Theres no one-size-fits-all formula when it comes to choosing the kind of polyester on which youd like to print. Underbase: this is a bit of a trick category because an under-base is just a layer of white or light-colored ink printed on the fabric before applying the colored design. After ink dries, use a paper or cloth interface and a household iron at medium to high setting for 3-5 minutes on each side. Getting familiar with a graphic design tool like Illustrator will allow you to create unique, custom designs! What is the Best Screen Printing Ink for Polyester? This way, the ink only gets tough on the screen to fill in the design! Looking for more screen printing tips? If you are like me, and only plan to print on polyester occasionally, you may not want to invest in more inks. Dye migration happens when heat causes some of the colors in the fabric itself to leach into the ink of your printed design. 2. The world of screen printing has introduced millions of consumers to creative ways to design a t-shirt. You can successfully screenprint on polyester, but you will have to use different inks and careful temperature gauging to create quality designs on synthetic material. Still, some people doubt the screen printing quality on blends and prefer sticking to the traditional method. You'll avoid the headache of dye migration altogether! If you lift the screen and see a spot that needs more ink, you can lower the screen to add more. This means that even one-color logos, sayings, or team names will look cool! Most screenprinting inks aren't stretchy like spandex and tends to crack once the garment is worn. However, thanks to the quick advancements in technology, it is now possible to print on cotton blends, such as 50 percent cotton and 50 percent polyester. You can use either a stencil or a negative image printed on special film for your screen printing process. There was a time when polyester fabric was most associated with leisure suits and school uniforms. You may want to stick to small, minimal designs on Dri Fit fabric for this reason. Next, you need special clamps or hold-down tools to keep the nylon garment in place on the platen. To transfer a photo or colored image to polyester using screen printing, you need a design program that turns the photo into layers of separated colors. Jewel tones work best on 100 percent cotton fabric; everything else works well on blended fabrics. If you are selling your shirts and really want to achieve a better print on polyester, look for a low cure screen printing ink. This is the safest way to print on polyester or athletic garments if you want the BEST results. Some products may be excluded from discounts, and / or may discount only with themselves. DO NOT heat-set Nylon fabric). Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Inks can be painted on with a brush as well as screen printed. Screen printing on polyester creates a tick, slightly raised design with crisp, elegant lines. It should all be this easy, right? If that seems like many steps, remember that screenprinting involves designing your image, transferring the image to a mesh screen, and then applying the dye to the screen and fabric! Let's start with the easiest one first. Flip the screen over. Of course, carefully gauging the temperature you use also helps! Example: adding 4 each of 3 different T-shirts in any sizes will give you the 12+ price on all 12 shirts. Unique benefits and limitations? Violet. The 85 and 8XX refer to the same screen size, as does the 110 with the 10XX and so on and so forth. Check out our blog that gives you 5 tips for screen printing on cotton! Honestly, you may find it much easier to focus on one or two color designs as you get started. orange & process yellow left in 8oz WHITE ink available in 8oz and 32oz jars. First, nylon cannot handle the high temperature needed to flash polyester prints, bonding the dye to the fabric. Now that you know the basics of screen printing on blends, you can take even more advantage of custom screen printing to print your favorite designs on t-shirts. Continue reading to see what happens with other ink colors. 2004-2022 Ryonet Corporation.Powering The Print. (The screens used in this process used to be made of silk, but today cheaper polyester mesh works just as well). It has a mesh wide enough to allow the ink to pass through, yet small enough to hold an adequate amount of detail. Get sales alerts, exclusive offers and achance to win a $100 shopping spree! This works a lot like developing old-fashioned photos and transfers the negative of the design onto the mesh after you rinse it with water! Most folks don't realize that most sweatshirts are part polyester, but it's rare to find one that's 100% cotton. This is why a white print on a black polyester shirt turns grey. In order to keep our prices as low as possible, all CreateForLess order subtotals must be at least $10. Save Big On Washout Booths & Filtration Systems. This orange print looks great to while the ink is still wet. Fortunately, polyester does not need to be pre-shrunk like cotton. High screen tension is also an essential factor when aiming for high-quality screen prints on 50/50 blends. A 100% polyester blend will allow ink to cure well, while anything less than 65% polyester may cause curing issues. Of course, most designs will also fade over time if you wash the garment enough! thank you. The last step in creating a gorgeous screenprint on a 50/50 fabric ensuring the curing process is done correctly, which guarantees that the ink adheres to the material properly. Learn More. Apply the stencil to the mesh screen. You will need to do this between every layer if you want to add additional colors. Its even advisable to stay away from poly-cotton blends in a lot of cases. What Is Technical Fabric? A forum community dedicated to T-shirt merchants, professionals and enthusiasts. Once the underbase is laid, any color of plastisol may be applied to it. The polyester creates a set of challenges that we address in this article, and spandex has a different set of obstacles to overcome. Flash your image onto the substrate only as long as the image needs to cure. I have some tips to share with you before you give it a try. Unfortunately, bleeding can occur during the drying stage of screen printing, making it a real challenge to successfully screenprint these blends. Polyester mesh screens: you can purchase kits that come with premade screens. You should probably shell out for a special low-bleed poly ink. Nylon often has a smooth satin weave using fine threads, which lends itself to crisp, lovely lines in your printed design. This causes an unwanted change or tint in ink color. This opaque pearl ink works well on lighter color shirts too. That said, once you learn these basic steps, you will quickly feel competent to invent your own designs and tinker with your own special techniques for printing! Because of the different blend in fabric threads used, the ink wont adhere to the fabric as easily as it would on 100% cotton garments. With these innovations, designers can produce t-shirts with more reliable colors that remain throughout several washes. We also carry 42" wide X 5yrds. Manufacturers or brands that want a good reputation for quality often go with screenprinting for these reasons. The good news is that you can prevent these issues by using either dark ink for your design or starting with an under-base beneath the design to prevent any color from bleeding through. Rather than using iron-on vinyl, you can screen print at home! Requirements and rewards?.Or maybe simply, how to print with water based ink? Both methods require design creation and setup before you begin! More complex images can use multiple colors layered onto the fabric one at a time. I was about to use sports HTV, but prefer using ink. Since soft-hand prints are such a common request, the gray underbase is obsolete for all intents and purposes. Category: Arts & Entertainment > Hobbies & Creative Arts > Crafts & Hobbies > Printmaking > Screen Printing, Dyes For Painting on Cotton, Rayon, Linen, & Hemp, Non-Toxic Markers (Best Markers For Kids), Airbrushing, Stenciling, & Body Art Supplies, screens pre-stretched with a Monofilament Polyester mesh, 42" wide X 5yrds. When your ink starts bright and becomes dull, it is because of dye migration. ScreenPrinting.com is where printers can conveniently find their favorite high-quality brands of equipment and supplies, such as Riley Hopkins, FN-INK, Baselayr, & Sgreen. Sign up for our newsletter and be the first to know about coupons, inspiring project ideas and featured artists. Dri-Fit is Nikes special brand of performance-level moisture-wicking polyester. You will quickly get used to the necessary precautions used in printing on polyester! But with water based ink it gets particularly tricky. Perhaps youre looking for more information on its pros and cons? Violet. The reason polyester can be a struggle to print on is because of a reaction known as dye migration. Apply heat to flash or cure the dye between each layer of color. This process breaks down the colors of a photo or image into four basic shades, and each shade gets its own screen as part of the printing process. This works about 90% of the time. Screen Printing on Polyester or Poly Blend Garments: HSA Water Based Inks actually adhere very well to polyester fabric because of the consistency and quality of the thread and the finer weave of the fabric, but actually curing the ink is where things get more difficult. Use a squeegee to remove excess dye and also to push the screen firmly onto the polyester. Most plastisol dyes require a heat of at least 325 for the dye to bond with the fibers of the polyester fabric. Heat press, heat gun, or flash dryer: You have to take care when applying heat to polyester, but some types of dye will set better when exposed to heat. Adding Opaque Bases and/or using a low cure additive like Warp Drive can also help you to overcome some of the issues involved in printing on ti-blend garments. Slip sheet or liquid adhesive: You dont want your t-shirt or fabric item sliding all over the printer platen! The container says it can be used on poly also but Ive only been using it on 100% cotton. Curing is the process of setting screen print ink so it can be washed. Copyright 2022 Dharma Trading Co. All Rights Reserved. Dye migration occurs when curing a printed garment. The type of ink youll choose depends on your goals. Many screen printers are starting to push the envelope on screen printing and bring it to new horizons, exploring what else can be achieved with the classic technique. 1. Since. Here are a few non-cotton garment types you might encounter and how best to approach them with water based printing. If you want to screen print on polyester, consider these guidelines from Clothing Shop Online for a frustration-free process and crisp designs! One-stroke white is formulated to help block dye migration. These programs also allow you to separate your colors to create your design one color layer at a time. Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection. If you dont have a printer that can work with film positives, you can hand-draw onto the plasticky sheets or send them to a photo printing shop. Temperature tape may help you gauge the temperature of your fabric under the flash cure or on the conveyor dryer. Waterbased, non-toxic, non-flammable. If youre still having trouble getting the ink to cure above 300 degrees Fahrenheit, a permaset synthetic fixer can help to set ink that would otherwise be difficult to adhere to polyester. Though screenprinting does require some supplies and equipment, it allows for small batch and DIY projects far more easily than some other forms of printing. Drag and Drop chips to the Palette first. Cricut stencils or film positive: These options create a stencil that allows you to paint the negative of your design onto the screen. A lot may depend on ink and garment colors. Screenprinting on polyester presents unique challenges that you will not encounter if you choose to use 100% cotton. FREE SHIPPING ON ALL SUPPLY ORDERS!!! Choosing 100% polyester fabric rather than a blend also improves the quality of screen printing on polyester. Polyesters weave has many air gaps between threads, allowing ink to pass through. The best way to screen print on polyester is to use plastisol dye or water-based ink on top of an under-base. Your email address will not be published. Polyester comes from a fossil-fuel-based polymer and does not handle high temperatures at all well. Due to the materials, a 50/50 fabric blend tends to bleed, requiring an adjusted process. Jan 14, 2021 | Cricut Projects, Heat Setting, Ink, Screen Printing, Screen Printing Press, Vinyl Projects. These days, polyester costs a lot less than other fabric types like cotton, making it an affordable choice for a handmade gift! Heathered colors and triblends are part polyester. After the ink air dries, be sure to heat press your shirt. are ideal for use with EZScreen Standard and HiDef Stencils, as well as withEZScreen Basic Starter Kits. Set up your screen in your press, or attach the top and bottom of the frame together according to the manufacturers directions. Apply heat to set the dye. So, while polyester is a good fabric for screenprinting, it presents a few difficulties as well. While there is no solution guaranteed to work without fail, the ink industry has come a long way. JavaScript is disabled. Incorrect temperatures can also cause polyester to shrink, scorch, melt, or skew during the design-setting process. Use adhesive to set the t-shirt or fabric into place on the platen. Check out this list to see what you need to get started with your first print! I did notice some dye migration after heat setting this shirt. Bright or light water-based dyes often look cracked or faded when applied to polyester. HOLD ON!! This is because water-based ink absorbs into fabric, while plastisol sits on top of it creating a stiff feel. To avoid dye migration, make sure you pick the right polyester blend for your project and, during the curing process, avoid heating the fabric too much. This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. The header image used in this blog shows a print that was white, but after dye migration looks pink. You should also note that applying plastisol dye will keep the fabric from breathing in any areas covered by design. .css-1pq9lng{--tw-text-opacity:1;color:rgba(35,31,32,var(--tw-text-opacity));-webkit-transition-property:background-color,border-color,color,fill,stroke;transition-property:background-color,border-color,color,fill,stroke;-webkit-transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0.4,0,0.2,1);transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0.4,0,0.2,1);-webkit-transition-duration:150ms;transition-duration:150ms;}.css-1pq9lng:hover{--tw-text-opacity:1;color:rgba(229,9,20,var(--tw-text-opacity));}.css-1pq9lng:focus{--tw-text-opacity:1;color:rgba(229,9,20,var(--tw-text-opacity));outline:1px solid gray;outline-offset:2px;}Speedball. Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Ink - Starter Set, Set of 6, 4 oz, Jars (Out of packaging), Speedball Drawing Fluid and Screen Filler, Speedball Diazo Photo Screen Printing Emulsions, Speedball Fabric and Acrylic Screen Printing Transparent Base. This is because various inks act differently on light or dark fabric. Unfortunately, heat at around 300 degrees is what triggers dye migration. How To Achieve The Best Quality When Screen Printing On Polyester, Since the gray ink is a print layer in addition to a white underbase, the print will have a much, . Polyesters synthetic fibers interact best with synthetic dyes like plastisol dyes. Custom screen printing on 50/50 blends requires considerable expertise to certify that the final product will look presentable. Mix and match them to get the best discount. On the other hand, polyester costs a lot less, giving you a better overhead for your small business or a lower gift budget! "Hand" refers to the feeling of a screen print on a fabric.