Rant: Water-based vs plastisol ink for a home setup

I spent 3 hours last night trying to print a simple 2-color design on cotton tees. Went with water-based ink because I hate the feel of plastisol, but my screens kept drying out after 2 passes. Ended up with a muddy mess on 3 shirts. Should I just cave and buy plastisol for my next run or try adding a retarder to the water-based stuff? Anyone else deal with this frustration?

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2 Comments

margaret992mo ago

Retarder helps but honestly water based is just finicky as hell in a home setup. Plastisol is way more forgiving and you can actually finish a run without your screens turning into concrete.

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hill.jade2mo ago

My shop runs water based exclusively and I have to push back a little here. Once I got my flash dryer dialed in and started using a 10% glycerin additive instead of retarder, the drying issues basically disappeared. I can leave screens overnight with ink in them and they don't harden up at all if I mist them and cover with plastic. The hand feel is just so much better than plastisol and my customers always comment on how soft the prints are. It takes some trial and error but I think it's worth it for the quality.

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