Water Based Screen Printing Ink For Textile

1. Basic Composition and Characteristics
Water-based inks are mainly composed of pigments, water-based resins (such as acrylic and polyurethane), water, and additives (such as defoamers, thickeners, and crosslinking agents).

Hand Feel: This is its most significant advantage. After drying, the ink penetrates into the fiber gaps and forms an extremely thin film on the surface. The printed area has almost no "glue-like" feel, resulting in an extremely soft and breathable hand feel, maintaining the original texture of the fabric.

Appearance: It presents a matte or semi-matte effect. The color saturation is slightly lower than that of plastisol inks, but it appears more natural and sophisticated.

2. Application Process and Operation
Screen printing is its main application method. The operation process is as follows:

Screen Making: High-mesh screen yarn is used (usually 120 to 200 mesh, or even higher). Because water-based inks have good fluidity, a high mesh count helps control the ink layer thickness.

Printing: The ink is scraped onto the fabric through the screen pattern using a squeegee.

Drying and Curing:

Surface Drying: Usually done using a dryer or tunnel oven. Complete Curing: The Key Point. Water-based inks operate on a "physical/chemical cross-linking" principle. Simply air-drying or low-temperature drying doesn't ensure complete resin cross-linking after water evaporation, making the ink prone to peeling off after washing. High-temperature baking (typically at 150°C - 160°C for 2-3 minutes) is necessary to achieve optimal wash fastness.

Note: Uncured ink will re-dissolve in water; therefore, the screen must be cleaned promptly after printing to prevent clogging.

 

👕Advantages:

Superior Hand Feel: Soft and breathable, suitable for close-fitting clothing.

Environmentally Friendly and Safe: No solvent evaporation; cleaning the screen can be done with water (some require special cleaning agents).

Less Likely to Clog: Compared to oil-based inks, it is less likely to clog the screen during printing due to evaporating solvents (but proper drying is necessary).

Color Performance: Suitable for creating artistic effects such as watercolor, gradients, and vintage finishes.

 

FAQ:

How are the opacity and colorfastness when printing light colors (such as white or fluorescent colors) on dark cotton fabric? Are special processes required?

Overseas buyer background: Printing light colors on dark T-shirts is the most common scenario in garment printing, and it's also the point where water-based inks are most easily questioned compared to plastisol inks. Buyers are concerned about finished product yield and rework costs.

"For dark-colored fabrics, we have a specialized 'high-coverage water-based system' that doesn't rely on simple multiple printing passes:

Layered solution: We recommend using a water-based base coat to first print a transparent release layer, then print a water-based opacifier in white or color. Compared to a single thick print, this method significantly improves opacity while maintaining softness and avoiding lumps.

Specialized products: We offer a discharge dyeing series. When used on dark-colored pure cotton fabrics, it removes the fabric's base color through active ingredients and simultaneously dyes it, achieving a 'zero hand feel' and perfect coverage, making it the first choice for European and American vintage washed style orders.

Fast fastness testing: Under our standard process (printing + baking at 150°C–160°C for 2–3 minutes), the wash fastness can reach AATCC 4.5 (or ISO 4-5), supporting customers to conduct sampling tests before mass production."

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