# My plastisol is too shiny?



## Deivid (Nov 10, 2007)

What the heck? A customer of mine just told me to use 'more matte' ink next time when printing their shirts. The thing is, I just used regular Union Ink plastisol. It was red mixed in with a little bit of black. 

There was one graphic that had a large print area and they said it looked too shiny. Now, I'm not really sure what to tell them. Is there some ink I can get that is really really matte? Or should I start using some vinyl on those prints next time?


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## MereImage (Mar 17, 2008)

Finer screen, sharper squeegee


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## redbackoz (Mar 26, 2008)

maybe keep samples of black and other colours for that matter on different types / coloured t-shirts. so the next customer knows what the print will look like. 

cheers

redbackoz


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Waterbased ink isn't shiny... Maybe think about using that. Hyvää Huomenta, Suomi!


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## corradomatt (Jan 16, 2007)

Deivid said:


> What the heck? A customer of mine just told me to use 'more matte' ink next time when printing their shirts. The thing is, I just used regular Union Ink plastisol. It was red mixed in with a little bit of black.
> 
> There was one graphic that had a large print area and they said it looked too shiny. Now, I'm not really sure what to tell them. Is there some ink I can get that is really really matte? Or should I start using some vinyl on those prints next time?


By nature, most plastisol inks are shinny (it's plastic after all). Higher mesh is a little more important than a sharper squeegee but squeegee angle and pressure can play a big part too. I would also recommend looking into reducing your inks.

Either a softhand base or a curable reducer should do the trick. With either of these solutions the more you use, the less opaque the ink becomes. This will reduce the "pop" you get with certain colors on darker fabrics. There is always a trade-off.

I would check with your supplier. Union has their own set of reducers and modifiers you can add to the ink to achieve the results your looking for.

-cheers


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## Steelheader100 (Jan 18, 2007)

Union makes a flattening agent for that I believe.


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## Deivid (Nov 10, 2007)

brent said:


> Hyvää Huomenta, Suomi!


 Actually, it's 6pm here but good morning to you too, Brent. Hope you slept well. Surprised to see you got Scandinavian letters on your keyboard.



corradomatt said:


> By nature, most plastisol inks are shinny (it's plastic after all). Higher mesh is a little more important than a sharper squeegee but squeegee angle and pressure can play a big part too. I would also recommend looking into reducing your inks.
> 
> Either a softhand base or a curable reducer should do the trick. With either of these solutions the more you use, the less opaque the ink becomes. This will reduce the "pop" you get with certain colors on darker fabrics. There is always a trade-off.
> 
> ...


I hate trade-offs... I need that pop too, because they were all Black shirts. And I did use a fine mesh. But the squeegee wasn't sharp. Maybe that contributed to the end-result to this degree. 

I haven't used waterbased inks before and if I'm gonna start, I wanna go with Matsui but I can't get that stuff anywhere. Lucky me. Perhaps I need to start ordering it from the States.


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## fdsales (Jul 1, 2007)

Water base ink is very thin & transparent, so probably won't work well on black shirts without the use of an underbase. Also, waterbase ink requires the use of a special emulsion for your screen, so check your current emulsion to make sure it's compatible w/ waterbase ink.
I use Wilflex SSV gold for dark shirts, and it's not shiny at all; whereas I used Union low bleed gold, and found it to be very shiny. I also use Triangle white ink, & it's not too shiny. Might have to change inks.


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## Deivid (Nov 10, 2007)

Yea, there's an idea. I could try Rutland instead...


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Deivid, I don't really speak Finnish, nor do i have the special keys, I just remember that from when I studied it a little bit when I was much younger. Very strange language.

Oh, and you mentioned using vinyl to get less shine. From the vinyl I've seen, I think it would shine even more than straight plastisol...


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## Deivid (Nov 10, 2007)

Well done anyway, Brent. Your Ä's were right on the money.

Actually I think this Poli-Flex vinyl seems to be reflection-free. I got some samples here of this vinyl in red and it reflects no light whatsoever. But is that ok with my customer, that's another story. It seems that whatever I decide to do, it still won't be perfect. But hey, what can you do...


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## Steelheader100 (Jan 18, 2007)

In my opinion Rutland is more shiny than Union at least their pantone matching system seems to be.


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## Deivid (Nov 10, 2007)

Steelheader100 said:


> In my opinion Rutland is more shiny than Union at least their pantone matching system seems to be.


"Damn"
- Ron Simmons


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## corradomatt (Jan 16, 2007)

Deivid said:


> I haven't used waterbased inks before and if I'm gonna start, I wanna go with Matsui but I can't get that stuff anywhere. Lucky me. Perhaps I need to start ordering it from the States.


I think there might be a Matsui dist. there in Europe some place. I will check with Matsui and see if I can recommend someone out your way.


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## Deivid (Nov 10, 2007)

corradomatt said:


> I think there might be a Matsui dist. there in Europe some place. I will check with Matsui and see if I can recommend someone out your way.


Very cool! Thanks!


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## coolkyle (Feb 9, 2008)

If you want a matte finish ink, check out QCM or Wilflex. Their inks have the nicest texture I've seen. Rutland, Union, and Triangle are all super-glossy inks and look quite ugly. They are stickier as underlays also, which is always a pain.


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## Deivid (Nov 10, 2007)

coolkyle said:


> If you want a matte finish ink, check out QCM or Wilflex. Their inks have the nicest texture I've seen. Rutland, Union, and Triangle are all super-glossy inks and look quite ugly. They are stickier as underlays also, which is always a pain.


Just pitched that idea to my ink supplier. Obviously it would just be too easy if we had that stuff here.


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## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

One thing that will really make your ink glossy is to overheat it. Most plastisols cure at 300 - 320 degrees. Check with your manufacturer. Get a non-contact thermometer to read the temp on the ink as it nears the end of your dryer. Bear in mind that this is the temperature of the top of the ink, and if the ink layer is thick, you have to allow more dwell time in the oven to get it all to cure. I run my dryer slower, try and keep my ink thickness down (which also makes for a nicer shirt), and keep the temperature reading off the ink at around 320, up to 340 max. When it gets up near 400, that ink will look like enamel paint. White inks carefully cured generally are the least shiny. I think it's because there is so much pigment in it to make it opaque.

I've tried using Union's suede additive, but I find by the time you get enough in there to really flatten the sheen, the ink puffs up and looks kind of hairy.

I've read where for black ink, using Union's Process Black will yield a matte finish.


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