Screen printing? Green? Are you out of your mind? California entrepreneurs Peter Imai and David Whitaker don’t think so.
Ecoprintworks.com is a t-shirt and tote bag printer that has gone green. Instead of printing using the traditional Plastisol inks (or PVC — polyvinyl chloride) plastic-based inks, the shop uses a 100% water-based, solvent-free ink out of Australia called Permaset Aqua. The next time I need to print my logo, I know who to hire!
Peter Imai and David Whitaker claim additional benefits, as well — namely, the ink is more durable and soft to the touch than PVC-based ink.
The switch from Plastisol inks wasn’t easy. While the shop was able to locate water-based alternatives, according to the company’s website, the production was “finicky” and color opacity was “underwhelming to say the least.” Furthermore, most contained significant amounts of distillates, which Ecoprintworks says negate some of their supposed environmental benefits.
Now, the co-owners are thrilled with the results—both the performance of the inks and their environmental friendliness. After all, when you’re offering customers a fabric choice of hemp, bamboo, and organic cotton, what else would you use?
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