We use water-based inks for both fabric and paper printing. These inks are comprised of 100% biodegradable pigment that is suspended in a water base. As the print cures, the water in the ink is evaporated, leaving only the pigment behind.

When printed, water-based inks are durable, vibrant and soft to the hand. Unlike traditional plastisol inks, they sink into the fabric, resulting in a comfortable and breathable product.

Water-based inks are best on light fabrics, so dark garments may require a discharge underbase before the water-based ink can be laid down. Reasonable color variations occur from shirt to shirt. Shirts of different manufactures take the dye differently.

We prefer to use water-based Discharge for both underbasing and white prints on dark garments. Though not as eco-friendly as our regular inks, it is still a safer alternative to plastisol inks.

Discharge is a specialty ink that removes the manufacture’s dye from the garment. It can be used straight to reveal the fabric’s natural fiber, as an under-base to be printed over with water-based ink, or pigment can be added directly. The result in all cases is
a very soft to the hand print.

Color matching is not exact with pigmented discharge. Garment dye reactivity, the base color of the natural fiber, and the tightness of weave are all variables that influence the result. Some manufacturer dyes will not discharge evenly or completely, for example: royal blue, purples, kelly green, and red sometimes leave a light hue of the shirt color.

Ask us and we will discuss which fabrics will yield the best results for your project.

As with all new clothing, it is recommended that garments printed with discharge inks are washed before being worn to ensure that no residual dyes or chemicals used in the manufacturing and printing process remain.

Discharge printing works best on 100% cotton garments.