1 man. 6 head auto. 1 flash. 100% water based shop. Is it possible?

[Frog]

Have you tried One Stroke Watercolor Series plastisol?

I've never heard of that series from One Stroke. I looked it up, but there isn't much info. Is it an RFU system? Or pigments and bases?

One Stroke Inks are great, but only available from the manufacturer. This guy appears to be a based-down plastisol. In fact, it appears to be so based-down, that it includes the bonus;  "Watercolor inks are perfect for a vintage look." https://www.onestrokeinks.com/shopexd.asp?id=321

[whitewater]

It presents itself with more challenges... But Im Sooooooo happy im not a 1 man shop anymore. Eff that...

Like someone long ago once said...." i want to own a business, not own a job"

LOL

[3Deep]

It presents itself with more challenges... But Im Sooooooo happy im not a 1 man shop anymore. Eff that...

Like someone long ago once said...." i want to own a business, not own a job"

LOL

I know who your talking about LOL guy was a trip, I've not spoke with him in a awhile, but One stroke water color inks are plastisol inks that act like real water-base without the drying in the screen problems, great for light colors without a white under-base I bought a kit last year, did not want to change all my inks but did use up what I had and the hand was really nice.

[Maxie]

I started my business only printing water base.     Didn’t do much multi color work.
I now print mainly plastisol and don’t understand why anyone would want to go anywhere near water based inks unless the customer demanded it and paid extra for it.
There are so many advantages to plastisol.      We often set up multiple color jobs at the end of the day and run them the next morning, staff can take breaks, go for lunch.
If you use thin screens and a roller you get a nice thin, flat image with plastisol.
As far as the environment is concerned with plastisol we put very little ink into the sewerage system, we card most of it off the screen before cleaning.
With water base we had a lot more ink on the screens we washed.     I’m not sure what they are using now but the base I used had some nasty chemicals in it.  Formaldehyde, White spirit, etc.
So if you are printing for a hobby or charging a lot more or have a niche market stick with water base, if you want to make money and have a life go with plastisol.

[Nation03]

I'm just spit balling here because I don't know enough about Discharge to know if this is a solution for your situation, but perhaps try switching over to hybrid prints (DC under base with soft hand plastisol over print). You'll still be in a rush to print the jobs I'm sure, since that one screen would have DC, but at least it's less time mixing other DC colors and over all less problems that could arise, maybe?

[Prince Art]

I tried the OSI Watercolor white against a couple other whites that had been based back. My conclusion was that they had a really good mix... but not good enough to warrant buying into the system. And that conclusion was solidified by the fact that it cures @ 320. Since most of our soft hand ink goes on heat-senstive high poly shirts, lower cure inks have been essential. But good plastisol + fashion bases/reducers + low cure additive/inks has been a good combo for us.

I'm also a "1+" shop. (I'm the only one FT, run everything but the books, with some family help when I need it.) I considered WB & DC carefully, but chose & stuck to plastisol b/c of the convenience factor. And I haven't seemed to lose customers over it.  There are a lot of times when it's helpful to be able to walk away from a job, and start up again later - phone calls, lunch, just enough time to set up before quitting but not printing, etc. Plus other conveniences like mixing custom colors for repeat customers once then storing them; cleaning up/reclaim in batches; less concern over stencil durability, shorter cure times, etc.

You might consider getting a starter pack of something like Wilflex Rio + a fashion base, and giving it a shot. You might need a couple of chemicals, like ink remover, too. But it shouldn't be a huge investment to try it.

[Cole]

I'm just spit balling here because I don't know enough about Discharge to know if this is a solution for your situation, but perhaps try switching over to hybrid prints (DC under base with soft hand plastisol over print). You'll still be in a rush to print the jobs I'm sure, since that one screen would have DC, but at least it's less time mixing other DC colors and over all less problems that could arise, maybe?

I have definitely considered that option as well. I'm actually going to be trying that on my next sim process job to see if it makes anything less stressful. My biggest concern is being able to print wet on wet with minimal build up. I assume that if I am doing a discharge underbase through a 225s screen, the top colors should sit nicely on top of it since there is still a lot of fiber to grab on to. It's definitely easier to manage one water based screen than six.

I tried the OSI Watercolor white against a couple other whites that had been based back. My conclusion was that they had a really good mix... but not good enough to warrant buying into the system. And that conclusion was solidified by the fact that it cures @ 320. Since most of our soft hand ink goes on heat-senstive high poly shirts, lower cure inks have been essential. But good plastisol + fashion bases/reducers + low cure additive/inks has been a good combo for us.

I'm also a "1+" shop. (I'm the only one FT, run everything but the books, with some family help when I need it.) I considered WB & DC carefully, but chose & stuck to plastisol b/c of the convenience factor. And I haven't seemed to lose customers over it.  There are a lot of times when it's helpful to be able to walk away from a job, and start up again later - phone calls, lunch, just enough time to set up before quitting but not printing, etc. Plus other conveniences like mixing custom colors for repeat customers once then storing them; cleaning up/reclaim in batches; less concern over stencil durability, shorter cure times, etc.

You might consider getting a starter pack of something like Wilflex Rio + a fashion base, and giving it a shot. You might need a couple of chemicals, like ink remover, too. But it shouldn't be a huge investment to try it.

When I've run plastisol in the past, I've done that same thing where I set it all up the night before so I can start printing first thing in the morning. I always hate coming in and having to mix inks and register screens. Makes me feel like my day is starting off too slow. The best days are when I have a few hundred prints done before 10:00am.
Wilflex is definitely being considered. Either that or the C3 system from Rutland. I heard from a few printers that they use Rutland's Chino base and the end result feels like HSA, which is what I'm looking for.
I have a rep coming to my shop on the 20th to demo the new Aquarius HSA inks from Polyone. That's my last resort before I buy into a plastisol system. I'm holding on to water based for dear life! lol Supposedly, the Aquarius inks can be printed wet on wet and don't dry as quickly on press as other inks. I'm sure every water based manufacturer gives that same speech, but all that talk will be put to the test on the 20th and we'll see what happens.

[brandon]

Definitely interested to hear your opinion from a smaller shop with real world issues regarding your testing on the 20th.

[Cole]

Definitely interested to hear your opinion from a smaller shop with real world issues regarding your testing on the 20th.

I will definitely be reporting back!

[Prince Art]

Wilflex is definitely being considered. Either that or the C3 system from Rutland. I heard from a few printers that they use Rutland's Chino base and the end result feels like HSA, which is what I'm looking for.

I mentioned Wilflex Rio because cure temp is 260-280, and we've found lower temps to be a huge benefit. For awhile, we had some terrible experiences with certain styles (Next Level poly blends + others) discoloring as temps as low as 340. Low cure additive & low cure inks have been a lifesaver. BUT I have not used RIO, I just like the specs & know it gets good reports from other users here.

Rio is an ink-to-ink system, comparable to Rutlands M3, which we currently use. I like the M3 matches, but cure temp is 320. C3 is a pigment based system, which also cures at 320. While I haven't tried it, I brought in the Wilflex PC sample kit, which is also pigment concentrates, and did NOT like how touchy it was for mixing small batches - very hard to get accurate matches when you don't need much.

As others have said, you might do well to try hybrid prints using soft hand plastisols over a DC base. I decided to forego DC/WB entirely to keep things streamlined, but that combo has always had an appeal to me. Could eliminate some of your challenges while retaining a great feel. (Still no stopping a run for lunch, though!)

[Cole]

Wilflex is definitely being considered. Either that or the C3 system from Rutland. I heard from a few printers that they use Rutland's Chino base and the end result feels like HSA, which is what I'm looking for.

I mentioned Wilflex Rio because cure temp is 260-280, and we've found lower temps to be a huge benefit. For awhile, we had some terrible experiences with certain styles (Next Level poly blends + others) discoloring as temps as low as 340. Low cure additive & low cure inks have been a lifesaver. BUT I have not used RIO, I just like the specs & know it gets good reports from other users here.

Rio is an ink-to-ink system, comparable to Rutlands M3, which we currently use. I like the M3 matches, but cure temp is 320. C3 is a pigment based system, which also cures at 320. While I haven't tried it, I brought in the Wilflex PC sample kit, which is also pigment concentrates, and did NOT like how touchy it was for mixing small batches - very hard to get accurate matches when you don't need much.

As others have said, you might do well to try hybrid prints using soft hand plastisols over a DC base. I decided to forego DC/WB entirely to keep things streamlined, but that combo has always had an appeal to me. Could eliminate some of your challenges while retaining a great feel. (Still no stopping a run for lunch, though!)

I've heard that same thing about the chino base. I think that's something that I might try out of this aquarius ink doesn't work out.

Thanks for the insight on the Wilflex PC system. I very rarely need to mix to an exact pantone, so color accuracy isn't always crucial for me (until it is lol)

Since you are doing all plastisol, maybe you can offer some advice. I tried doing a simple three color print the other day (american flag) and had a horrible time with it. I printed the base through a 150s mesh, then printed the red stripes and blue of the flag wet on wet (single stroke) with 230s mesh screens. Ink would build up on subsequent screens pretty much immediately and it was really hard to get nice, crisp lines. Do you have recommendations on what mesh counts are normal for spot color plastisol work? I have an especially difficult time with large blocky areas.

[chubsetc]

Since you are doing all plastisol, maybe you can offer some advice. I tried doing a simple three color print the other day (american flag) and had a horrible time with it. I printed the base through a 150s mesh, then printed the red stripes and blue of the flag wet on wet (single stroke) with 230s mesh screens. Ink would build up on subsequent screens pretty much immediately and it was really hard to get nice, crisp lines. Do you have recommendations on what mesh counts are normal for spot color plastisol work? I have an especially difficult time with large blocky areas.

With deeper colors you can run halftone bases and still get a great look.  I would run a 50% base at 45-55lpi under your blue.  You could easily run a 70% base under your red.  You have to play around to see what works for you with halftone percentages and lpi.  Along with the halftone base you can add a small gutter between colors if you are still not getting clean lines.  If you are print flash printing your base I would lower the halftone percentages a bit as you will gain and your halftones will close in a bunch after your second hit.  Not that this solves all issues all the time but it’s another tool to use in some instances.