What's the difference between water-based ink and plastisol ink?Updated 2 hours ago
Think of the inks like oil and water. Plastisol is an oil-based (like plastic) ink. Water-based is an ink made and dispersed with water. They vary in many areas. Let's dive into a few.
First up, printability. Plastisol is typically thicker than water-based ink. Plastisol can be left in a screen for extended periods of time and still be able to be printed. Plastisol needs to heat up and hit cure temp all the way through, which can be accomplished quickly. Water-based is typically runny and very creamy. It will also dry on the screen quickly (spray bottle of water with fine mist will help this issue). To cure water-based ink, you must first evaporate all moisture, then bring the ink up to cure temp. You must hold it at cure temp for 30 seconds. Curing water-based ink is 2x-3x longer than curing plastisol. Adding Warp Drive to your Water based ink can help ensure the ink has been fully cured.
The inks have different looks and feels. Water-based is softer, thinner, and far more pliable and tends to have a more matte finish compared to plastisol. It has more of a fashion feel. In general, plastisol is heavier and thicker on the garment and tends to have a glossier look. Water based is commonly used for a more vintage look and soft hand.
Cure tempertures can be vastly different. It's important to know and understand the properties of your ink and what temperature they need to reach for a complete cure. Water based inks usually require more heat, but there are additives that can mitigate that too, like Warp Drive mentioned above.
Emulsions can also be different - most emulsions we carry can be used with Plastisol, but not every emulsion can be used with Water Based Inks or Discharge. If you have preciously only printed Plastisol, and are looking to swap to Water base, you'll want to check your Emulsion to make sure it can handle the water content.
Lastly, clean up. Plastisol requires chemicals to clean up. Water-based can be cleaned with a detergent (i.e. Dawn) and water, but if it's left out it will dry and be harder to remove. If Water based ink is left in a screen for too long it can get 'locked' in the mesh.
We're just skimming the surface here. Other factors like your equipment are different between the inks. To learn more about the differences between the two, please read this blog.