Who knows what is the best kind of ink for screening laminates? i got a screen kit, and it has enamel, acrylic, and
vinyl inks. i dont want any bleeding when glassed!!
thanks, sean
Ink for laminates has to be water based, the solvent-based inks are susceptible to going back into solution with the styrene in polyester resin. Now if you’re using epoxy, hmmm this might not be the case, but whatever you use should be laid onto the paper thinly enough that the resin will still penetrate through it and make it “one” with the overall glass job.
“Enamel” generally means a paint or coating that cures by oxidation. “Acrylic” is a different formulation, as is “vinyl”, and I don’t know the specifics of those.
Suggest a small trial patch, smears of all three on one sheet of paper, then wet it out with resin. Even some water based paints will run, so suggest when the trial patch ink is dry, iron it so it’s fully cured/reacted/dried, before the resin hits it.
What I wanta know, is, what is the makeup of the “rice paper” that laminates are printed on? With that info, I can go into any stationery or art store and get the right stuff. No one seems to want to tell this secret, why not?
hey charlie, thanks, for the info. i know that enamel can be water based, if you do screening, what brand/type ink do you use? there is a art store here in H.B. called Art Supply Warehouse that sells the paper, and its labeled as “surf paper” comes in 24"x36" sheets for $1.40 ea. i would imagine that it is available most big art stores. as far as the makeup, i dont know. sean
The industry standard is acrylic enamel. A good brand is Naz-Dar and they sell in quart-sized containers or larger. Gloss inks have less tendency to bleed and all the enamel colors will hold fast once they fully dry. This period can be a few hours for less color-dominant images and up to a couple of days if you have large areas of intense colors/shades such as black or indigo blue. Water-based inks will work on some papers but usually moisture shrinkage problems will occur if contact is made with the laminant paper. Be sure to print on the “shiny” side of the paper as the other side will appear dull and will not take a detail image because of coarseness. Hope this helps…
Hey Charlie - it’s just rice paper, and it’s no secret as far as I know. Here’s one kind I use, I’m sure there are many many others:
Brand: Loew Cornell (Teaneck New Jersey 07666-2490)
No. P-903
“Oriental Rice Paper - for Sumi, Calligraphy, Water Color & Sketching”
12" x 50 foot roll
Made in Taiwan
I bought this at Michaels but I’m sure other art shops or stationers would carry it or similar.