News
A Checklist of Equipment & Supplies Needed to Start Screen Print Shop
Ready to start screen printing? It's a big jump, but it's so worth it. To build your shop, you will need to obtain some equipment and supplies. Our Sales and Success Team put together a handy check list of everything you should consider investing in your future shop.
Everything You Need to Know About Printing with Plastisol Ink
New screen printers should start printing with plastisol ink. It's more forgiving than water-based ink and it's much easier to achieve proper cure. Even though printing plastisol is more straightforward, there are many techniques to print the ink for various processes. We've created a collection of videos and blogs that explain how to print with plastisol ink in different situations.
How to Handle Plastisol Ink in Cool Temperatures
Are you dreaming about warm summer days when your ink flows oh so smoothly? Winter and its cooler temperatures sure make it difficult for a screen printer, especially with white plastisol inks. The ink feels thick, stringy, and stiff. It requires more effort to lay down a good ink deposit. Does it have to be this hard? Nope. Ink and chemistry guru Colin Huggins shares his secrets to making white plastisol ink easier to handle during the cooler months.
How Stretch Plastisol Ink can be Used as a Foil Adhesive
Foil is a great way to make prints shimmer without using another screen for metallic ink. It brings out details in designs with reflective qualities and can look spectacular if done right. Generally, a unique foil adhesive is used for decorating shirts with foil. But stretch plastisol ink can work in a pinch. Print experimenter Ronald Peters tests it out.
3 Steps for Mixing Your Own Colored Shimmer Ink
Who doesn’t love a bit of shimmer? While shimmer inks like Silver or Gold shine bright on their own, sometimes a little color brightens the whole print. Mixing colored shimmer inks takes a bit of experimenting, and can be super fun to test out. Here’s a three-step guide to mixing colored shimmer inks.
Tips for Adding Many FN-INK™ Specialties into the Same Design
With seven new specialty inks from FN-INK™, there’s a lot to explore. Gold, silver, puff, extender base, and many other inks and additives all create different awesome effects. With so much to experiment with, why not try to add as many specialty inks in one design as possible? Print expert Colin Huggins is on the case.
The Best Way to Register Water-Based and Plastisol Screen Prints
Registering a print is a vital piece of the screen printing process. Printers need to make sure that all screens align with each other and have the proper placement on a shirt. Let’s take a look at properly registering single and multicolor prints with plastisol and water-based ink.
How to Use a PMS Mixing System to Mix Custom Gray Ink Colors
Gray is a popular color for screen printing. It’s great for printing neck tags and looks good on many colors of garments. Printers who choose gray for a design’s color scheme usually have to mix it themselves. Ink manufacturers may not carry a ready-to-print gray. If they do, there’s a chance it won’t be the shade you’re looking for. Good thing for mixing systems, right? Here’s how to mix your own perfect shade of gray screen printing ink.
How to Achieve Matte or Glossy Screen Prints
Ink has the ability to look matte or glossy. Sometimes, a print will come out of the dryer looking glossier than expected, or more matte than you’re looking for. Wondering how to adjust the final looks of the ink? Let's look into it.
Curable Reducer, Soft Hand Additive, Extender Base: What’s the Difference?
Looking for your prints to have a soft hand feel? There are three products that seem pretty similar: Extender Base, Curable Reducer, and soft hand additive. While they may look the same, they have different functions. Let’s take a look at all three and discover which ink gives prints the softest feel.
4 Ways to Screen Print White Plastisol Ink on a White Shirt
One cool technique printers can have fun with is tonal prints. You’ve probably heard of—or maybe even printed—black ink on black shirts, blue ink on blue shirts, red ink on red shirts, and the list goes on. One tonal print that’s often overlooked is white ink on white shirts. Printing white ink on white shirts is different and unique, producing awesome effects. Let’s talk about a few different methods of printing white ink on a white shirt.
Unlock Specialty Printing with 7 New Inks from FN-INK™
What’s better than having a low-cure, ready-to-print plastisol ink that’s also a mixing system? One that’s got specialty inks and additives to make your prints as creative as you are. With seven new additions to the FN-INK™ line, the possibilities are endless. Want to know what these new specialties are all about? Let’s jump in.
