8 SPECIAL EFFECTS SCREEN PRINTING INKS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

You've come up with a killer t-shirt design. It's edgy, creative, and eye-catching. You can't wait to print it, but when you look at your ink shelf, your heart drops a little. You don't have a screen printing ink that's going to bring that art to life. You need something special. That's where special effects inks come in. They're designed to make prints sparkle, shimmer, shine, stretch, puff, and so much more. Check out these eight special effects inks and see where your imagination takes you.

Who doesn’t love gold? Make a print look like a million bucks with FN-INK Metallic Gold. The ink is stock full of golden flakes, sparkling and glittering when a flash of light hits it. Gold makes a statement. It’s not for the light-hearted. Spread your message with FN-INK Metallic Gold. 

Gray has its uses, but it doesn’t have a pop, a wow factor. You can make jaws drop when you print with metallic silver ink. This liquid metal-like ink is sure to stop viewers in their tracks. It glistens and twinkles, bringing life to the print. Plus, FN-INK Metallic Silver is so FN easy to print (seriously, it flows like butter). Once you start printing with it, you’ll be finding excuses to incorporate it into every design. 

Sometimes, a print may require a subtle special effect. Something that catches the eye, but isn’t obnoxious. Create a soft shimmer with FN-INK Pearl. FN-INK Pearl is a metallic ink that produces a pearlescent effect (who would have guessed). When printed, it glints in the light, drawing more attention than it would without the shine. It’s a subdued special effect ink that’s for the quiet, yet intriguing prints. 

Make a print literally stand out from a shirt by using a puff additive. To get a little scientific, a puff ink is chemically made up of spherules that expand when exposed to heat, causing the puff effect. Make a design have a little bit of loft, or make it puff up like a balloon, the choice is up to you. FN-INK Puff is a unique way to make screen prints 3D.

Alright, this isn’t a special effect that a person could see, but it’s a special effect screen printers love for their production. A curable reducer lessens an ink’s thickness. Seems simple, maybe too simple… Have you ever dealt with a thick ink where no matter how much you stirred it, warmed it up, or played around with it, it was nearly impossible to print? (Looking at you, white, long-bodied plastisol inks.) Trying to print with super thick inks slows down production and tires you out much faster. It’s not ideal. But with a curable reducer, that all goes away. Mix it in and that ink becomes buttery smooth, flowing through screens with ease. It’s a special effect ink for screen printers’ production.

The real question is what can you NOT do with FN-INK Extender Base? It’s an ink that has multiple party tricks. Extender Base is essentially clear plastisol ink (it has no pigment). A screen printer can have a field day with clear ink. First, you can print the clear ink directly to a shirt and let the shirt’s color shine through. Secondly, you can mix it with colors to either create a vintage look or watermark effect. Lastly, you can use it to “extend” an ink: if you’re running low on an ink color but need to make it last through a job, you can add a bit of Extender Base to the ink to get more out of it. FN-INK Extender Base is a plastisol ink with many special effects. 

Plastisol ink naturally has some flexibility, but what happens when you need real flexibility? You know, garments made with spandex, nylon, or a poly-blend are usually meant to be more form-fitting. A print on a form-fitting garment may be stretched past what it can normally handle. To avoid the possibility of the print cracking and breaking, use an ink like FN-INK Stretch. Inks like FN-INK Stretch are formulated to provide extra pliability and durability when needed. It lets screen prints go to new lengths, literally. 

Speaking of poly-blend garments… Polyester shirts, leggings, yoga pants, etc. are prone to dye migration (when the dyes from the fabric seep into the ink of the print). What can you do to prevent that from happening? Use a blocker base like FN-INK Barrier Black. Blocker bases are chock-full of carbon, an ingredient that fights dye migration. So, print it as a base and it’ll stop those t-shirt dyes from messing with your print. It’s a special effect that gets rid of a potential headache for you. 😉

Be bold, unique, and original. Make t-shirt designs sparkle, glisten, and shimmer. Bring art to new levels, stretch to new lengths, and unleash your potential. With FN-INK’s eight specialty inks and additives, your screen prints are bound to make an impression. Add some to your arsenal today.