Silicones: Expanding opportunities for textile screen printers

Manual screen printing represents a large growth opportunity for manufacturers of sportswear and casual apparel. Recent advances in silicone textile printing inks are enabling screen printers and brand-name apparel manufacturers alike to make the most of this opportunity.

The new inks enable screen printers to produce durable, high-quality screen printing that looks great, feels soft, and is wash resistant. The ink has high elongation (good stretch and recovery properties), so it is well suited for use on fabric with 15-20 percent spandex content.

Traditional inks can require 12-15 layers to achieve optimal coverage. Screen printers can achieve the same effect with only three layers of the new silicone inks. The result is a less bulky finish, lower material usage, faster production cycles, and labor cost savings.

The new silicone textile printing inks do not contain the organotin, phthalate, formaldehyde, PVC, or solvents common to some other printing inks. So they are safer for workers and the environment.

The new inks can be easily applied using existing manual equipment.

Learn more about silicone textile printing inks from Dow Corning.