General Information

Photochromic Plastisol Inks (PHOT) are almost colorless when viewed indoors but when viewed outside or under a source of intense UV light they quickly acquire a rich, bright color. This enables you to provide your customers with prints that display one design indoors and a dramatically changed design indoors.

Opacity

Not opaque. This ink is transparent.

Mesh

Use polyester monofilament meshes from 85 to 230 threads/inch (34-91 threads/centimeter). Thicker ink layers will provide more dramatic and durable colors.

Stencils

Use any direct emulsion or capillary film compatible with plastisol inks.

Additives

These inks are supplied ready to print. Always stir the ink well to determine the actual viscosity before adding any reducer. Reducing the ink reduces the color intensity. Never add mineral spirits to any plastisol ink.

Mixing Instructions

This ink may separate over time. This may be corrected by thoroughly mixing the ink before printing. You can produce additional colors by mixing two Photochromic inks. Several formulas for creating more colors are listed at the end of this Technical Data Sheet.

Curing Instructions

The inks will cure and withstand repeated washings when the entire ink film reaches 300°F (149°C). Proper curing is very important. Poor washability of the print can generally be traced back to under-curing.

Wash-Up

Clean the screens and squeegees with mineral spirits or any screen wash designed for plastisol inks.

Washability

This product has been tested to 20 wash and dry cycles with no loss of color intensity. Thicker ink layers will be more resistant to laundering.

Caution: Do not use chlorine bleaches when washing garments printed with Photochromic Inks. This will destroy the photochromic effect. Do not dry clean or iron printed areas.

Durability of the Color Change Effect

About half of the photochromic element will still be active after about ten hours of constant exposure to intense UV radiation. The ink will still change color but the colors will not be as bright. The thicker the ink layer, the more durable the color change effect will be.

Storage

This ink has an indefinite shelf life if stored at room temperature.

Technical Tips

Combining a Photochromic and a transparent plastisol will produce an ink that has one color indoors and another color outdoors.

Standard Colors Indoor Color Outdoor

PHOT-2000 Photochromic Yellow Transparent Similar to PANTONE135 or 136

PHOT-4025 Photochromic Purple Transparent Similar to PANTONE 260

PHOT-5000 Photochromic Blue Transparent Similar to PANTONE 647 or 653

For more information on additional colors, see page 2 of this technical Data Sheet.

Union Ink Company

453 Broad Avenue, Ridgefield, NJ 07657, USA 201-945-5766, 800-526-0455, Fax 201-945-4111

e-mail: sales@unionink.com Internet: http://www.unionink.com

Tan Similar to PANTONE 722C

PHOT-2000 86.2%

PHOT-4025 13.8%

Royal purple similar to PANTONE 2665C

PHOT-4025 75%

PHOT-5000 25%

Green similar to PANTONE 5777C

PHOT-2000 67.6%

PHOT-5000 32.4%

Mocha similar to PANTONE 730C

PHOT-2000 67.6%

PHOT-4025 32.4%

Red Violet similar to PANTONE 507C

PHOT-2000 58.8%

PHOT-4025 25.0%

PHOT-5000 16.2%

Mustard similar to PANTONE 142C

PHOT-2000 93.2%

PHOT-5000 6.8%

Forest Green similar to PANTONE 5773C

PHOT-2000 55.6%

PHOT-5000 44.4%

Union Ink Company

453 Broad Avenue, Ridgefield, NJ 07657, USA, 201-945-5766, 800-526-0455, 201-945-4111

e-mail: sales@unionink.com, Internet: http://www.unionink.com\