I Dress Myself

Permaprint ink tests

We collaborate with Colormaker Industries and recently got a tester pack of their new water based printing inks for paper and have decided to use these Permaprint inks for all our paper printing from now on. Permaprint inks do not contain any of the usual nasties - in fact, it doesn't contain toxic chemicals at all.

We've found coverage to be great even with 50% extending medium and the ink dries to give a good tough finish that doesn't smudge. The colours are bright and opaque with a semi-gloss finish. Like most water based inks, they can dry quite quickly on hot days so you have to keep the ink moving and make sure it doesn't dry in the screen. Happily, the retarder (which slows down the drying of the inks) is probably the greenest part of the range. It's a natural product used in hand creams and even in some foods.

Permaprint is the first water based ink for paper we've found that's completely solvent-free, which makes our studio a much nicer place to be and our environmental footprint that bit smaller. Permaprint inks are due to be launched in the UK early next year and will be available from West Design.

Posted in Screen Printing, Ethics and Environment by Hannah on Tuesday 14 October 2008