What are the differences between Silicone-based ink, water-based ink, and oil-based ink?

First of all, these three inks are all the most commonly used screen printing inks that are used for textile and garment printing. Especially T-shirt printing.

Silicone-based ink

Silicone-based ink has much more solid content compared with water-based ink and oil-based ink. It is easier to get to 3D printing effect on the fabric. We can get a high-density printing effect by less printing times than usual, it saves labor costs.

Compared with other kinds of textile printing ink, silicone ink is the most environmental and softest textile printing paste.

It is mostly suitable for doing the High-density (3D) glossy printing effect on the fabric.

Advantage of Silicone-based ink:

It is the most environmentally protective, it is non – toxic, tasteless, and high-temperature resistant. It is easy to get 3D, high density, embossing, and glossy fabric printing effect.

Water-based ink

Water-based ink is a textile printing ink that becomes popular in the last ten years. Along with the global environmental protection standard enhancing, the high polluted oil-based textile printing ink is limited and even forbidden to use. Then more environmentally water-based ink gets huge development and market in the fabric printing industry.

Advantage of Water based ink:

First, It is more environmentally protected than oil-based solvent ink and plastisol ink.  And it has a soft hand printing feel on the fabric. It is also suitable for high-speed bulk printing for T-shirt fabric pieces both in manual and machine printing.

Oil based solvent ink & Plastisol ink

Oil-based ink, in the textile printing field, is also called plastisol ink. It has been the primary screen printing ink until recent decades. It is also a kind of textile printing ink, but now it is not commonly used any more due to the environmental protection requirements.

Advantage of oil based solvent ink & plastisol ink:

A good advantage of oil-based ink maybe is that it is more accurate to matching pan-tone colors and could get a vivid color printing effect.