The water-based, eco-friendly DEKAPRINT 2000 screen printing inks are ready to use and can be printed directly from the container. Thanks to their user-friendly consistency, the inks in this series impress with excellent printability. In contrast to other, more thick-bodied inks, the comparatively fluid DEKAPRINT 2000 inks penetrate deeper into the textile fabric, resulting in prints that feel soft and natural. In practice, DEKAPRINT 2000 inks are primarily printed on light and medium-colored textiles. For dark textiles, there is a small selection of opaque colors and a high-performance opaque white.
DEKAPRINT 2000 can be printed on cotton, polyester, and all common blended fabrics. The inks are non-toxic, do not require labeling, and are manufactured according to European environmental guidelines. When correctly fixed, the prints are highly lightfast, rub-resistant, and wash-resistant. All shades, including special tones, are available in 250ml and 1000ml containers.
The ink should be stirred well with an ink spatula before each use. To thin the ink, a maximum of 5% water can be added. We advise against adding significantly more than 5% water. Firstly, because every dilution reduces the opacity of the ink, and secondly, because the adhesive properties on the textile could be impaired.
If necessary, the ink can be thickened. For this purpose, 1% to a maximum of 5% of the DEKAPRINT 2000 thickener can be added. The additive only develops its effect after 30 to 60 minutes. We therefore recommend adding the thickener slowly and very carefully while stirring intensively.
All color shades can be mixed freely with one another. To create glazing, translucent shades, the chromatic colors can be extended with the transparent DEKAPRINT 2000 Clear. For tinting and mixing pastel tones, DEKAPRINT 2000 Mixing White is generally used.
Choosing the right screen mesh is crucial for printing success. For opaque prints on dark and black textiles or coarse fabric qualities, we recommend using screen frames with 47T or 55T mesh. This ensures a high ink application and thus good coverage. Furthermore, it prevents the ink from drying too quickly in the screen mesh. On light textiles, 61T to a maximum of 80T mesh can be used comfortably. If necessary, thin the ink with 5% water for this purpose. For prints with metallic colors, screens with 32T to 55T mesh should be used, depending on the desired ink deposit. CMYK colors are usually printed with 72T, 80T, or 90T mesh.
Regarding the squeegee, a soft or medium hardness grade of 65 or 70 Shore is preferred. For creating the screen stencil, we recommend a waterproof photo emulsion, such as our popular FLX SCREEN (item number: FLXSCR), the FT COAT PRO (item number: FTCOAT) or the high-resolution, two-component SERICOP SUPREME (item number: SERICOP).
First, apply plenty of ink to the frame and distribute it above the motif. The ink should by no means be applied too sparingly, as this makes the work unnecessarily difficult. Then the motif is flooded over its entire surface. This means that the ink is pushed over the motif with the squeegee lightly and without much contact pressure. In this way, the motif is completely filled with ink. To prevent ink from unintentionally reaching the textile during flooding, the frame should be lifted slightly during this process. Subsequently, the pre-flooded ink is squeegeed through the screen onto the textile. The squeegee is typically guided over the screen at a 45-degree angle. Immediately after printing, the motif is flooded again. This keeps the screen moist and prevents the ink from drying unnecessarily in the motif. We recommend flooding only once, otherwise too much ink will remain in the screen, which can lead to messy results.
The squeegee and flooding technique and the contact pressure are decisive for a clean print image. The squeegee angle should not be too flat during both squeegeeing and flooding. Additionally, there is only one squeegee direction: either from top to bottom or from bottom to top. If you squeegee in both directions or too flat, ink gets under the screen, resulting in blurred, smeared print results.
Note for screen printing novices: Mastering the interplay of flooding and squeegeeing requires some practice and experience. Typical beginner error: flooding too frequently and too flatly, which forces ink under the screen. The result is usually blurred contours and "muddy" looking prints. Optimal contact pressure and steady guidance of the squeegee also require some practice at the beginning.
Unlike plastisol ink, water-based ink is usually printed without "off-contact" (snap-off). This means the screen rests directly on the fabric during printing. However, when printing high-viscosity opaque white, an off-contact of 3 mm can sometimes be very useful.
Rich and optimal coverage on dark textiles is achieved by following the "print-flash-print" principle. This involves printing two layers of ink on top of each other on the textile. The first ink layer sinks deep into the fabric and forms the base. The second ink layer printed on top provides the desired opacity.
A heat gun or a flash dryer can be used for intermediate drying (flashing). We provide a very good step-by-step guide for successfully printing opaque white on dark textiles in the YouTube video Screen printing with water-based opaque white screen printing ink.
In contrast to the also widely used plastisol inks, water-based screen printing inks tend to dry in the screen after a while because the water evaporates from the ink mass during printing. The ink then thickens unintentionally. Individual screen meshes can become clogged. This is especially true if you work with a screen mesh that is too fine or if the ink remains in the screen for a long time without printing. High room temperatures and low humidity (keyword: overheated rooms in winter or warm summer months) can also accelerate drying.
Drying of the ink can be prevented by various simple measures. The correct choice of screen mesh is central here. Particularly the creamier DEKAPRINT 2000 opaque colors should ideally be printed with 43T, 47T, or at most 55T mesh.
Directly before printing, you should also spray the emulsion layer wet with a pump spray bottle to pre-moisten the layer. The emulsion layer, thus already saturated with water, will then extract less moisture from the ink later during printing.
With water-based inks, "active printing" is also required. This means printing continuously and without pauses lasting several minutes. Furthermore, the motif should always be flooded during printing breaks. This keeps even the finer details in the motif moist. By adding 5 to 10% DEKAPRINT 2000 RETARDER (item number: DEKA37), you can also extend the screen openness up to 1.5 hours and significantly delay drying. An absolute recommendation for an undisturbed printing workflow during large runs.
If the screen should clog or become partially blocked after a high number of prints despite the measures described above, you can additionally flood the screen and then squeegee it clear again several times with very strong pressure. If this action still does not clean the screen, you can apply some warm water to the blocked areas and clean them with a cloth.
After printing, the ink is first air-dried or dried by applying heat until the ink feels dry to the touch. When the water has completely or largely evaporated from the ink layer, the actual heat fixation takes place. During this process, the ink is permanently and wash-fast cross-linked with the textile. For this purpose, the printed textiles are ideally exposed to a temperature of 150 to 160°C. How long the fixation has to take place depends on the type of heat fixation. It should also be noted that thicker ink layers must be fixed slightly longer than thinner ones.
If fixation is carried out with a heat press, we recommend pre-pressing for 10 seconds at 150 to 160 °C and letting the residual moisture escape briefly as "steam." Then, press again for 30 – 45 seconds.
When fixing with a drying tunnel, the optimal fixing time is 2 – 3 minutes. In the DIY sector, fixation can also be done with a heat gun, an iron (iron on the reverse side), or an ironing press. For each of these methods, a full-surface fixing time of 2 – 3 minutes is recommended. Wash tests should always be carried out before producing large series. If the ink washes out completely or in patches, insufficient or too short fixation is usually the cause.
Screen frames should be cleaned immediately after finishing the print job. Fresh ink residues are easy to remove. Therefore, avoid letting the ink dry unnecessarily long on the screen after printing. To remove ink residues from the screen mesh as gently and deeply as possible and to prevent "ghost images," the use of our environmentally friendly and biodegradable WASHOUT-AQ cleaner (item no.: WAQ001) is recommended in addition to water. If the screen is not to be archived after printing but stripped of emulsion, all ink residues must first be thoroughly removed from the emulsion layer.
The inks have a shelf life of up to two years in closed containers and at room temperature. To prevent drying in the pot, the containers should be closed well again after removing the required amount of ink. Protect ink from frost at all costs. Avoid permanent, direct sunlight.
In principle, DEKAPRINT 2000 inks are supplied ready for printing. Depending on the application, however, the use of ink additives can be very sensible. Here is an overview of the additives.
It is advisable to wash the printed textiles inside out. Recommended washing temperature: 30 to 60 °C.
Textile fabrics have different fine or coarse weave structures and may be finished (sized) with lubricants, antistatic additives, or other additives. This can reduce the adhesion of the ink and impair washfastness. Likewise, finishes can lead to yellowing under the influence of heat. For this reason, preliminary tests are necessary. The printing result depends primarily on the quality of the textile as well as the printing and application conditions. Allegedly identical materials can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and also from batch to batch.
If problems occur during printing, drying, fixing, cleaning, or with wash resistance and the cause cannot initially be deduced from the explanations given above, we will be happy to help find the cause. For a targeted solution, it is very helpful if we receive a few meaningful photos of the problem. These can be sent via email to info@siebdruck-versand.de. We are also happy to provide advice by telephone at +49 (0) 391 / 243 587 53.
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