So many screen printing shops have a hard time working with water based inks. It's not that water based inks are difficult. It's that most shops don't know where to start. They don't know they might want to get a reptile fogger (but I promise more on that later). This article will answer 5 common questions about water based inks and give you tips you can use in your shop to get the most out of this exciting medium. There's some basic concepts to understand about working with water based inks before we dive in: The less water you have in your ink, the harder it is to work with. Water based ink has lots of water in it (seems obvious, right?). But as the ink loses water, it becomes stubborn and hard to work with. Think about water based ink like it's blood. If you get a small cut, it scabs up quickly. But a larger wound has flowing blood and won't immediately scab up or dry out. Keep it moist, keep it moving. You've got to manage water based inks so they don't dry out and give you issues. Let's go further into these eco-friendly, super-soft, ultra-durable, 100% breathable inks!

1. Screen Printing With Water
Based Inks: 5 Solutions
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2. Introduction
So many screen printing shops have a hard time working with water
based inks.
It's not that water based inks are difficult. It's that most shops don't
know where to start. They don't know they might want to get a reptile
fogger (but I promise more on that later).
This article will answer 5 common questions about water based inks
and give you tips you can use in your shop to get the most out of this
exciting medium. There's some basic concepts to understand about
working with water based inks before we dive in:
• The less water you have in your ink, the harder it is to work with.
• Think about water based ink like it's blood.
• Keep it moist, keep it moving.
Let's go further into these eco-friendly, super-soft, ultra-durable, 100%
breathable inks!

3. 1. Which water based inks are best?
o The best water based ink fulfills two criteria:
▪ It works on your shop's press.
▪ You have a helpful supplier for it.
o If the ink comes from a supplier you trust and it works for you,
then it's good ink. Don't worry about the other noise.
o To find the inks you like, prioritize testing different inks. You can
probably get samples from sales reps. Learn from the process and
experiment with your techniques. Remain open to surprises and
changes in your process – it's worth the investment in time and
energy.

4. 2. What types of water based inks
are there?
o Traditional water based and discharge inks don't sit on top of the
shirt like Plastisol does. Instead, the actual fibers of the shirt are
altered. This makes for a long-lasting print that's as soft as the
shirt is. Not all water based inks work this way, though!
o So here's a breakdown of the different water based inks:

5. 2. What types of water based inks
are there?
o Acrylic inks are becoming more popular thanks to the growth of
digital hybrid printing (also known as "the giant new machines that
cost as much as a small house"). Lots of digital printing machines
print on top of a tradition screen printed underbase – and most
require some type of acrylic ink.

6. 3. Why do you want to screen print with
water based inks?
o Plastisol is incredibly easy to use. It won't dry up sitting on a
screen and will never puddle. So why should you switch to water
based ink?
o It's a cleaner and more environmentally friendly product.
o They're becoming popular in Asia, Europe, and South America.
o Water based inks feel amazing – they have "superior hand".
o Water based inks are breathable. Water based ink prints are
extremely long-lasting.

7. 4. What should you do when water based
inks are drying in the screen?
o This is simply the most common issue with water based inks,
particularly with top-coat water based inks like acrylic ink.
o In the fine art world, the simplest solution is to add a retarder:
glycerine would be added to ink to keep it from drying.
o There are three solutions for slowing down the drying process
with your water based inks:
o Use helpful chemicals to slow down drying. - Check with your
ink manufacturer to see what kind of retarder they suggest.

8. 4. What should you do when water based
inks are drying in the screen?
o A water based ink retarder slows the drying time and increases the
"open time". Some manufacturers offer multiple additives that alter
how the ink behaves. In my experience, using the recommended
retarder combined with a lubricant is the best way to keep ink
flowing and slow the drying process in the screen.
o Get a reptile fogger. - I promised you that I'd say more about the
reptile fogger.
o Here's a brilliant hack to keep your water based inks from drying up
in the screen: Use a reptile fogger to keep your ink wet! These cost
about $50 when they're new, and you get a 1 liter system that sprays
a cool mist. It's attached to a hose, so you can move the hose and
clip it wherever you'd like to keep the fog directed at your screen.

9. 4. What should you do when water based
inks are drying in the screen?
o Use lube. - All jokes aside, throughout the years I've learned that
coating your screens with the ink manufacturer's recommended
lubricant is critical.
o Before any water based ink goes on your screen, apply lubricant
with a clean cloth and rub it liberally into the open areas of your
image. Use a little water to help spread the lubricant completely
through the mesh, then wipe it clean.
o By penetrating the entire mesh with lubricant, you slow down drying
and make printing much smoother.

10. 5. What should you do when water based
inks break down your screens?
o This is the other big problem shops run into when they start printing
with water based ink: their screens start breaking down. Water is the
universal solvent, after all.
o Emulsion formulation is key to keeping your screens from breaking
down. Emulsions have different solid content levels, different levels
of durability when exposed to different inks, different exposure
properties and so on. So how do you choose?

11. 5. What should you do when water based
inks break down your screens?
o Virtually every supplier for garment decorators has a good emulsion
that you can use. You may have to alter your emulsions to get the
toughness you'll need.
o When in doubt, go with Diazo for the best durability when screen
printing with water based ink. Ideally, you mix powder Diazo
blended with water into the emulsion. This can create a powerful
emulsion that is more durable than standard photopolymer
emulsions that are ready for use out of the bucket.

12. 5. What should you do when water based
inks break down your screens?
o Proper exposure leads to optimum cross-linking. Cross-linking is
when the semi-solids in your emulsion become a solid through
reaction with UV light. Take the time and invest in getting exposure
100% right.
▪ Get an exposure calculator. The Kiwo-Ulano ExpoCheck is a low-
cost investment and will pay for itself many times over.
▪ Consider the exposure unit. There's some debate about
whether LED exposure units will create proper cross-linking like
mercury vapor bulbs do. I'll leave that to the real scientists. But
you may need to experiment with different emulsions to get
durable results when you switch light sources.

13. 5. What should you do when water based
inks break down your screens?
o Always post expose. - Here, I'm going to say it louder: ALWAYS
POST EXPOSE! This is a super simple step that so many shops
overlook or think isn't necessary.
o After you've exposed your screen and it's dried off, take your screen
and expose it to more light. Turn off your exposure unit's vacuum
function and expose the screen ink-side down (opposite of how you
normally expose screens). You can even just expose it to sunlight for
a minute or so.
o The point is to further harden the ink-side of the screen. This is a
very easy way to improve the durability of your screens.

14. Conclusion
o Water based inks are an opportunity to offer your customers the
longest-lasting and softest custom shirt possible. It's a screen
printing technique that adds value and impresses clients. Too many
screen printing businesses are afraid to experiment with new
techniques – but water based inks are a fantastic opportunity to do
something new.
o Now that you know where to start, and are armed with some
practical tips, go find out how you can utilize water based inks in
your shop.