PLASTISOL ADDITIVES

Plastisol Additives, Modifiers and Special Use Products



EXTENDER BASE:

PLUS-9090
PLUS-9090 is basically ink that contains certain inert or opacifying materials with no pigment. It is clear (creamy color) ink base that can be added to plastisol to extend the ink and get more volume out of the ink.Since Extender Base is a balanced ink - any amount can be added to plastisol. The more Extender Base added, the less opaque the ink will be.

Although Extender Base will make an ink less opaque, it is generally not used to specifically make an ink more transparent. For that purpose see TRANSPARENT BASE. It is designed more as a "bulking" agent and will basically provide more mileage from an ink at a lower cost because Extender Base is less expensive than pigment ink. If used to make an ink more transparent to print color-over-colore, the secondary color achieved may not be clean (because the Extender Base is milky in color).

Generally, Extender Base will not reduce the viscosity of an ink.


TRANSPARENT BASE:

PLUS-9030 CLEAR BASE (Also called Halftone Base or Clear Base)
PLUS-9030 is a BALANCED clear ink base that is similiar to Extender Base except it DOES NOT HAVE inert opacifying materials or bulking agents. It is designed to make plastisol ink more transparent and usually allows the ink to penetrate further into the garment.

Addition of PLUS-9030 will greatly diminish the opacity of plastisol and may reduce the viscosity. PLUS-9030 can be used to make an ink more transparent. This is helpful when trying to achieve secondary colors by printing color-on-color multi-color prints.


PLUM-9080 HALFTONE BASE

PLUM-9080 is similiar to PLUS-9030 except it should be used with the PLUM series ink when trying to make the ink more transparent or when attempting to adjust the color intensity of process colors.


THICKENING PASTE:

PLUS-9114 PLASTISOL THICKENER:
This easy-to-use additive is designed to assist the printer who may have added too much reducer to a plastisol and would like to bring back the viscosity of the ink. In addition, the thickener can be added to those inks that were previously mixed with Union Ink's NYLOBOND agent (provided it is doen within the normal 8 hour pot life of the NYLOBOND mixture). This will enable the plastisols to be used in other applications.

The recommended range of Plastisol Thickener to add is 1-5% by weight. Due to the formulation of the Thickener, it can be easily stirred directly into the plastisol by hand.


PUFFING AGENTS:

PLPF-9111 PLASTIPUFF ADDITIVE:
Plastipuff Additive can be added to regular plastisol to create puff effects. It works best with the PLUS SERIES. It does not work well in high opacity inks (less durability). Because puff ink is generally very opaque, it will become opaque on dark shirts even if added to PLUS.

Plastipuff Additive should be added to colors at a rate of 1 part of additive to 6 parts of Plastisol by volume. When using with white use a ratio of 1 part of Additive to 4 parts of White. This mixture will now work just like Plastipuff Ink. Consult the Union Ink Technical Data Sheet on Plastipuff Ink.

PUFS-9111 SUPERPUFF ADDITIVE:
PUFS-9111 is a puffing agent or foaming additive which when added to plastisol will make a puff ink. Since the purpose is to create a tough, elastic puff print, a very strong and elastic plastisol, such as the PATH-series is recommended. The addition of 15 percent by weight of PUFS-9111 to the ink is advisable.


METALLIC CLEAR BASE:

PLUS-9030, PATH-9030, PAGL-9030 Metallic Clear Base is a transparent base with a heavier body than other bases. It's used with glitter flakes and metallic powders where its heavier body helps keep the coloring agents in suspension. It is a balanced additive so you can add any amount to a plastisol ink without affecting the cure.

Metallic Clear Base (PAGL-9030) can also be used as a backup clear for litho transfers.


HOT SPLIT TRANSFER ADDITIVE:

PLUS-9040, MIXO-TRANS Although many plastisol inks can be used for printing transfers, some inks, particularly high-opacity inks, require an additive before they will work well in this application. For transfer printing with Union's high-opacity Maxopake and Athletic Gloss, add 5-10% Hot Split Transfer Additive (PLUS-9040) by weight. For producing transfers with MIXO inks add 15% MIXO-TRANS


PHOSPHORESCENT GREEN POWDER ADDITIVE:

ADDI-1524 Phosphorescent Green Powder is used for making a phosphorescent (glow-in-the-dark) ink. Add six pounds of Phosphorescent Green Powder to one gallon of Metallic Clear (PLUS-9030) and print through a very coarse mesh on white fabrics or white underbase for best results.