How to Print on Nylon

Getting The Ink To Stick!

Every shop gets the occasional order that requires the shop to print on something made of nylon. While there are several hurdles in printing nylon, like getting a nylon jacket to stick to the shirt board, we are going to cover the most common issue. How to get the ink to stick!

The Correct Ink

Nylon Inks

You can buy inks formulated specifically for printing on nylon, but it is hard to get the colors you want, the ink is more expensive, and you have to buy a bunch of ink in a color you may not use again. We don’t use this method. We mix our own.

Nylon Ink Additive

We mix our ink with Nylobond made by Union Ink Company. We use mostly Union ink, and would rather not mix brands when mixing additives with ink. We have also NEVER had an issue with our ink falling off, peeling, cracking, or any issue while using Nylobond. What ever brand you use, make sure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions when mixing the ink.

Screens

Higher Mesh

We have found that mixing Nylobond with an ink will make the ink a little more runny. We find this especially true with darker colors. With lighter colors, like white, it will thin it enough to use a 156 mesh screen instead of the 110 you would usually use. On the darker colors you might want to consider using a 230 mesh instead of the 156 like normal.

On The Press

Flashing

Flashing nylon is very tricky. Nylon shrinks BAD when heated. If you just printed a white design on nylon and wanted to flash it and print another stroke… SURPRISE! The two prints will not register! Some shops will pre shrink nylon by running it thru the dryer first, or hitting it with the flash before printing. Our shop? We prefer to not flash at all. Sometimes you get a pretty good ink coverage printing on nylon and wont need to flash. For all those other times? We turn it down. Honestly, we will only print on nylon if we can’t talk the customer into something different (like embroidery). We wont print anything that requires us to have a base print on nylon, and we wont print multiple colors on nylon. Printing wet on wet on nylon is almost impossible.

Ink On The Screen

Be careful with large print jobs on nylon that the ink doesn’t stay on the screen too long. If left in the image on the screen, the ink will harden and block out the screen. If you need to take a break, flood the screen with ink. If you need to go home for the night, tear down the screen and clean it. Yes, you will have to throw away the ink, it wont keep till you get back the next day.

Pulling The Squeegee

When printing, pull the squeegee a little faster than you would for a t shirt. The ink is a little thinner, and the nylon doesn’t soak up the ink like a t shirt. If you print slowly, the ink will pool on the nylon and blur. Try not to put yourself in the situation where you will need a second pull on the squeegee. Get it right the first pull.

Curing The Ink

Not So Hot!

Nylon will shrink and sometimes even melt if it spends too long in the dryer. You will need to run your heat a little cooler, and turn your belt up a little faster. Check with your ink and additive manufacturer for temperatures and times. Even if it doesn’t shrink, it may still be hot and wet when it comes out the other end of the dryer. It is best if you have someone catch each garment as it comes out the other end, then lets them cool before stacking them together. Even after they are cool and dry, allow another couple days before they will be completely cured.

To quote Forrest Gump… “Well, that’s all I’ve got to say about that.”. If you don’t absolutely have to print on nylon, THEN DON’T! There are some shops out there that will blow your mind with what they can do on nylon. Let them have those kinds of jobs. Stick with what YOU do best. If you do have to print on nylon, do your research and practice. You might get thru it.