Ink That Will Print on Fibers

Plastisol Ink for Fiber Printing

• Plastisol is one of the most common inks used for screen printing on textiles. It is a great ink to use when printing on fibers such as t-shirts, canvas tote-bags or nylon jackets. Plastisol ink has a dense pigment and is opaque in nature, which makes it desirable when printing on darker-colored fibers. Because it is not completely opaque, a white underlay is often necessary. In addition, plastisol ink has a heavy hand, meaning it remains raised above the fibers when cured.
  
  

Fiber-Reactive Dyes

• Fiber-reactive dyes are relatively new to printing. It is not an ink, but it can be used in place of ink when screen printing on fibers. The dyes penetrate and combine with the fibers to create an extremely soft hand, meaning the ink cannot be felt by running one's hand over to fabric. Fiber-reactive dyes work best on plant-based fibers or 50% polyester fabrics. These inexpensive dyes are typically used when tie-dying, but, when mixed with sodium alginate and thickened to a screen printing ink consistency, they function properly on screens.
  
  

Water-Based Inks

• Water-based inks are often used to print on fibers. They work great when printing on yardage, high nap fibers and on lighter clothing. There are water-based inks called discharge inks that print on dark fibers by removing the color from the fabric. Water-based inks are popular because they are eco-friendly and they print with a soft hand, meaning the ink penetrates into the fibers and cannot be felt if you run your hand over the cured product.
  
  

Tips for All Inks

• A common problem when printing on fibers is fibrillation. Fibrillation occurs when the "hairs" of a fiber stick up through the cured ink deposit. This annoying error creates a heavy and unprofessional looking hand on a final product. This can be avoided by choosing fabrics that tend to fibrillate less, but that means resorting to lower quality, heavier fabric. If you don't want to sacrifice comfort, there are a few ink tricks to test out. Water-based inks often lead to less fibrillation, but if you are printing on anything but white fabric, try different printing techniques. For example, you can try laying down more ink on the first run, laying down a long-bodied clear ink first or printing multiple thin layers of ink if you have the means to print-flash-print-flash-print.