How Does Water-Based & Discharge Ink Work? - Screen Printing Tips

Discharge ink is a type of water-based screen printing ink. Learn how water-based screen printing works.

Erin Moore from Barrel Maker Printing in Chicago, IL explains how these two common types of ink for screen printing compare and contrast. These are more tools in your toolbox to fulfill your customers' goals.
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Water based inks absorb completely into the garment's fibers – you are actually changing the color of the fabric. This means they have a delightfully soft hand feel on the garment. The water evaporates during curing between 300 and 330 degrees – with a long dwell time (around 90 seconds or more).

There are several challenges that water based inks can introduce. They do dry out quickly, and can be harder on your screens than traditional Plastisol ink. High-solid acrylic inks offer longevity for storage and printing, but don't have the soft hand that traditional water based inks are known for.

Check out Matt Marcotte's article about printing with water based inks: https://www.printavo.com/blog/screen-...

Discharge ink is also water based ink – but it has a chemical reaction with the fibers in your garment, catalyzed by a chemical activator that you add to it. In simpler language: discharge ink uses a chemical reaction to dye the garment's fibers. You can achieve bright colors on dark garments that are extremely soft to the touch with discharge ink. Discharge inks typically cure in 60 to 90 seconds (longer is better) at around 320 to 330 degrees. As always – read and follow the manufacturer's instructions!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Discharge inks ONLY work on cotton, bamboo, and hemp fibers!

Prepping screens for water based inks: emulsion is water soluble! Erin suggests applying a second layer of emulsion around your stencil, and applying emulsion hardener as well. This will give you a more durable screen for printing with.

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