Substrates and ink affect your Art.
Welcome To Cora’s Corner, where every month I am going to help you with your artwork issues. This month’s discussion is;
Considerations for what you put your art on and what you are using affect your Art.
While you are creating your art, you must consider what you are printing on and what inks you are using.
The make-up of the material and the texture affects how your art will look. Ask does the ink you are using.What are you printing on?
Screen printing is very versatile. You can print on many different substrates. Here is a small list to get you thinking. Wood, plastic, metal, glass, fabric (natural and synthetics), tyvek and fiberglass. You are only limited by what inks and screens you can use on each material.
What inks are you using?
There are as many inks as there are materials to print them on. New inks are developed daily as new materials to print on are developed. Nobody knows this better than garment printers. New multiple blends are coming out fast and furious these days and ink manufacturers are struggling to keep up. Here is a small list of inks to consider when you are trying to print on the materials above. Solvent, UV, waterbase, and plastisol. There are many ink types within these categories.
How does this affect your artwork?
When it comes to substrates, it is the surface texture that affects your artwork most. How much detail can you use depends on how smooth is your surface. You have to consider what the texture of the surface will do to the edge of your design and can it hold the small elements. Absorption has a little to do with how detailed your artwork can be also. Because for example, if you are printing on a hard (little absorption) smooth surface the ink will spread. If you print on a rough surface such as fabric, you must consider that your edges and details will not be as sharp. Some details will get lost in the valleys of the fabric. This affects halftones the most.
When it comes to ink affecting your artwork, it is how thin or thick is the body of the inks. The body of the ink affects how much the ink can hold your details and the opacity of the color. If your ink is transparent, you need to decide if you need an under base to create the color you need. Another consideration is, can your ink be used if you are using halftones in your design.
Sometimes it is the combination of material and ink together that decides what you can and cannot do with your design. For example, if you are printing on nylon material, which is prone to shrinking and the ink has to be spot heated in between colors, halftones is a bad idea. Just know that you may have to adjust your artwork for the substrate and ink you want to use. What just worked for a sign may or may not work for a t-shirt. If you can test your ideas, great. If cannot, then find an expert and ask them for advice. Most of all have some fun.
I would also like to hear from you about your most pressing issues about artwork. Your question may be used in a future issue of this newsletter. If you have questions, please email me at cora@qdigitizing.com. And please reference this newsletter.
Looking forward to sharing an exciting journey of discovery into the world of Art.
Sincerely,
Cora Kromer
Qdigitizing.com