602-257-ACME | info@acmeprints.com | Directions

Acme Prints Logo

  • Design Factory
  • Instant Quotes!
  • Order
  • Pay Now
  • Upload File
  • Specials
  • FAQ
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Contact
Skip to content
  • General
    • Design Factory
    • Instant Quotes
    • Order
    • Pay Now
    • Upload File
    • Specials
    • FAQ
    • Press
    • Feedback
    • Contact
  • Apparel Printing & Embroidery
    • Start Order
    • Instant Quotes!
    • Decoration Methods
      • Apparel Printing Overview
      • Discharge Printing
      • Direct-to-Garment Printing
      • Embroidery Overview
    • Shirts
      • Apparel Printing Overview
      • Apparel Catalogs
      • Sizing Charts
      • Order Shirts
        Online Now!
      • Instant Quotes!
    • Headwear
      • Headwear Catalog
      • Embroidery
      • Screen Printing
    • Finishing Services
    • Inks
      • Standard Inks
      • Discharge Inks
      • Specialty Inks
      • Direct-to-Garment
    • Gallery
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Non-apparel Printing
    • The 411
    • Posters
    • Banners
    • Brochures
    • Business Cards
    • Buttons
    • Enamel Pins
    • Event Tents
    • Flyers
    • Postcards
    • Stickers
    • Slap Koozies
    • Tons More
    • Gallery
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Design & Illustration
    • The Big Picture
    • Artwork Guidelines
    • Gallery
    • Upload File
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Ecommerce & Fulfillment
    • How It Works
    • Gallery
    • Fundraisers
    • Start your
      webstore now!
    • Add a New Product
    • Themes
    • Acme’s
      Webstore
    • Contact

Discharge Printing: Part One – An introduction to how it works

Facebook (4.9)
Twitter
Instagram
Yelp (5.0)
Discharge Printing: Part One - An introduction to how it works

Standard silk screening has traditionally been done using plastisol inks, which are plastic/ oil based.  Discharge inks can be either a hybrid of plastisol and water based, by mixing plasti-charge with a plastisol color or could be a water based discharge ink.  Sounds confusing, but I will do my best to educate you on the differences in a three-part discussion.   Part one is a basic introduction into what discharge ink is and its strengths and limitations will be covered in the subsequent parts.  

Discharge inks are made to work best on 100% cotton shirts and gets printed the same way standard inks are done, through a screen.  The difference is that instead of sitting on top of the shirt fabric, discharge inks will remove the original dye color of the shirt and re-dye the fabrics the color you are printing.  For example, if you used yellow discharge ink and printed it onto a black cotton shirt, the areas where your image are would now be permanently turned yellow in the shirt fibers instead of black.  Standard plastisol inks will sit on top of the garment and over time  may crack and break up.  Properly cured plastisol will retain integrity for quite some time, but I’m sure you have a tee that you’ve owned for years that eventually falls apart.  Discharge inks will never crack and your design’s integrity will remain until the shirt has worn down to rags, without ever breaking up. 

Discharge inks are most commonly used on darker garments and water based would be used onto a light color garment.  White ink on a black shirt would be done in discharge, while a white shirt with a black print, would have water based black printed.  Discharge inks allow you to forgo the need or an underbase.  We all have owned that black tee with heavy white ink on it that feels like a thousand pounds and wears terribly.  A black tee printed with white discharge would be priced as a one color and would have a bright white, while a black shirt with white plastisol inks would need to be priced as a 2 color, because it needs to be hit with white ink two times to make it bright.  Although discharge inks can be priced slightly higher than traditional inks, a 1 color discharge print is cheaper than a 2 color plastisol print. 

Once a shirt has been printed with discharge inks, there is a slight hand to the designs that can be felt.  After it’s first washing, the hand (feel of the ink) will disappear and the shirt will feel as if you had a blank t-shirt on it.  Even with a 20” tall, 4 color print, it will wear like a shirt with no print on it.  This is accomplished because the ink has re-dyed the actual cotton fibers, instead of resting on top of them.  Printing with discharge inks can be very tricky and may have some restrictions, but those restrictions can also be used beneficially to create certain looks unattainable with standard inks.  More on that will be discussed in part two, as well as why discharge inks are meant to be used on 100% cotton.

The image below was printed at Acme Prints with discharge ink onto a 100% cotton next level tee.  Although the art is 14” wide x 20” tall, after it’s been washed one time, it will feel like a blank shirt, yet the printed image will look the same after washing. 
Cthulhu.grey.1000

Click to read Part Two

October 15, 2015 Posted by Dan Featured
Facebook (4.9)
Twitter
Instagram
Yelp (5.0)
  • Design Factory
  • Instant Quotes!
  • Order
  • Pay Now
  • Upload File
  • Specials
  • FAQ
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Contact


705 N 7th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Get Directions

email: info@acmeprints.com
call: 602-257-ACME
text: 602-461-7171

Acme Prints is a premier custom screen printer specializing in t-shirt and apparel printing, as well as posters, postcards, stickers & thousands of promotional products.

Check out Acme Prints on Yelp

#ACMEMADETHAT

They work so hard. They work so hard.
We have about 100 of our free and patented social We have about 100 of our free and patented social distance compliance tools left! We hear you can use them for other things too, so come by and pick one up!
TBT to when we printed NASA masks for astronaut (a TBT to when we printed NASA masks for astronaut (and Senator-to-be) Captain Mark Kelly.
Can anyone tell who's modeling the mask here?#NASA
@nasa
#MarkKelly
@captmarkkelly
#tbt
Stickers we did for our friends at Jimmy Kimmel Li Stickers we did for our friends at Jimmy Kimmel Live. Great idea to frame voting this way. Because who doesn't want to complain about politics?
Phoenix vote tomorrow 3/9/2021!
✔️
@jimmykimmellive
#vote
#ivoted
#ivotedtoday
Bandannas we did for @ctrlindustries . Devil's in Bandannas we did for @ctrlindustries . Devil's in the details... or clowns.#screenprinting #bandanna #ctrlthegame #ctrl #bjjlife
Ye olde Acme. Though we really love our Phoenix lo Ye olde Acme. Though we really love our Phoenix location, it's nice to look back. #tbtPhoto by Kevin Dexter Scanlon
Our showroom is open once again!Don't think that Our showroom is open once again!Don't think that we're being unsafe, though! We've set up Plexiglas (yeah, only one 's', weird), and require anyone coming in to be wearing a mask. It shouldn't have to be said, but the mask must cover your nose, silly.If you'd prefer, we're still handling the majority of customer service over email and phone-- and if you're picking up, just give us a call and we'll bring your order out.Keep up the good work, AZ!
Mooby's is open now @thevanburenphx! Today through Mooby's is open now @thevanburenphx! Today through Valentine's day!Get your tix in advance for a safe & socially distant hang out and Four Peaks Brewing Co. beer.We're geeking out that we got to print the shirts for this project. If you aren't familiar, go watch some Kevin Smith movies, silly. What are you even doing?moobyspopup.com
Closed today in honor of MLK. Closed today in honor of MLK.
Follow us

Customer Acclaim

  • The shirts look fantastic!!! I was so nervous about the details printing clean when I really didn’t have to worry. Thank you again for all your help and patience, and please send my thanks to everyone who worked on this order as well. There will definitely be more in the future.

    Marisa
  • Thanks man. You’re awesome! Acme til I DIE!

    Shane - 137 Clothing - Phoenix, AZ
  • We really do appreciate all your hard work on meeting the deadline, given such short notice. You and your staff have been really great.

    Tammy Payne - Mototrax - Phoenix, AZ
  • Have I told you how much I love you guys! When I get home everyone at Acme is getting a big kiss from me! See you on 4/20!

    Jeremiah - President Gator
  • You guys have seriously saved the day! #AcmePrintsforlife

    Dane Butler

© 2020 Acme Prints. All rights reserved. Terms