Screen printing services make it easy to create custom T-shirts for promotional giveaways, events, or sports teams. When you use a screen printing service to put your own design on a shirt, you'll be able to choose the type of ink that's used to dye the shirt.

One of the most popular choices is plastisol ink, which is made from a blend of acrylic or PVC alongside a plasticizer that turns it into a liquid. After dyeing the shirt with the plastisol ink, it will be placed in a large dryer that activates the plasticizer and causes the ink to turn into solid, colored plastic. To learn about the advantages and disadvantages of choosing plastisol ink for your custom T-shirt, read on.

Advantages of Using Plastisol Ink for Screen Printing

The main advantage of plastisol ink is that it creates consistent, bright graphics when used in screen printing. Plastisol ink binds to the fibers in the clothing when it's heated, completely encasing them in colored plastic and not allowing any of the original fabric color to show through. When you choose plastisol ink, you'll know that your design will appear exactly as you intended.

Other inks for screen printing like water-based inks soak into the fibers instead of binding to them, which blends the color of the dye and the color of the fiber. This can give you inconsistent results if you plan to make custom T-shirts in multiple colors, since the color of the shirt will influence the color of the design once both colors blend together. Putting a light-colored graphic design on a black T-shirt, for example, is easy with plastisol ink. However, it's very difficult to achieve good results when you use water-based ink, since the dark color of the shirt will darken the ink and cause it to look muted.

Disadvantages of Using Plastisol Ink for Screen Printing

The main disadvantage of plastisol ink is that it doesn't feel like natural fabric. The layer of plastic on the shirt will feel heavy and thick, especially if you're putting a very detailed design on the shirt that requires a substantial amount of ink. Water-based ink, in comparison, feels much lighter since it soaks into the fabric instead of binding to it and forming a layer of plastic on the shirt.

Plastisol ink is also more susceptible to breaking down than water-based ink. The plastic layer on top of the fabric can slowly be worn away, which makes the design you're putting on the shirt look scratched and cracked. If you're printing custom T-shirts meant to be worn for a short period of time, such as for the duration of a trade show, this isn't much of a problem. However, you may want to choose water-based ink if you're making custom T-shirts for a team that plays contact sports — being grabbed by other players or sliding across grass can wear down plastisol ink rapidly.

Overall, plastisol ink is a common choice for screen printing due to its ability to faithfully recreate graphic designs on shirts without worrying about color blending and matching. However, you may want to choose water-based ink instead if the shirt will be subject to a lot of wear, as the plastic layer of plastisol ink can slowly be rubbed off. Water-based inks don't share this problem since they change the color of the fabric of the shirt, making them more suitable for athletic wear. For a shirt that's meant to be used as a promotional item, however, plastisol ink is a great choice that will make your custom design vibrant and attractive.

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