Author Topic: Glow in the dark ink....  (Read 1773 times)

Offline Donnie

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Glow in the dark ink....
« on: October 05, 2015, 03:40:27 PM »
Doing a big job with glow in the dark ink...

Here's the deal. Doing a 3 color.  Thought of doing 4, putting a neon green under the Union phosphorescent green.... flashing right after the neon green before the glow ink. Not getting near the glow effect with just the white base.  Should I even mess with doing the green base?  I know the customer is looking for a good glow. The print looks kind of bland in regular light. Anyone done this with a color base?

I am using a white base...


Online ebscreen

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Re: Glow in the dark ink....
« Reply #1 on: October 05, 2015, 03:47:28 PM »
We've done green under (WFX Blacklight green to be exact), glow mixed into white, and the usual, two bases with glow over.
Last will give best glow though the color of un-tinted glow ink is kind of snotty.

Allureglow makes the best we've seen, and sell pigments to tint their inks for better daylight color.

Offline Itsa Little CrOoked

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Re: Glow in the dark ink....
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2015, 04:06:53 PM »
I do these from time to time, but I do them the only way I know how works every time.

I put a SOLID white base plate under everything. No halftones and no tricks. The better white (ie MORE white) you lay down, the better glow you'll get.   Print flash print even. It just works better for us anyway.

Good luck Donnie!

Stan

Offline Screened Gear

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Re: Glow in the dark ink....
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2015, 04:29:44 PM »
I always PFP the white underbase. I would think the green would make the glow effect less since. A good 100% smooth white base is key. You also want to print the glow thick. The thicker the glow the longer it will glow.

Online ericheartsu

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Re: Glow in the dark ink....
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2015, 04:40:51 PM »
we are about to try some HSA and DC GITD ink. it's a base mixed with some powder!
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Offline Donnie

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Re: Glow in the dark ink....
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2015, 05:00:27 PM »
Yep... anything other than a solid white blows....  Going to run it as 3 colors... Wasted enough time. 500 fronts and backs due tomorrow night.

Had a 230 for the glow in. Going to switch to 156. I hope i have enough glow ink. I have a gallon and a quart and a half. At $ 255 a gallon, I sure hope so.
« Last Edit: October 05, 2015, 06:33:23 PM by Donnie »

Offline Itsa Little CrOoked

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Re: Glow in the dark ink....
« Reply #6 on: October 05, 2015, 05:15:43 PM »
we are about to try some HSA and DC GITD ink. it's a base mixed with some powder!

@ Ericheartsu, we tried some Discharge WB Glow ink and it was pretty good! (Mighta been Fuji/Sericol/Texcharge but I can't remember...)

I really liked it, but the customer wanted the old plastisol look and feel. (Ick)  But he who signs the check gets to choose.

Donnie, I print 110 standard mesh (80 micron) for the Base plate P.F.P and 156 standard (64 micron) for the glow. I think you did right bumping up from 230. I hope you don't run out of ink! 

Offline celtic

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Re: Glow in the dark ink....
« Reply #7 on: October 05, 2015, 06:03:43 PM »
I've thought about adding fluorescent green concentrate to glow for some color punch.

Offline Screened Gear

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Re: Glow in the dark ink....
« Reply #8 on: October 28, 2015, 12:55:51 AM »
Yep... anything other than a solid white blows....  Going to run it as 3 colors... Wasted enough time. 500 fronts and backs due tomorrow night.

Had a 230 for the glow in. Going to switch to 156. I hope i have enough glow ink. I have a gallon and a quart and a half. At $ 255 a gallon, I sure hope so.


I print 500 shirts with glow about ever 3 months. I use about 3/4 of a quart. It is a 4X12 area with about 35% coverage. I PFP white Underbase on a 155 and then print the glow on a 155 with a 50 duro squeegee, 2 passes real about 20% speed. I get 5 to 7 mins of glow on a full charge.

Offline Screen Dan

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Re: Glow in the dark ink....
« Reply #9 on: October 28, 2015, 07:44:12 AM »
We have a couple designs with glow in the dark.  We just do a good base white...PFP would probably be good here, though we don't.  Also, mixing the glow ink into the white sounds like a great idea.  As with almost everything else, the more opaque and bright your baseplate the better the effect.

Then we put down a super light, super bright neon yellow (PMS 373, I think).  We tried fluorescent green but it was too dark.  As previously mentioned, anything dark will detract from the glow effect.  Now I think that mixing a little of the glow ink into this color would also be interesting to play with.  But we don't.

Then we put down a very heavy layer of the glow ink.  Either with a 150-S PFP, or a ridiculous low-mesh...we gone as low as 40...hell, they used to PFP that.  You could look down the dryer and see a line of them glowing.  It was pretty cool.

Overall we get a good effect from it...even if there is no PFP involved at any stage of the game.  I don't know what we use, brand wise, for glow ink.  But I do know we've changed it up over the years with little difference in the effect...though I'm sure the shop tests those kind of things out thoroughly before switching.  I know I used to.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2015, 08:06:47 AM by Screen Dan »

Online ericheartsu

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Re: Glow in the dark ink....
« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2015, 09:38:27 AM »
Is DC an option? We just made some glow in the dark ink with Allure Glow pigments, and it's so easy to use!
Night Owls
Waterbased screen printing and promo products.
www.nightowlsprint.com 281.741.7285