and got some interesting results (zero hand, visible fibres, but still a visible and really _nice_ feeling print). You could possibly do something with enzyme washes, or curing after a wash cycle (haven't tried that yet).


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## sajwal (Aug 16, 2006)

ffokazak said:


> I've been seeing these designs printed on shirts, and they resemble bleach.
> Soft hand, { so soft in fact you can still see all of the fibres in the shirts}
> And not quite white colour. { more off. And lighter fabrics have lighter prints.}
> 
> ...


It may be discharged print with ball blasting may be. nowadays bleaching agents are commonly prefered to print garments , if you can show a picture of the product i may help you out


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## zagadka (Jul 6, 2006)

i print with bleach!!!

you can make a stencil just like you would normally, mix the bleach thickener with the bleach using a 1:1 ratio. the thickener i got is made by Jaquard, i'm at school so i cant look at the place that i bought it from. but stores that carry products for batiking should most likely carry it.

the more bleach you add, the brighter the print will turn out. as far as i know (unless you know the chemical make up of the dye used in the shirt) you can't accuratly predict the color it will turn out. but, from experience black will turn coral/salmon with a strong bleach mixture, and a subtle grey with a weak mixture. 

here's some examples of the shirts i did and how the variation in bleach stregth plays a part in it:











(weak)










(strong)


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## sajwal (Aug 16, 2006)

ffokazak said:


> I dont have a picture. More so than a layer of ink, { I have used waterbased for a while} it looks like bleach.
> Could waterbased ink Lighten that much while looking like bleach?


You can give a try with a well known bleaching agent :  

Sodium Hypoiodide : Calicium carbonate = 1:10 
(remember sod.hypoiodide should be carefully used) ... the former is liquid while the later one solid....mixture becomes a paste to easily print via silk screen....after print you may need to wash with water to neutralise the bleaching agent

(both are available easily in my country...i can't say for you how to get them)

the results may come out to be the one you wish for...give it a try


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

zagadka said:


> i print with bleach!!!


Cool. Do you need to take extra precautions with skin contact and fumes?


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

make sure you dont drink it


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## zagadka (Jul 6, 2006)

well, the area i do it in is well ventilated so the fumes aren't too noxious, but i suggest maybe wearing a mask if you're going to be doing many shirts (make sure that you don't use the charcoal based filters, they don't do too much for filtering out nasty fumes).

i don't use gloves partially because i'm lazy, but really you'll be using a squeegee (make sure it's immaculately clean!!!) and the handle will protect your hands. a littl bit of the bleach mixture goes a long way, so there's no splash backs. the only time gloves would be helpful is in the mixing.

let me know how it turns out if any of you do it!


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## fizz (Mar 4, 2006)

Hi there
Just got to say I love your shirts.
I have tried printing with bleach but it was to thin.
I have got to try it again now .
Phil


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

zagadka said:


> let me know how it turns out if any of you do it!


I'll definitely try it at some stage, but definitely not soon (too much on my plate right now).


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## rhi (Dec 27, 2006)

how can i stop the bleach from eating the fabric? just water?? that seems too easy


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## RickB (Jun 15, 2007)

rhi said:


> how can i stop the bleach from eating the fabric? just water?? that seems too easy


I'm not 100% sure, but running the printed shirt through a coveyer dryer might destroy the bleach. If anyone knows for sure, let us know!


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## smarmyclothes (Oct 16, 2008)

You can neutralize the bleach with several things, peroxide being the easiest to find:
FAQ: How can I neutralize the damaging effects of chlorine bleach discharge

I use vinegar, despite the fact that the site says not to.  I've done some research though, and as long as you're not mixing the two liquids together in mass amounts, the chlorine gas isn't an issue. 
I just throw my bleached stuff in the washer with a small amount of detergent and a cup of vinegar and run it through a cycle.


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## T Shirt1 (Oct 14, 2008)

Sounds like a clear base discharge ink.


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## uateva (Mar 3, 2008)

when u say stencil are you referring to something other than the normal screens for printing press and what not? if you are using a screen what mesh would u use? sorry if this questions are retarded.lol. much mahalos


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Those shirts are printed with discharge ink. It removes the shirt's dye in a controllable way, without damaging the material.


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## carleyj (Aug 12, 2007)

I've played with this a little, I just cut my design on the plotter outta vinyl applied to shirt and jean jacket weeded out what I didnt want and sprayed with bleach an when it was color I wanted then sprayed it with vinegar to stop bleaching. Worked pretty good . But like I said I was just playing around with what I had on hand.


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## stomp (Oct 18, 2008)

ffokazak said:


> I've been seeing these designs printed on shirts, and they resemble bleach.
> Soft hand, { so soft in fact you can still see all of the fibres in the shirts}
> And not quite white colour. { more off. And lighter fabrics have lighter prints.}
> 
> ...


 hi my friend ,they use indigo discharge ink or burn out ink ,they are both quite similar clear waterbased base then u add the activator and print image,and then cure .then the garment is washed and hey presto bleach like print ,i can get you specs on these inks i may even have some ! alex


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## amy_schutt (May 29, 2007)

Would you get this same effect if you used A LOT of soft hand solution in your ink? I don't know. I'm simply asking.

How do you tell if you've used too much of the soft hand additive to your ink?

(i know, someone is going to say, "it's really, really soft, duh")


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## stomp (Oct 18, 2008)

soft hand solution won't give you same effect as you'd still be able to feel the print ,and it wouldn't be as opaque.the indigo discharge effect bleaches out any colour and replaces it with a bleach colour so quite opaque but you can't feel the print at all.


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## amy_schutt (May 29, 2007)

Thanks for clearing that up. I think I will call tomorrow about the indigo discharge stuff.


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