Photochromic Plastisol (PHOT)

This ink changes colors when exposed to sunlight.________________________________________________________________

Applications

·        White Fabrics

·        White Plastisol Underbases

Features

·     Indoor colors are Pale, Transparent

·     Outdoor colors are Bright, Intense

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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-4000  Photochromic Magenta                                       Transparent                                            Similar to PANTONE 512

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.

North Bay Sportswear * 570 #B Soscol Ave. Napa, CA 94559 800-320-7007 * 707-257-7007 * Fax: 707-257-0636