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If you want your t-shirt designs to be unique, to stand out from the crowd, try using some of the special printing effects described in this article. Special printing offers some real benefits. In addition to looking simply stunning, special effects give your designs a point of difference from others, and while they cost more than standard screen printing, distinctive products often have higher sales prices.
Ink discharge
The discharge ink removes the existing dye from a T-shirt, leaving behind the natural color of the fiber (usually a beige hue). The colors can then be replaced on the fibers by adding inks to the discharge base.
Advantage: Using discharge ink on a T-shirt results in a solid color print and a very smooth hand (ie, a smooth “feel” on the printed T-shirt). Discharge ink is especially valuable if you print bright colors on black T-shirts. The alternative technique for printing colors on a dark tint base requires a “primer” coat of white ink to ensure sufficient opacity of the color, resulting in a thick, heavy finish.
Disadvantages: Because it is impossible to know in advance how each shirt will react to the ink discharge, color matching cannot be guaranteed and there may be some color variation between prints throughout a run.
Photochromic ink
Photochromic or UV reactive inks are nearly transparent when viewed indoors, but change to vivid colors in sunlight.
Advantage: Great effects can be created with a print that effectively shows two different designs – one indoors and one outdoors.
Disadvantages: Only a limited range of colors is available.
Glow in the dark ink
Glow-in-the-dark inks do exactly what their name suggests – they are distinguished by glow in the dark! In light, these inks will appear semi-transparent.
Advantage: People can find you in the dark. (Just kidding. It’s cool though).
Disadvantages: Inks work best if printed on a white or pale background, so a light colored base coat is required on darker shirts.
Foil Printing
Foil printing is a two-stage process that leaves a shiny metallic ‘print’ on the shirt. First, the garment is screen printed, using a special adhesive instead of ink, and cured (dried) in the normal way. Then a sheet of aluminum foil is heat pressed onto the image created by the adhesive. When the press is removed, the foil adheres to the adhesive printed areas and excess is removed.
Advantage: Foil printing provides the best shiny metallic printing effect. Expensive!
Disadvantages: Because it is a two-stage process, foil printing may not work as well for fine, detailed designs, and it is more vulnerable to harsh washing than most other decorating styles.
Metallic inks
Metallic inks result in a shiny, shiny effect, similar to metallic paint on a car. Metallic screen printing is cheaper than foil printing, but it doesn’t have the same glossy effect.
Glitter print
Like foil printing and metallic inks, glossy inks can make your design bright and eye-catching. They are available in a variety of colors.
Puff pastry inks
Puff inks are created by mixing a specially formulated base with the ink. The base ink mixture expands (“swells”) as the print cures through the heat tunnel, leaving a 3D texture. Puff inks are also available in a wide range of colors.
Flock
Flocking printing is achieved by adding a special base to the ink, which gives the ink a velvety, fuzzy texture as it cures through the heat tunnel.
All of these specialized printing techniques can be used to give your designs a little something “extra”, make them special, unique.
“Creativity is contagious, pass it by.” – Albert Einstein
