Designers combine two main ingredients: liquid resins and metallic pigments to achieve the characteristic glossy look. Pigments are made from traditional metals to create popular shades such as gold and silver. These expensive metals are replaced with cheaper, more durable metals such as copper, zinc, and aluminium to achieve the desired appearance. Balancing copper and zinc provides different variations of gold metallic ink. On the other hand, aluminium provides the perfect base for silver tones.
What is Metallic Ink Printing?
Metallic ink printing mixes the particles of copper, zinc, and aluminum with a clear plastisol ink to print the preferred design onto a selected fabric or solid substrate. Metallic silver and gold finishes give a beautiful bright look when printed on shirts and clothing. This style of print tends to lose its glossiness when washed faster but still looks great when it is new. To make a statement, go for a digital t-shirt printing with metallic gold or silver.
Reflective designs have taken hold in the screen printing industry. One of the most popular techniques, metallic screen printing, provides a glossy matte finish to logos and images on fabric, paper and rigid materials. Among the specialized screen printing processes, metallic ink printing and foil printing are among the most requested designs today.
Let me walk you through the applications and benefits of using Metallic Inks-
Application of Metallic Gold and Silver printing in Apparel Printing:
In the land of emphatic smeared printing techniques, the application of metallic inks has existed in the printing industry to highlight realistic descriptions. As compared to other inks, metallic inks are fierce in colour and are more viscous in form. Metallic gold printing has higher pigment content than standard ink. Thus, imparting concrete vivacious colour in apparel.
Getting highly reflective attributes needs a large shell of metal with polished edges. This is an inexpensive process, but the temperature must always be controlled above 150 degrees Celsius. Fabric inks can constantly absorb heat to activate the pigment adhesive and bond it to the substrate.
Originally, the application of a screen printer on the white base coat was more common than using a digital textile printing ink. Similarly, metallic gold printing is installed using a screen mesh with large holes to survive large pigment particles. To maintain lasting effectiveness, we recommend using only water as a cleaning agent. Stir the ink for a perfectly homogeneous mixture before starting the process.
Benefits of Metallic Gold and Silver printing in Textile Printing:
- Superior commercial quality for printed fabrics.
- It is economical because the remaining ink can be reused.
- No need to pre-print over a white base coat.
- Environmentally friendly pigment formulation.
- Once heat-set, solid ink coverage for a flawless professional finish.
- Ideal for use with fabric ink retarders, fabric stretch additives and fabric ink thickeners.
- Transforms into air cure when using polyprop additive.
- These colours adhere easily to cotton-to-polyester without the use of other synthetic additives.
Screen prints are available in both gold and silver metallic ink tones on a variety of fabrics and garments. This style is popular with sports teams, community organizations, and even large corporations searching to add a extraordinary look to their swags and uniforms.