Silicone inks
The huge possibilities with silicone textile-printing inks is what makes this textile ink so distinctive: beautiful elastic high gloss with glitz and glamour, but also functional for anti-slip usage.
Silicone inks were developed by the end of the 1940s to protect machine parts; only a slight adjustment in chemistry makes silicones suitable for use on textile fabrics. Glitz and glamour are the angle for embellishing textiles, with very special properties.
The basis of this ink is composed of a base of a non-reactive two component silicone elastomer, to which a third component, a catalyst, is added. At a certain temperature or infra-red radiation, the catalyst does its job as a cross-linker and takes care of the polymerisation. As with plastisol inks this is the case, and now we also talk about curing.
Silicone textile-printing inks are relatively expensive and clients are often not aware of the possibilities. As everyone knows in the fashion and promotional textile market, ultimately it’s all about the price of the final product. The processing of a silicone ink corresponds to a plastisol ink, with the proviso that at a certain temperature the plastisol ink starts to jellify, whereas a silicone ink stays intact.
