Inks, Colors, and Ink Mixing
Posted by Robin Bumgardner - Custom Color Mixing on 9/29/2014
Texsource carries the largest selection of Screen Printing Inks available in the US, but how do you know what ink (and what color) is what you need?
If you have visited our ink section on our site here, you have no doubt noticed that our selection is extensive, more than any other source on the web. But sometimes new customers can get overwhelmed with that selection and be left wondering exactly what they should buy.
Ill touch on just a few of the more popular ink varieties, without getting into specialty inks (which can be covered at a later time).
Every brand we carry including our own brand will have an excellent general purpose ink. Generally, these inks will work well on your cotton and 50/50 garments. Depending on the color of your garment, it if often advised to lay a white underbase when printing colors on darker material. This will help the colors stand out better against the darker material. If bleeding is a problem, then you should consider a variety of Super Opaque inks. These inks can be a bit pricier, but can sometimes save you the underbase step, thus saving time.
If you are printing on polyester, then poly inks are going to be the way to go. These are specially formulated to help the ink adhere better to that material.
If you are printing on more unusual materials such as nylon, then an additive like Nylobond will mix with your general purpose plastisol to make it adhere well to this material.
What about colors? How do I know that the color I see on my screen is accurate? Well, you don't; and the reason is that all screens on all computers, phones, etc. will all display colors a bit differently. Our color swatches that you see on the screen are taken directly from the manufacturers; they are only cropped for display size and have not been altered in any way other than such. So you are getting the most accurate color available represented on our site. However, due to the differences in screen color, you should always verify the color you need by consulting a PMS color chart. 
Using this same color chart, Texsource offers custom ink mixing and color matching, and your product can usually ship out same day if ordered by 2:30pm EST.
Finally, we are here to answer your questions. If you need to know something about an ink, or need an ink for a specialty application, please feel free to contact us. We carry screen printing inks for almost every purpose, and will be happy to help you!
Texsource Screen Printing Supply
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