Author Topic: Recommend a transparent WB ink?  (Read 1180 times)

Offline redwoodtees

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Recommend a transparent WB ink?
« on: November 21, 2016, 02:15:59 PM »
(Newbie warning) I have experience with Hydra inks from Virus, and I've recently experimented with Green Galaxy inks. As I understand it, these are both considered HSA inks, and there is another variety of inks called semi-transparent inks. Can you recommend a good product for me to start with?

I'm specifically looking for an ink for the attached job. Customer wants the ink to be the same hue as the shirt, but darker. Seems like a (semi) transparent ink would be the way to go.



Offline Colin

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Re: Recommend a transparent WB ink?
« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2016, 03:06:33 PM »
Try printing a "base" all by itself.  This is to see what the color on the shirt is when cured. 

Depending, you may need to add the barest amount of black to darken it up.

Here with plastisol, we take a very soft base - Primer Clear Ultra soft - and add about .5%, yes 1/2 of a percent of C3 system black to darken it up.  So, with 99.5 grams of base we would add .5 grams of black.

Depending we will sometimes go even less depending on shirt and shirt color.
Been in the industry since 1996.  5+ years with QCM Inks.  Been a part of shops of all sizes and abilities both as a printer and as an Artist/separator.  I am now the Ink and Chemical Product Manager at Ryonet.

Offline mimosatexas

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Re: Recommend a transparent WB ink?
« Reply #2 on: November 21, 2016, 03:17:35 PM »
For a difference as stark as your mockup and on that pale of a color you may want to actually just mix the target color and go.  For more subtle and traditional tonal stuff I second Colin.  Pick a clear base (waterbase or plastisol, doesnt matter) and use a super tiny amount of black.  I usually do 1%, but sometimes more and sometimes less depending on the shirt color.

Offline redwoodtees

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Re: Recommend a transparent WB ink?
« Reply #3 on: November 21, 2016, 03:42:40 PM »
Thanks for the suggestions.. I will definitely experiment with a small amount of pigment in clear base. Did not occur to me to try that. I can try mixing a color "by eye" based on the shirt, but I've had (uh) mixed results with that in the past. My color always ends up feeling not quite right for the shirt. That's why I was wondering about transparent inks.