Hopefully we can outline some of the benefits of T shirt printing in water based inks, and explore some of the possible reasons many screen printing companies are so reluctant to advertise or use these inks. Here are just a few benefits we feel waterbased inks have to offer.

• Environmentally sound non spirit based formulas
• Breath-ability on large prints
• Soft and sometimes imperceptible hand
• Very long lasting print
• Diverse range of special effects

and to make sure we represent the choice of screen printers who do not like to use these products, some of the negatives

• Shorter shelf life
• Ability to dry in screen if left
• Breaking down of screens on long runs
• Mixing of pigments and binders time consuming and messy
• Longer cure times required

This is a small list in regards to both the pros and cons, and the reason we are dealing with this complex subject in more than one part. Firstly we want to know why waterbased inks were ditched so readily by the screen print industry in favour of plastic inks?
Plastic inks were a major breakthrough and the answer to all the major problems screen printers were experiencing in their workshops, the industry adopted these inks for faster production times, enhanced opacity on dark garments, the ability to leave complex multi colour jobs set up on a machine overnight and faster curing times, the benefits were there for small scale business and the major manufacturers alike. By the time I came to screen printing in the 1980’s waterbased inks were never used for T shirt decoration, and it was not until coming to work for Advertees in 1991 that I discovered water-based inks. I was surprised to learn that in some instances, even prior to recent advances in ink technology, these inks could produce far superior results to plastic. So fast forward 17 years and very slowly the notion that plastic may not be good for us and the environment is beginning to take hold, yet weaning us off this wonder stuff, I think, is going to be a long and difficult process.