Index

Sr. No 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Particulars Abstract Introduction Printing Process Mesh Selection Plastisol ink additives Curing of Plastisol inks Comparison of Plastisol inks vs. Waterbased inks Controlling Plastisol ink Waste References

ABSTRACT
Plastisol inks are the most commonly used inks when it comes to screen printing on T-shirts,athletic wear,jackets and bags. They are composed primarily of two ingredients,PVC resin(a white powder) and plasticizer (a thick, clear liquid). Plastisol inks have one outstanding characteristic, they must be heated to dry. Plastisol is known for its ease of use and versatility. It can be used for most garment screen-printing jobs, as there are a variety of plastisol inks available for specific printing situations. Plastisol ink must be heat cured to remain adhered to the shirt. It can be messy in the hands of an inexperienced user, as it will not dry without heat curing. Plastisol can best be described as a user-friendly ink because it is very easy to manage. The disposal of waste plastisol is a very simple process. One of the most important practices when using Plastisol ink is to keep the ink clean. The manufacture, transportation, storage, use, and disposal of plastisol inks do not cause injury, illness, or environmental contamination as long as the appropriate safety and environmental protection procedures are followed.

INTRODUCTION
Plastisol inks are widely used in garment printing. They are easy to print, do not dry in the screen, can be very opaque on dark garments, and will adhere to most textiles. They are composed primarily of two ingredients, PVC resin (a white powder) and plasticizer (a thick, clear liquid). Plastisol inks have one outstanding characteristic, they must be heated to dry. They will not dry, or cure at normal temperatures. For a complete cure, they must reach 290-330 F (143-166 C).

Plastisol inks can be printed on virtually any surface that can withstand the heat required to cure the ink and is porous enough to permit good ink penetration. Plastisol inks do not color the fibers like a dye. Instead the ink wraps around the fibers and makes a mechanical bond with the fabric. For this reason, they will not adhere to non-porous substrates such as plastic, metal, and glass. They also will not adhere well to woven, waterproofed nylon material without adding a bonding agent.

Printing process: Plastisol Transfer Printing

Plastisol printing is nothing but screen printing which uses plastisol inks for printing. When a product is screen printed, it is passed through a machine that has three basic components: a screen, a squeegee and ink. A stencil is placed on the screen to block areas of the picture that do not need to receive color. The screen and stencil are placed on the material to be printed and then ink is placed on top of the screen. The squeegee is passed over the screen and forces ink through the screen where the stencil does not block the screen. The ink is then dried and the process is repeated for different colors. Most plastisol heat transfers fall into one of three categories, hot-split, cold-peel, or puff. When hotsplit transfers are applied, the paper is stripped off the garment immediately after the heat transfer press is opened. The ink layer splits, leaving part of the ink on the garment and part on the transfer paper. Hot-split transfers are nearly indistinguishable from a soft-hand direct print. When cold-peel transfers are

applied, the transfer is allowed to cool before the paper is removed. All of the ink transfers from the paper to the garment. Cold-peel transfers have a glossy surface and are preferred for glitter and athletic transfers. Some transfers can be either hot-split or cold-peel. Puff transfers are printed with special puff transfer inks and when properly applied, produce a puff design. Transfers that have been properly printed and applied are as durable as a direct print.

Types of Transfers:
The two most common types of plastisol heat transfers are Hot-Split and ColdPeel. The main difference between the two is the way they are applied. When applying hot-split transfers, the transfer paper is removed immediately after the heat transfer press is opened. Because the plastisol ink layer is still hot and relatively fluid, it splits. Most of the ink remains on the T-shirt, but some adheres to the paper. Hot split transfers have a very soft hand and when properly applied, are almost indistinguishable from a direct print. Because hot split transfers leave a thinner layer of ink on the T-shirt, you may have problems with opacity, especially on dark-colored garments. y y Hot-Split Transfer Cold-Peel Transfer Tips

Mesh Selection
Mesh consists of semi-permeable barrier made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material. Mesh is similar to web or net in that it has many attached or woven strands. With over 400 different meshes to choose from, selecting the correct mesh can be a frustrating process. Using the following information as a general guideline for mesh selection. This information was developed by Scott Fresener of the US Screen Printing Institute.
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Use 30 threads per inch mesh (12 threads per centimeter) for printing glitter inks. Use 60 threads per inch mesh (24 threads per centimeter) for athletic printing, opaque ink deposits, thick puff ink, and shimmer ink.

Use 85 threads per inch mesh (34 threads per centimeter) for heavy coverage on dark shirts, solid underbase prints, puff, metallic, and shimmer inks, and transfer printing. Use 125 threads per inch mesh (49 threads per centimeter) for general printing on dark shirts, underbase prints with detail, prints on dark nylon jackets, and silver shimmer ink. Use 180 threads per inch mesh (71 threads per centimeter) for multi-color printing on light shirts, light colored nylon jackets. Use 230 threads per inch mesh (90 threads per centimeter) for detailed multicolor printing on light shirts, light nylon jackets, over printing on dark shirts. Use 305 thread per inch mesh (120 threads per centimeter) for process color on light shirts, overprinting on dark shirts. When printing fleece goods use 20 threads lower. When printing with an automatic press use 30 threads higher.

Emulsion Selection
For plastisol inks use Solvent-resistant dual-cure or Diazo Direct emulsion stencils specifically designed for plastisols such as Union Ink's Inmarcol-R or Inmarcol-W. Capillary film stencils are also a good choice, particularly when printing Halftones and transfers.

Plastisol ink Additives

There are several common plastisol ink additives that may be used in a screen printing shop on a regular basis. These are plastisol additives that are mixed into existing pigmented plastisol inks to achieve different performance characteristics. Some are simply designed to extend the ink and others are made to make it less tacky. Most of the additives today will be balanced or curable. This means the additive is formulated to cure the same way the plastisol ink is. That way any amount can be added without causing curing problems. Some additives do require specific mixing ratios. The following is a brief explanation of some plastisol ink additives.

Extender Bases Extender Bases are used to increase the quantity of plastisol inks. When added to pigmented ink it causes the volume to increase. Most Extender Base additives are plastisol based and will not affect the cure process. Soft Hand Bases Soft Hand Bases are clear plastisol base additives which reduce the inks viscosity and make the ink penetrate into the fabric more so than extender bases. The final print has a softer feel to the touch especially when the ink mix is printed with a higher mesh count. Halftone Bases Halftone Bases are a transparent type plastisol base additives used in process, (CMYK), printing. It makes the ink print very well wet on wet. It also helps control dot smearing and dot gain because the ink penetrates further into the garment. Metallic Clear Bases Metallic Clear Bases are transparent plastisol base additives with a thicker consistency than other bases. It is designed to be used with glitter flakes and metallic powders. Reducers Or Viscosity Reducers Plastisol Viscosity Reducers are used with plastisol ink and have special detacking agents that help reduce the amount of ink that adheres to the bottom of the screens when printing wet on wet. Flattening Agents Flattening Agents such as suede additives can be added to reduce the high gloss of plastisol inks. Thickener Pastes Sometimes you may want to increase the viscosity of a plastisol ink. This plastisol additive will cause the ink to thicken. Flow Control Additives When printing wet-on-wet; ink buildup on the back of the screens can degrade the sharpness of the printed image.

Puff Additives It is easier and less expensive to stock a transparent puff additive as opposed to buying puff ink in colors. Any plastisol ink in inventory can be quickly mixed into a puff ink with puff additive. A word of caution about ink additives. It's easy to upset the chemical balance of plastisol inks by using the wrong additives or by adding too much of the correct additive. The result can be a print that never cures properly,

a problem that may not be discovered until the customer washes a shirt and the design falls off. To avoid this problem use only those additives recommended by Union Ink, read the Technical Data Sheets for each ink and additive, and carefully follow their instructions .Never add mineral spirits to plastisol ink. Although mineral spirits will make it easier to print at first, soon the ink will become even stiffer and harder to print than before. Also, it is possible that mineral spirits will prevent the ink from curing properly.

Plastisol Vs. Water-Based Inks

There are two main types of ink that are used for textile printing. Water-based ink utilizes either dyes or pigments in a suspension with water as the solvent. The evaporation of the water is necessary to set or cure the ink. This curing can take place either at room temperature or with the assist of a dryer depending upon the specific water-based ink used and the speed or volume of production. Plastisol ink is a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) based system that essentially contains no solvent at all. Along with UV ink used in graphic screen printing, it is referred

to as a 100% solid ink system. Plastisol is a thermoplastic ink in that it is necessary to heat the printed ink film to a temperature high enough to cause the molecules of PVC resin and plasticizer to cross-link and thereby solidify, or cure. The temperature at which most plastisol for textile printing cures at is in the range of 149C to 166C (300F to 330 F). Both types of ink are very popular. However, for the most part, they are used in very different applications. Plastisol is the ink of choice for printing of finished goods such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, and tote bags. Water-based ink is the ink of choice for the printing of yard goods; either in piece form or on the roll. Both inks have technical advantages and disadvantages for use in specific applications. They also each have their own environmental impacts and these should be considered for the particular application and shop setup.

Advantages of Plastisol:
Plastisol can best be described as a user-friendly ink because it is very easy to manage. Plastisol can be left in the screen for extended periods of time without clogging the mesh. It is ready to use right out of the container more than 90% of the time. In most applications, it can be printed wet-on-wet, which allows for increased production speeds. It comes in formulations that can be printed on light and dark fabrics. And, in most municipalities, the disposal of waste plastisol is a very simple process. Plastisol does not dry. In order for a compound to dry, there must be evaporation of some kind of solvent. Since plastisol has little or no solvent, it cannot dry. Because of this characteristic, plastisol can be left in screens, the lids can be left off of the ink containers (although keeping them covered is a good practice to keep lint and dirt out of the ink). And ink left at the end of the job can be returned to the container for reuse without any adverse affects. This last practice is a great benefit in reducing waste product. Plastisol is extremely versatile in that most printers never have to amend the ink. They are able to use it direct from the container without ever adjusting the viscosity or the strength. Plastisol comes in strengths from transparent to very opaque and most printers will have the various versions available to use, depending upon the type and color of fabric they are printing on. The various opacities of ink also vary greatly in price with the most opaque being the most expensive, mainly due to the cost of the increased

pigment. So, good shop management dictates that the proper opacity be applied to each fabric in order to be cost effective.

Plastisol Disadvantages:
Since Plastisol is a thermoplastic, it will remelt if it comes in contact with anything hot enough. For that reason, plastisol prints cannot be ironed. If an iron touches a print, it will smear the ink. Plastisol ink also creates an ink film that can be felt with the hand. The higher the opacity of the ink, the greater the hand. This heavy hand is considered a disadvantage at the consumer level. One of the most important practices when using plastisol ink is to keep the ink clean. What this statement means, is that it is very beneficial, and cost effective, to keep plastisol colors from being contaminated by dirt, lint, or even other colors of ink. By maintaining clean shop practices, there will be a great reduction in ink waste. Clean ink can be returned to the original ink container for reuse. There is no degradation in the quality of plastisol as long as it is not mixed with other colors or contaminated with foreign materials. Plastisol that has been contaminated with other colors is can still be retained in a separate container for blending with other waste ink. Often times this waste ink can be

used to create new colors or, it can be over pigmented with fresh pigment to create a dark color, such as black, for use on less critical jobs. With good plastisol ink management, waste can be reduced to a very small percentage.Plastisol product that is unusable is not considered hazardous waste in most municipalities as long as it is solidified (cured). The best way to achieve this cure is to heat the waste container itself to 160C (320F) for a period long enough to cure the ink all the way through. In practice, a one gallon container of plastisol will cure all the way through in approximately one hour. If the plastisol needs to be disposed of in an uncured state, then hazardous chemical regulations usually apply. For either cured or uncured disposal, it is recommended that you always check with local regulatory agencies. The biggest environmental hazard in the use of plastisol comes in the screen and equipment cleaning steps. In order to emulsify the ink for easy removal from screens, squeegees, flood bars, spatulas, and work surfaces, it is necessary to use some type of solvent. The waste ink and the solvent must be disposed of properly in order to minimize environmental impact. The screen printing industry has been very proactive in the creation of products that can minimize the impact of these cleaning processes. Solvents are available that are more environmentally sensitive than the traditional petroleum based solvents. In

addition, there are many types of filtration and cleaning systems available to capture inks and solvent residues to minimize the solids that are discharged into the sewer system.

Water-based Ink Systems:

Water-based inks are defined as those that utilize water as the main solvent. That does not mean, however that water is the only solvent. It is significant to note that many water base inks contain co-solvents which may even be petroleum based solvents. The reason these co-solvents are used varies, but one of the key reasons is to decrease the time and heat necessary to cure the ink film on the fabric.

Advantages of Water-based Inks:

Water-based inks are a good choice when a soft hand is desirable. A soft hand is the condition where the ink film cannot easily be felt with the hand when passed across the surface of the fabric. This affect is often used as an argument for why waterbased is preferable to plastisol as plastisol has more of a hand than water-based. Water-based ink also has the advantage of being an excellent ink system for high speed roll-to-roll yardage printing. Such printing is done on large sophisticated equipment that has very large drying (curing) capacity.Water-based ink also is a good choice where ink

penetration is desirable, such as in towel printing. Towels have a high nap fabric that must be printed in a manner where the ink penetrates or wicks through to the base fabric for adequate coverage. Waterbased inks that are designed to wick into the fabric are excellent for this application. Ink wicking is not a desirable affect in most other fabric printing as it will destroy the design and registration of multiple colors.

Disadvantages of Water-based Ink:

Water-based ink is much more difficult to cure than plastisol. A shop that is interested in printing water-based ink must have the drying capacity to remove the water. The dryers used for water-based printing tend to be larger than those needed for plastisol. In plastisol printing, the ink film must only reach the cure temperature for a brief moment. With water-based ink, the temperature must be reached and then held until all of the solvent (water) is removed. There are water-based ink that will air dry but they are usually only acceptable for craft level printing as the room required for curing greatly reduces productivity. Many waterbased inks can also be more quickly cured with the addition of a catalyst that will assist the heat in the curing of the ink by continuing the cure even if all of the water is not removed in the dryer. The disadvantage of a catalyst is that once it is added to a water-based ink, it creates a

time limit or pot life where the ink must be all used in a certain time or be discarded. Most catalyzed water-based ink pot lifes are between four and twelve hours. Since water-based inks contain water as an evaporative solvent, care must be taken to prevent the ink from drying in the screen. If water-based ink is left in open mesh for even a short period of time, it can clog the mesh and ruin the screen. Practiced waterbased ink printers must always be conscious of how long a screen sits between prints to prevent the ink from drying in. In addition, when a water-based print job will take more than one day, the ink must be removed and the screen cleaned with to prevent drying. The ink is then put back in the screen on the next work day and the job is continued. Water-based ink is also much more aggressive than plastisol towards the emulsion that is used to create the screen stencil. Emulsion manufacturers all make waterresistant emulsions that must be used for water-based printing. If standard emulsion is used, the water-based ink will destroy the stencil by melting the emulsion is as little as a few minutes. Even when the proper emulsion is used, screen life tends to be much less with water-based printing than it is for plastisol printing.Water-based Ink Cleanup There is a common misconception that because water can be used for cleaning screens, squeegees and tools, that the waste water can just be discharged in the sewer. However, the water-based ink is not just water. There are pigments, binders, thickeners, and sometimes, even co-solvents in the ink residue. Screen cleaning

systems that can at least capture the solids are still recommended. In addition, water-based that has not been catalyzed can be returned to its container for reuse. If the ink has been catalyzed, it should be considered hazardous waste unless it can be dried out (all water and solvent removed) before discarding. If it cannot be dried, it should be disposed of as hazardous waste.

Summary:
Whether printing with plastisol or a water-based ink system, you are still printing a chemical compound. Therefore, it is essential that proper handling and disposal methods be practiced. As stated above, there are advantages and disadvantages to each ink system. The key is to use the proper ink for the application, minimizing waste product, and always dispose of waste properly.

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Controlling Plastisol Ink Waste

Plastisol is general name given to the PVC (polyvinyl chloride) inks that are used in textile screen printing. These inks are extremely diverse in opacity, viscosity, application, and finish appearance. Plastisols are solvent free and are cured with the application of heat at temperatures between 300F and 340F. In the liquid form, plastisols will not gel or cure without heat, making them extremely easy to use and the most popular ink system for printing textiles. This ease of use can also make printers a little less diligent than they should be in the proper storage and disposal of the product. An open container of plastisol can remain useable for many years without becoming unworkable.

One of the best ways to control ink waste is to use a matching system. Most ofthe major ink manufacturers use at least one Pantone ink matching system. The advantage of using a color matching system is that it allows you to make the exact amount of ink needed for an order. With a little practice, most screen ink departments can cut their waste by over 50% by using a matching system. Matching systems are not expensive for the printer to use. The base inks needed are priced about the same as pre-mixed inks. The only extra equipment required is an accurate weighing scale and a mixer. A smaller printer can be up and running with a matching system starter kit, a scale, and a small mixer for under $1,000. Larger printers can expand upon this base concept by adding dispensing equipment that will allow the facility to speed up the process and allow for larger batches. These systems can cost as much as $50,000 , however, a facility should work with their ink manufacuturer prior to implementation to ensure compabitility with the manufacturers system. The newest software for these matching systems actually includes what is called work-off or recycle calculations. By putting in the weight and Pantone number of your leftover ink, the software will tell you what colors can be made using the leftover amount. The reduction in waste ink can be extremely significant. Many printers have reported that by using recycling software, they have been able to reduce their true waste plastisol by over 80%.

A shop that uses 20 gallons of ink per week, and mixes most of their own colors, can generate between 5 to 50 gallons of true waste ink per year. True waste ink is ink that must be disposed because it can no longer be used. Disposal of this waste ink has a cost and an environmental impact. If the ink is left in the liquid state, it is considered hazardous and must be disposed of properly. Through utilization of an ink-matching system with recycling, ink waste can be reduced by 50% to 80%, depending upon the mix. If a shop primarily uses standard inks, the actual amount of waste generated can be very low. If a shop uses a lot of specialty inks, such as puffs, glitters, metallics, or catalyzed inks, then the amount of waste generated will be typically greater. Even after utilization of a mixing system, you will still have some waste ink that must be properly disposed. One of the best ways to handle this ink is to sort itinto containers based on color. In the first container, put any scrap inks that contain little or no white pigments. In the second container put inks that contain white pigment. In the third container, put all the odd ball scrap such as puff (an ink that expands when heated during the curing process), metallics, shimmers, etc. If a couple of gallons is in the first container, a small amount of black pigment can be added, and then the ink can be used in non-critical applications. It is recommended that this blended

black be used on one-color simple prints. It has the tendency to bleed out colors when it touches other inks in a wet-on-wet print, so it is best to keep it isolated. The second bucket can sometimes be blended together to give interesting light and medium shades. It is a potluck situation, but sometimes useable colors can be created by blending some fresh ink into the container. The third bucket is truly waste ink. In its liquid form, plastisol is considered a nonhazardous liquid waste in most jurisdictions. Check with your solvent waste hauler to see if they can take this ink waste. The following are a few simple suggestions to help reduce ink waste at a textile screen printing facility: 1. Train your employees to use the proper inks for each situation 2. Document the inks to use on work orders 3. Label containers properly 4. Make sure that you have adequate inventories of each type of ink so that substitutions are not necessary.

The Result:
1. Correct ink used means money saved 2. Correct ink means higher productivity 3. Correct ink means better color matching 4. Correct ink means fewer returns 5. Correct ink means less waste

Using the proper ink for a given application will result in both reduced cost and reduced waste. The use of a matching system with recycling capability should minimize scrap ink to very small amounts. Most importantly, educating your staff on ink types, applications, and recycling methods can cut waste to insignificant levels. The result is a win-win situation; the environment benefits from reduced waste, and the business benefits from cost savings.

References
(1.) http://www.squidoo.com/using-plastisol-ink-in-t-shirtscreenprinting.html

(2.) http://www.unionink.com/articles/geninfo.html

(3.) http://www.catspitproductionsllc.com/plastisolinkadditives.aspx

(4.) http://www.pneac.org/sheets/screen/plastisolvswaterbase.html

(5.) http://www.pneac.org/sheets/controllingplastisolinkwaste.hml

(6.) http://www.freshpatents.com/plastisol-ink-for-textiles.html