Plastisol/waterbased inks

[tonypep]

I would like to weigh in on this but as Dan suggested, this should be a new thread. A little bit of versus, and and a little bit of "could you/should you". Teaser.......I used to make wb inks for about $3 p/ gal.

[rusty]

I am very interested to know more about this.

We do a small amount of waterbase and discharge due to our dryer situation. Which will be changing this winter when we move.

Every time we have done a job with waterbase or discharge the savings seem pretty significant.

[Rockers]

Funny how thing are different here in Japan.
90% of printshops know only waterbase inks as their go to inks. They never touched plastisol inks at all. There is this "why change if it ain`t broke" attitude here, which unfortunately has many negative sides to it that effects the industry here at a more broader level.
Anyway more and more customers here prefer the feel and look of plastisol inks over waterbase these days which is all good with me.

[Maxie]

A few years ago, when I started printing, I learnt from a supplier of Water base used for roller printing in the textile industry.    These guys order in tons.
They supplied me chemicals and a recipe and I'd make my own base and add pigments.    Very cheap.   
Water base sounds very environmentally  friendly but it had formaldehyde and all sorts of nasty chemicals in it.  (Not sure if it still does)
For printing on white it's great, not so good for darks.
In a hot climate it dries on the screen fast and you can't use your short infra-red oven that works well with plastisol.       The base I was using needed 5min in the oven.
Plastisol has so many advantages, you can keep a stock of Pantone matched plastisol,      You can stop in the middle of a job and have a break, carry on tomorrow or after the weekend.
Not so with water base.       
Correct on light garments it has a soft feel, especially after being washed but with thin meshes you can get a softer feel using plastisol.
I personally think Plastisol is more environmentally friendly.      We don't throw plastisol down the drain, we clean the screen with cards and very little ink gets washed into the drain with the emulsion.    With a good filter you trap most of the plastisol.     With water base you have to wash all the screens after use with water.

[Rockers]

A few years ago, when I started printing, I learnt from a supplier of Water base used for roller printing in the textile industry.    These guys order in tons.
They supplied me chemicals and a recipe and I'd make my own base and add pigments.    Very cheap.   
Water base sounds very environmentally  friendly but it had formaldehyde and all sorts of nasty chemicals in it.  (Not sure if it still does)
For printing on white it's great, not so good for darks.
In a hot climate it dries on the screen fast and you can't use your short infra-red oven that works well with plastisol.       The base I was using needed 5min in the oven.
Plastisol has so many advantages, you can keep a stock of Pantone matched plastisol,      You can stop in the middle of a job and have a break, carry on tomorrow or after the weekend.
Not so with water base.       
Correct on light garments it has a soft feel, especially after being washed but with thin meshes you can get a softer feel using plastisol.
I personally think Plastisol is more environmentally friendly.      We don't throw plastisol down the drain, we clean the screen with cards and very little ink gets washed into the drain with the emulsion.    With a good filter you trap most of the plastisol.     With water base you have to wash all the screens after use with water.

Especially when you look at the likes of Permaset, Magna Color or Virus Ink you will see waterbase inks have moved on from what you are describing. There is as well or at least was formaldehyde in plastisol inks.