# White ink on black t shirts.



## Cwal27 (Dec 10, 2015)

Evening all. 
This is probably a topic that's always on here and I've read through lots of things on the Internet about how to do it but I can't get it right. 

I'm new to screen printing and have bought all the basic equipment in order to produce a few tees for customers. 

I don't have the full equipment, e.g. Flash equipment, I cure the inks in the oven. 

I'm using water based white ink on Gildan tees and I can't get it to work, the fabric is still showing through. 

Is there any inks that work better on black tees? Any help would be appreciated, thanks!


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## caliber1 (Feb 19, 2013)

can you flash cure it with a heat gun and then hit it again? or why not use plastisol inks and also flash with heat gun and hit again?


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## Cwal27 (Dec 10, 2015)

I have used a heat gun to flash but still can't seem to get it to work, and I also have a bit of an issue with the tee moving when I raise the screen. I'll have a look at the plastisol inks


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## dantheman91 (Mar 26, 2014)

You really have to discharge a black t-shirt in order to print white water based onto it, otherwise that'll happen. I'm currently printing white plastisol onto dark shirts because I don't want to deal with discharge just yet, since I just started a couple weeks ago.


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## PCRTees (Dec 21, 2012)

You need to flash somehow and use spray adhesive to hold shirt on pallet.


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## caliber1 (Feb 19, 2013)

yup PCR tees is correct..


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

You should repost in the sub section on water based printing to attract more specific attention. Answers based on experience with printing Plastisol will not help you get the water based right.

What brand of ink?

What screen mesh?

What off contact?

What exactly is your printing technique?


For sure you need platen adhesive or tac or whatever different places call it. Some people like the spray can version, I prefer the liquid that you wipe on. It lasts longer, makes less mess, and you don't have to breath glue into your lungs.


I have done discharge printing. It has its own issues in terms of possible safety concerns, but does look nice and is simpler to do than opaque inks. However, under no circumstances try that without real ventilation, and maybe a respirator.

That said, you can get great white on black prints with Green Galaxy Comet White or Permaset Aqua Supercover white. The GG is cheaper and less prone to drying in the screen, but the Permaset has a softer hand.

I'm currently using 200 screen mesh for this, Porkchopharry likes to use 180. I found 156 to result in a heavier feeling print than what I wanted, and still not cover right.

My current technique goes like this, but every one has to get the feel of what works for them.

- Zero off contact, which is the norm for water based printing (PCH uses about a 1/16").

- I use push strokes held at a 45 degree angle.

- First mist the screen with water and let that set for a few minutes, then wipe out any extra.

- Flood the screen, do a print stroke, and one dry stroke after that (more if any ink remains on the image area of the mesh). Flood the screen again to keep the ink from drying in the image area.

- Lift the screen and flash the ink with your heat gun. This is just to dry the ink surface, not to cure it, so don't get carried away. This first layer of ink soaks into the shirt, as you want with water based. But we flash it so the next layer will sit on top of the first rather than soaking in with it. This is needed to ensure opaque coverage when printing light on dark.

- Lower the screen and do a print stroke. Flood and do another print stroke and a final dry stroke (more if that didn't clear the screen). Depending on the ink, your technique, and results desired, you may only need to do one print and one dry stroke here. Or you may need to do three print strokes to a get an image that really pops. Do what works for you and your circumstances. Flood the screen.

- Remove the shirt and put on the next one. Flashing the printed shirt with the heat gun makes it less likely that the printed area of the shirt will get ink on some other part of the shirt. But do NOT take the time to dry the shirt now, you have to get the next shirt on press and get that ink moving in the screen before it blocks up the screen.


For white, 180 mesh will probably be easier to print with than 200 because of the extreme pigment load, but I only have 156 and 200 screens, so can't say for sure. Porkchopharry likes his 180s, so take his vote into account even though he isn't here casting it 


Give something along those lines a try and see what your get. It is easier to print a smaller image, and you can fit a lot of them on a scrap shirt, so I typically tape off all but a 2x3 or so area on an existing screen to play around and test new inks and techniques. Once you get something that works small, you just need to be more consistent with your squeegee angle and pressure across a larger image to get the same results.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Ooops! In what I said above, if one needs to lift the screen, make sure the image area is clear of ink. That is the point of the dry stroke! So obviously one would NOT want to flood the screen and then lift it, as I mistakenly typed above. Doh!


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