Acrylic and Discharge Ink Printing

If you’re usually printing with plastisol inks for your screen printing and you are looking for a softer hand to your custom printed designs, then you may be interested in acrylic and discharge inks.  Acrylic and discharge ink printing are almost the same thing since they are both water based inks; the main difference is that discharge inks are acrylic inks that have an added discharge agent included in the mix that removes the current color of the base garment.  Water based inks are thinner than plastisol inks so they penetrate deeper and leave behind a much softer hand which is highly desirable in the custom fashion industry.

Acrylic and Discharge Ink Printing

Acrylic and discharge ink printing differs so much from plastisol ink printing because of the formulation.  Plastisol inks contain no solvent and they are really microscopic plastic pigments suspended in the ink, which is why they need to be cured to be set.  At the right temperature the ink will then, and only then, harden. The feeling of a tough print can be irritating to the wearer, especially if the garment is lightweight, so it’s relief to know there are more options, like acrylic and discharge inks of course.

With acrylic and discharge ink printing, the ink does contain a solvent, which is typically water, and that keeps the mixture nice and thin.  You need to move quick with the inks as the dry up due to the solvent, but the tradeoff is in the print results. Water based inks take on the feel of the shirt and won’t weigh you down even with lots of garment coverage, so they are ideal for many fashion applications.  So if you are interested in discovering more about acrylic and discharge ink printing, you can easily contact us at AMBRO Manufacturing to place an order, or to learn about our company and services, by email or by giving us a call at (908) 806-8337.