# Color issue with water based ink



## ArcanumApparel (Feb 6, 2018)

Hello all! 

I’m having an issue with a bright blue not showing as bright as I would like on a black tshirt. I used green galaxy comet white as the underbase and an ink from green galaxy as well. 

What could possibly cause the low opacity?


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Which blue?

I've underbased several of the GG blues on black shirts. Maybe not giving the underbase enough hits? Maybe their "out of this world" naming convention is setting the wrong expectations about the true color of that blue? That's actually why I have 3 of their blues instead of just the right one for what I wanted.

Looks like I've used more of the Neptune Blue than the others, so I assume that's the one that worked for me. But I was going for sort of a mid blue to a flag blue. The Supernova Blue was lighter/brighter than I was wanting (for that print).

The Nebulous Navy was practically indistinguishable from black.


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## Industryps (Aug 9, 2016)

NoXid,
I've been meaning to ask you how you like your brand of inks vs. rutland or matsui- specifically in terms of on screen working time, and coverage ability. Do you think you use more inks per run than if it was a more traditional water-based ink (i.e; runny vs. thick) ?


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## ArcanumApparel (Feb 6, 2018)

It’s the supernova blue. Same small issue you mentioned, slightly lighter/brighter blue than I expected as well. 

It’s no biggie just wanted to make sure it wasn’t an “operator error”. 

Really digging the inks from GG. I’ll probably get a few more colors from them. 

Thanks for the reply!


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

ArcanumApparel said:


> It’s the supernova blue. Same small issue you mentioned, slightly lighter/brighter blue than I expected as well.
> 
> It’s no biggie just wanted to make sure it wasn’t an “operator error”.
> 
> ...


You can darken the top color by hitting the base fewer times, or even halftoning the base, at least when printing on black garments.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Industryps said:


> NoXid,
> I've been meaning to ask you how you like your brand of inks vs. rutland or matsui- specifically in terms of on screen working time, and coverage ability. Do you think you use more inks per run than if it was a more traditional water-based ink (i.e; runny vs. thick) ?


Hmmm, maybe hard to do a direct comparison to the Matsui, as I was doing discharge with that, and that was some years ago. My impression is that it was sort of gummy/gooey as opposed to SuperCover being buttery and GG being runny. It seemed prone to drying.

GG is by far the "wettest" ink I have used, and the least prone to drying. It is a high-solids acrylic. I'm not sure how much, if any, water it actually contains, as it doesn't really fully air dry if left exposed.

Permaset Aqua SuperCover is what I mostly use, as most prints are on dark garments and this avoids the need to underbase. It starts printing poorly if you don't replenish the water it loses to the emulsion and the air. It's best to dampen the emulsion a bit before adding the ink, else it tends to buildup dry ink in the screen. More recently, I've been brushing on a light coat of 50/50 water and Matsui XA1 Softener. This really cuts down on buildup in the screen and makes cleanup easier ... and it seems to cut done on loss of moisture to the emulsion. I think these inks give the best results, but you've got to keep up with their thirst!

As to comparative usage rates ... I really don't know, as I mostly used these different inks in different ways on different art. GG is certainly the easiest to work with, cleanup, and least likely to dry. Whereas Permaset is prone to building up on screens, GG seems to be as much screen cleaner as ink.

For price and ease of use, I would go with GG. But I like the results better with Permaset SuperCover, as well as being able to skip underbasing.

I haven't used Rutland, so don't know how it would compare.


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## MrNifty (Mar 29, 2019)

Hey there! I have been using Rutland and the GG water-based inks for a while now. The straight colors that you get from GG are all mixed for printing on white. If you were to use their Fusion mixing system, you would see how the mix is made up of Clear Core, Opaque Core, and then the pigment. Most likely, the mix they use on that blue you are using is mostly all Clear Core. To get the best opacity and brightest results, you are better off mixing the ink yourself with the bases and pigments. You can mix your color with 60% clear, 40% opaque, and up to 20% pigment! I would also say that adding the "Booster" blue, would help you get that super bright hue that you may be looking for. I use that booster to make a bright cyan all the time. You can't get a super bright blue without it. 
Hope that works for you.


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## MrNifty (Mar 29, 2019)

I should also mention that you will never get an opaque print unless you print discharge blue, or a white underbase first. Either discharge white, or their Comet White. Be careful with doing this though, as you will not want to be stepping on the print after the first pass over the underbase.


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