Soft-Hand Prints, Anyone?

Here is a quick tip from John Levocz, recently published in Impressions Magazine, on how you can easily achieve soft-hand prints: There are several “tricks of the trade” printers can use to achieve a soft-hand print. The easiest way is to use a soft-hand additive or a reducer. Some ink manufacturers also may have a soft-hand clear that can be mixed with the ink to create soft-hand prints. The clear extends the ink and also may help prevent fibrillation. However, be aware that adding too much additive, reducer or clear may reduce the opacity of your ink. If you are printing onto a dark substrate and need an underbase, use a high mesh count and high-tension screen to deposit a minimal amount of ink onto the fabric. This also will help with the soft-hand feel of the final print. John Levocz, International Coatings’ Northeast regional sales director, has been in the screen printing industry for more than 30 years and has broad experience in graphics and textile printing. John is a contributor to International Coatings’ blogs and holds print seminars all over the country. For more on International Coatings’ soft hand products, check out our Sentri Line of soft-hand enhancers as well as our 720 Soft-hand Clear Base. International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers.  For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.     International Coatings:     The Intelligent Choice