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“......What
is Plastisol!!??”
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Plastisol is an 'oil based' system
of PVC's, plasticizers and pigments. |
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Does not contain any solvents. |
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Plastisols are non flammable, non
toxic and non hazardous. It has been used in general industry
for various applications such as bottle closures, underbody
sealants, children's soft 'plastic' toys, wall paper, tarpaulins,
synthetic vinyl leather, shoes, interior vehicle panelling,
food packaging, etc… |
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Curing takes place when the PVC absorbs
the plasticizer and swells to form a continuous film (gelling)
with the application of heat. |
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“......What
are the advantages of using Plastisol printing inks!!??”
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As it is a solvent free system, the
ink does not dry in the screen. |
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Can be printed through high (fine)
mesh counts - even when printing on dark backgrounds. |
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Sits on 'top' of the substrate therefore
less ink is needed. |
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Fast flashing |
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Can be printed 'wet on wet' which
means less downtime and therefore higher production yield. |
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Low in VOC's which creates a more
pleasant printing environment. |
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Can be printed on paper and be transferred
with a heat press. |
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Excellent stretch for sports fabrics
and low bleed for intense coloured dyed fabrics. |
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“......Are there
disadvantages!!??”
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The print cannot be ironed directly |
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Is not water soluble |
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"…..I thought
Plastisol was environment unfriendly !!??"
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This is a popular
belief, but false! |
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As Plastisol does
not contain any solvents, heavy metals (Lead, Mercury, etc…),
Formaldehyde or VOC's, nothing “Ozone depleting” is
released into the atmosphere during printing and curing. |
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Secondly, as Plastisol inks are not
water soluble, any residue ink on the screens, squeegees, containers
and utensils is not washed into the drain, unlike water based
inks, but is cleaned with recyclable low volatile solvent units
- using Mineral Turpentine or White Spirits commonly used to
clean paint brushes. This is obviously far less pollutant to
the sewerage systems. |
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"…..but Plastisol
is so expensive compared to what I'm using!!??"
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| Even though plastisol is more expensive
than conventional water based systems kilogram for kilogram,
it is more economical per unit as a result of:- |
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Less
downtime... |
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No air drying... No stopping
for blocked screens. |
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No evaporation... No darkening
of colours as experienced with water based systems. |
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Less
ink used... |
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No air drying... No stopping
for blocked screens. |
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No evaporation... No darkening
of colours as experienced with water based systems. |
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Higher mesh counts can be used
without the screens blocking, therefore less ink. |
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Because plastisol 'sits on
top' of the fabric, unlike water based systems where the
ink penetrates the fabric, less print strokes are required
(mostly single stroke)….therefore less ink is consumed. |
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All surplus ink on the screens
can be re-used later as plastisol does not form a “skin”
- normally caused by air drying - which means no ink is
thrown away. |
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Faster
production speeds... |
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Due to reduced downtime and
reduced print strokes the production yield is automatically
increased. |
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With plastisol you can increase
both the flood and print speeds - unlike water based systems
where you have to 'wait' during the print stroke for the
inks to penetrate. |
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When printing on dark garments
only the underbase white needs to be gelled (under 2 seconds)
and the remainder of the colours can be printed 'wet on
wet', whereas with water based systems each colour has
to be fully cured !! |
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Curing can be achieved in an
oven less that 2 metres long in under 20 seconds......
as the ink layer only needs to reach a temperature of
150°C / 300°F to cure - compared to water based
systems where long, slow ovens are used. |
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The curing of Plastisol is
not only faster but it uses less electricity and omits
less VOC's. |
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