Screen Printing Inks

At The Gear Group, we offer many different apparel decoration options such as screen printing, embroidery, DTG (direct-to-garment) printing, heat transfers, patches and more! All of these methods offer variations that give a unique flair to our customer apparel. When screen printing for example, we work with regular and specialty inks that allow variety in the look and feel of our prints. Below are four of the most popular inks that we use to create a unique and functional print.

Plastisol Inks:

This type of ink is the most commonly used. It is the easiest to work with and provides a reliable and durable print and works with most garments. It is formulated to achieve superior opacity and color matching accuracy. It is made of PVC with an oil base for flow and viscosity. It is super durable and looks great on any color garment. When applied you will be able to feel the print on the shirt as slightly raised from the fabric. There are many different chemical make-ups of plastisol ink which will allow you to print on almost anything; cotton, polyester, nylon, spandex, etc.

Silicone:

If you feel like getting creative, look at this high-gloss clear ink. We use this to print directly on t-shirts and also over a color printed on the garment of plastisol ink. This ink will achieve a tone-on-tone look if printed direct or for works as an accent or a gloss finish if printed as a second layer on top of color. So, you can have fun creating a unique layered design with glossy and matte contrast. This ink can only be used on 100% cotton or a Poly/Cotton Blend & Polyester and feels raised off the garment.

Glow in the Dark Inkgarment.

Glow in the Dark:

We slap this ink on thick! Thicker layers of this ink will increase the glow time and brightness of the glow. These inks are charged with light. If you order glow in the dark prints and pull a shirt out of a box and immediately head into a dark room to see it glow, the ink will not have a strong glow. But, if you allow these prints to charge under sunlight or black light they will get pretty bright in the dark. A white under base must be printed for these inks to work correctly. Glow in the dark ink printed directly onto the garment will not glow. This ink can only be used on 100% cotton or a Poly/Cotton Blend.

Water Color Inks:

Reflective Ink

Water based also known as soft ink is an alternative to traditional plastisol inks. They allow us to print bright colors on light or dark garments without losing the soft, natural feel of the fabric. This ink actually stains the garment, instead of sitting on top of the fabric. The result is a print that is almost as soft as the garment itself! T hey are ideal for use with 100% Cotton and 50/50 Cotton Poly Blend garments. Due to the nature of this process, some variation in the color of your final print should be expected.

When the traditional print isn’t enough or you are looking for something different reach out to us. In addition to the options listed above we have reflective, glitter and metallic inks. We can merry our creative designs with specialty inks and give you a new and different spin on a traditional t-shirt order or custom gift apparel. We love trying new things and kickin’ it up a notch! #gearupandgetnoticed