Plastisol ink is one of the most commonly used inks in the US for screen printing on fabrics. It is made up of a suspension of PVC particles in a liquid plasticizer. When the ink is heated, the plasticizer evaporates, and the PVC particles fuse together, forming a solid and durable film on the surface of the fabric. Plastisol ink is known for its excellent opacity and ability to produce bright, vivid colors on both light and dark colored fabrics. It is also resistant to fading, cracking, and peeling, making it a popular choice for custom printed clothing and other textile items.
+ Vibrant
+ Durable
+ Versatile
+ Affordable
+ Excellent color accuracy
+ Excellent consistency between orders & garments
- Heavier hand on large graphics
- Not as good for stretch
- Not as good for breathability
Choosing plastisol is a great choice for a lot of reasons, and you can rest easy knowing that Extreme has dedicated years of research, development, and investments into perfecting our quality of plastisol screen printing. We always recommend plastisol for high color count artwork, and especially for photorealistic art as it will retain vibrancy and opacity. However it is also great for your everyday print, it has a classic look and feel and comes at a more affordable price, making it great for merch, company shirts, promo tees and more. The only time we really recommend against it is if you plan on doing a massive solid shape on a midweight or light tee, as plastisol lacks in breathability, it can cause you and your customers some uncomfortable times on a hot sunny day. In addition to that, if it is a large solid shape or design, it is also not good at printing over pockets, seams, or zippers.
Water based ink is essentially pigment suspended in a base mixture composed of primarily water. Water based ink comes in a lot of different varieties and can be used to achieve a worn vintage look as well as a pretty vibrant bold look. The main benefit to water based inks is the light hand feel that they provide. Generally speaking these inks are not more environmentally friendly than their modern plastisol counterparts, however they are often heavily marketed as an “eco-friendly” method.
+ Good versatility
+ Super soft
+ Light hand
+ Can have good breathability
- More costly
- Not as good color accuracy
- Medium consistency between orders & garments
Water based ink is a great option when softness is the main priority, especially for 1-3 colors on light garments. Water based ink will not be as soft on dark garments and will be more comparable to plastisol.
Discharge ink is a type of ink used primarily on dark colored organic fabrics. The ink contains a chemical called a discharge agent that, when heated, removes the dye in the fabric and creates a bleached surface. The ink also contains pigments/dyes that are printed into the fabric as well, and revealed by the discharge agent. The result is similar to water based ink on a white tee, resulting in a vibrant, opaque print but on a dark colored fabric. Discharge ink is often used to achieve a soft, vibrant look on t-shirts. However it only works on organic materials with certain dyes (does not work on cotton pigment dyed items). When used on tri-blends (partially organic, partially synthetic materials), it can result in a more vintage look.
+ Vibrant
+ Super soft
+ Light hand
+ Excellent Breathability
- Only works on cotton
- More costly
- Not as good color accuracy
- Poor consistency between orders & garments
Discharge is a great option for low color count artwork on dark 100% cotton garments. Especially all white graphics, or even for an off white, natural type look. It is also great at printing over seams, pockets, and zippers, and great for an ultra soft feel on dark 100% cotton garments. It can definitely vary a lot and the color and material of the garment can affect the color and quality of the print as well, so it is not great when printing across a wide variety of colors and products. We recommend using it wisely.
Hybrid printing results in a very unique look and feel, by bleaching out the shirt in the underbase and printing plastisol on top of it, we like to think it's a bit of the best from both worlds. You get some of the softness from the discharge underbase, but retain a lot of the opacity and vibrancy from the plastisol top layer. However because of the discharge underbase, hybrid printing works best on 100% cotton garments, and can be affected by the color and material of the garment. It is not recommended if consistency is your priority, or if you are printing on a wide variety of colors and garments.
+ Affordable
+ Soft unique feel
+ Opaque
- Poor versatility
Hybrid printing is best used when a product is designed for it. It must be used on tested products and when consistency is not a primary factor. When used properly it can result in a very nice feel and a high quality product. It is also highly recommended when printing large solid areas to improve breathability. Be sure to ask if it will work with your design and garment choice.
