This is an article i’ve been meaning to get to for awhile but it’s funny because i’m still in the middle of knowing all the ins and outs of the process. I’m not a printer so I don’t have any product names or techniques to shoot out but I’ll expound upon what I already know about the 2 methods (and some of the others surrounding it) based on my experience so far.
The first thing to take into consideration when deciding which printing method to use is knowing whether or not your printer even offers both. While more are starting to learn how to work with waterbased inks they are still used far less than the industry standard plastisol inks. This is generally because they’re harder to work with so if your printer does offer waterbased inks plan to pay more to use them. Printer logistics out of the way what’s the difference between these two and why use one over the other? Well, it gets a little complicated here because like many things dealing with apparel there isn’t any right way to do things; It’s really a case by case basis (dependent on your design, market, personal preference). Some designs will do better to be printed with one method over the other and, if your printer is willing, a combo of inks could give you the best outcome. so lets break down the pros and cons.
PLASTISOL:
Pros - best color accuracy (based off pantone color match), most resistant to fading, able to layer colors without any blending, cheapest, easiest to find a printer for
Cons - creates the most ‘hand’ (feeling of ink on the shirt), can chip or peel over time, when printing over seams can bunch up in tight areas and crumble creating ugly areas in the end product, less ideal for creating faded or ‘vintage’ looking designs, not very ‘green’ (how important this is to your company could weigh heavily in your choice)
WATERBASED:
Pros - creates little to no ‘hand’, environmentally friendly, can print over seams better since the ink seeps into the shirt itself, great for creating distressed or worn out looking designs, able to layer plastisol over it without any problems (waterbased over plastisol however won’t dry on the shirt)
Cons - generally more expensive, doesn’t work well (if at all) on dark garments, layering colors can cause problems (as you can see thru the layers creating some color mixing), can be harder to do a pantone match (depends on printer), fades after first wash resulting in what could be duller colors than expected
So these aren’t end all be all rules and I bet some printers could/will tell you different, but based on tees i’ve printed so far this is what i’ve experienced. Now there are definitely exceptions to these rules. For example most modern printers are now using mixes of plastisol inks that water them down and make them much softer than in the past. Take note that these thinned out plastisol inks will fade after first wash in a similar way that the waterbased inks will (but not as drastic). On the flip side there are companies creating new waterbased products that don’t fade at all and are much better at nailing color accuracy. Also, I didn’t mention discharging since it doesn’t work like either of these inks and (for the most part) doesn’t offer specific color accuracy. The best thing to do is consult with your printer based on your designs and if they aren’t very receptive to your questions take a note from my rookie tips article and save yourself money and a headache by finding another one!
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