One Stroke Inks new ink

[robbmears]

I look forward to those who will receive a Watercolor sample kit in the near future.  I would love to answer a few of the questions.  The Watercolor ink will allow for "the fuzz" to come through the ink in much the same way as regular (not high solids) water-based ink.  It is plastisol but we have formulated it to wick into the fabric far better.  Additives, reducers, and bases will not produce this effect to the extent that Watercolor will.  This is due to your inability to remove the fillers and additives which are already in the ink you are trying to base down.  The down side of Watercolor is the need for a discharge base on dark fabrics if you are looking for vibrant prints.  Much like regular water-based inks, Watercolor is not opaque.  Without the discharge base, you will have a nifty vintage/worn look.  I hope this clears up any questions about the new ink.

[aauusa]

good to see you are on the board   Rob.  Miss you as my sale rep.

[Frog]

I look forward to those who will receive a Watercolor sample kit in the near future.  I would love to answer a few of the questions.  The Watercolor ink will allow for "the fuzz" to come through the ink in much the same way as regular (not high solids) water-based ink.  It is plastisol but we have formulated it to wick into the fabric far better.  Additives, reducers, and bases will not produce this effect to the extent that Watercolor will.  This is due to your inability to remove the fillers and additives which are already in the ink you are trying to base down. The down side of Watercolor is the need for a discharge base on dark fabrics if you are looking for vibrant prints.  Much like regular water-based inks, Watercolor is not opaque.  Without the discharge base, you will have a nifty vintage/worn look.  I hope this clears up any questions about the new ink.

Not exactly trying to pick apart your product claims (as many have read over the years, I'm a fan and was an early adopter of One Stroke products when I could get them 20 or so years ago in Oakland) What about when someone just adds pigment to a soft base of curable reducer?

[Colin]

Andy:

If he is stating that it actually coats the shirt fibers similar to waterbase, then he has a different binder than traditional plastisol.

Curable reducer/Primer clear/softee base/fashion soft all have very soft resin choices: i.e plastisol that's extremely soft like soft lure baits.  Which is why the print can be as soft as it is, along with additives enhancing that effect.

But what he is describing would have to go beyond that.  Maybe some waxes that get ultra runny and can get into the fibers n stuff..... Throwing ideas to get the ball rolling.

Rocky definitely does not work along the lines of standard plastisol.

I am very curious.

[Frog]

Andy:

If he is stating that it actually coats the shirt fibers similar to waterbase, then he has a different binder than traditional plastisol.

Curable reducer/Primer clear/softee base/fashion soft all have very soft resin choices: i.e plastisol that's extremely soft like soft lure baits.  Which is why the print can be as soft as it is, along with additives enhancing that effect.

But what he is describing would have to go beyond that.  Maybe some waxes that get ultra runny and can get into the fibers n stuff..... Throwing ideas to get the ball rolling.

Rocky definitely does not work along the lines of standard plastisol.

I am very curious.

I think the whole point is that non-opaque waterbased inks don't coat fibers as much as penetrate, more like a dye.

[3Deep]

I might order one of those kits, but DC has not been very good for us as we tend to print many different blends and colors which DC is very effy on.

[Prosperi-Tees]

How much is one of these kits?

[Robert Clark]

Good Morning everybody.
 
  Just to answer the question of pricing on the Watercolor Production Kit.
 
The kit comes with  :

White
Black
Silver Gray
Gold
Scarlet
Med Royal
&
2 Port & Company PC450 Ring Spun Tees
$89.00

I also attached the spec sheet.

Thanks Guys
 

[Prince Art]

Did a limited test with this ink last week, comparing the "Watercolor" white to our in-house vintage white mix (plastisol), as well as CCI's RFU mixing white (wb). No wash test yet, but here's what I've got so far:

Print parameters: 1-color design through 230 mesh, 70 duro squeegee, single pass flood/stroke on the 2 plastisol inks, double hit on the true wb. Printed to Bella Canvas 3001 black 100% cotton, and Next Level charcoal triblend.

Results: The differences were subtle. Printed thin onto dark colors, all three inks yield a tonal light-to-mid grey, as you'd likely expect.  CCI wb is still the softest, but the Watercolor was very close; and the appearance of the two was virtually identical on cotton; on triblend, the CCI wb was faint - took 3-4 hits to match the Watercolor. Our own mix gave the brightest print, and is still soft enough to legitimately be in the same ballpark.

A few more observations on the Watercolor...
It was very thin, & moved on the screen much like the CCI wb. Much less viscous than our own mix, which itself isn't especially thick. Remarkably easy to print, and produced a very even deposit & tone. It probably had the softest hand of any plastisol I've felt... but it's a step away, not a world away, from what we do ourselves.

At this point, I'm interested in what I'm seeing, but the jury is still out. I'm looking forward to doing more tests, but I'm not yet convinced that it's that far beyond what we already do. I suppose if you're looking for an "out of the bucket" plastisol to use in lieu of wb, and don't want to mix anything yourself, this would likely be a great choice. (Um... as long as you're going do discharge when you need bright color on dark tees.) Whether it will supplant the soft hand mixes some of us already use remains to be seen.

And let me stress: this is a "first glance" opinion. I have in no way put the ink through it's paces. Just wanted to post since no else has yet said they've printed it I'm impressed with the innovation, and interested in looking into it more. Hopefully some others will join in & post their opinions as well!

[numbercruncher]

 :)Thanks for the info  - understand it's preliminary but your effort is appreciated and helpful.

[3Deep]

Good info for sure, my initial thoughts on this ink was an ink that would have the same characteristics as wb/dc without the fuss of mixing and ink drying in the screens.

[Prince Art]

Good info for sure, my initial thoughts on this ink was an ink that would have the same characteristics as wb/dc without the fuss of mixing and ink drying in the screens.

It looks like it's getting into WB territory, but not DC. If you want bright colors on darks, you're still going to need a DC base. Now... if One Stroke manages to conquer that mountain, and gives us an opaque ink this soft, they will have truly built better a mousetrap.

One thing I could wish for in this ink: low cure, like their ELT series. With the ever-increasing number of finicky fashion fabrics we have to deal with, low cure is something we're really considering going with now. And ink this soft would be a good fit for such fabrics. (But I'd happily take a "close enough" additive that would work with their ELT series. The stretch is nice, but soft hand is needed, too. If they could do that, I think they'd give our shop some really good tools to work with.)

[Rocky Bihl]

I was wondering if you have had a chance to try any of the other Watercolor colors besides the white? The white is a slightly different formula than the colors in order to build in acceptable opacity. The other colors actually have a better hand on the shirt than the white does . And yes as soon as I find the time I am going to be working on an ELT  version of the Watercolor ink.

[mimosatexas]

Could this be used with some kind of plasticharge additive to achieve the best of both worlds?  I realize that would give the finished ink a shelf life/screen open time limit, but could avoid some of the pigment separation issues on the mixed ink (minus the additive just before printing).

[farmboygraphics]

Used the inks on a job this morning. Right up front let me say that I've never printed waterbase, so I don't have anything to compare. Other than that I'm happy with the print and the hand is pretty soft. All the inks in the pic are One Stroke except for the cardinal which is Union. Print is on a Gildan sand color tee.