What Are Some Alternatives to PVC Ink for Screen Printing?
3 Eco-Friendly, Non-PVC Inks for Screen Printing
The commercial screen printing industry is finally picking up after the decline in the economy of 2008. New businesses are constantly popping up—most of these businesses have no storefront, opting to sell their wares online. By selling online, they have access to a larger customer base. With customers ranging between 20 to 40 years old, it’s important to note that many of them will prefer eco-friendly products. Accounting for eco-friendly screen printing goes beyond using organic cotton, it includes using PVC-free inks. We’re going to guide you on three non-PVC screen printing inks, covering their advantages and disadvantages, so you can choose the right alternative for you.
1. Water-Based Inks—Water-based inks are a PVC-free screen printing ink option that is a good idea in theory. Unfortunately, a disadvantage of this eco-friendly screen printing ink is that it’s not as vibrant as the PVC-filled ones. This means that the designs will not be as durable and they do not adhere to clothing with the same ease as the traditional types of ink.
2. 100% Solid Inks—The newer solid inks look very similar to the PVC inks once they are applied to clothing. Unfortunately, these eco-friendly screen printing inks are not as versatile as PVC, and applying them to apparel is still more difficult. However, providers of solid inks are constantly coming up with better and better formulas.
3. Non-PVC Plastisols—The non-PVC plastisol inks are very similar to PVC screen printing inks. They yield close to the same amount of printing jobs and the quality is very similar. These are some of the best eco-friendly screen printing inks and they do not have the issue of drying on the screen, which is common in many PVC-free formulas. Plastisol ink screen printing offers a wide range of colors and special effects—another thing uncommon to PVC-free screen printing inks. While advantages in all those regards, it’s also important to note that these inks do not offer bleed-blocking or wet-on-wet printing.
Although ink manufacturers are gaining ground in making better PVC-free inks, the end products are still unable to fully compete with the quality and versatility of PVC inks. It’s important to know these advantages and disadvantages as you move forward with any alternatives. Over time this will change, but, until a large shift in the ink market happens, these are the issues you will need to account for if you want to market to eco-conscious customers.
Also, make sure to check out our screen printing management software.
Nothing manages decorated apparel shop information better than ShopWorks, PERIOD!
I couldn’t imagine a better system to accommodate all of our needs. ShopWorks has left nothing out. You make me wonder how we’ve gotten this far without it!
“We have used ShopWorks since 2001 and we know it had been a key part of our success – certainly to our organizational communication & structure & work flow – we have a great turn around & are very efficient!”
