Water Base in Motion...

Its been a busy week here at Sapphire...we are printing for Local Motion Hawaii! We love working with them! Their prints are always clean and colorful, but also love them because they tend to use Water Base inks. Not only does this feel and look great, but these inks are also environmentally friendly.

Like most Screen Printers we normally use Plastisol Inks, but Water Base is much more preferrable when it comes to the look of the garment. Lets compare the two:

Plastisol is a PVC based ink and is what the majority of printers use. Water based is a water based ink with pigments suspended within it. Water based inks can be used to print stickers, towels, fabric yards, canvas and paper, as well as apparel such as shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, jeans, aprons, jackets, hats and practically any other item as long as it can be put on the press to be screened. Designs can be printed on cotton, polyester, or poly/cotton blends. Prints made with water based can be ironed, while plastisol prints cannot be, as the iron's heat plate would melt the PVC in the ink.

Water based ink sits into the fabric of the printed shirt, not on top of the fabric like plastisol printing. This allows skin under the design to breathe better, and can increase the amount of comfort felt while wearing the decorated item.

To add to the before mentioned advantages to Water Base printing, Water based inks are definitely more environmentally friendly! After a run of prints, screens can be cleaned with just water, and it can go down the drain, being no more harmful than mild household cleaning products. Water based inks are simply not toxic, do not contain lead or any heavy metals, nor do they contain any ozone-depleting chemicals (CFC's, HCFC's, etc) or volatile solvents.

The Green movement is having a serious impact on consumers' choices. People are wearing organic clothing, buying hybrid cars, and eating non-GMO food products. Plastisol may be the default choice for most professional screen printers, but water based does have a foothold in the industry, and its popularity will continue to grow, due to increasing demand from the level of the consumer and enlightened persons in charge of clothing lines. Will you be next to join the movement?

If you have any questions regarding our printing techniques, feel free to contact us anytime. :)

A Symbol of Brotherhood

Case of the Mondays?

Not here at Sapphire. Although our home team lost yesterday, and it happens to be a very rainy day here in San Diego, we are up and runnin' in good spirits.

Today we are printing a very touching and special project for our friends at Forged Clothing that i would like to share with you:

On September 6th, 2009, Lt. Dan Cnossen returned to Kandahar, Afghanistan. With less than 36 hours on the ground, his team received their first mission task targeting Taliban operatives. During the mission, a land mine was activated and Dan lost both legs as well as sustained traumatic internal injuries. Currently he is at the National Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland where he is fighting a new battle. Like any other challenge in his life, Dan will face this one with courage and dedication. 100% of the profits from these bandannas are donated to Dan's fund to help his recovery and his family. This bandanna was designed around 4 different sayings they use a lot in the Teams, as well as a fitting portion of the Invictus poem: "In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloodied, but unbowed." Fold it one of many different ways to have it read what you want, the 4 saying are: Strength Through Adversity, Brotherhood, Never Fail, and Seek & Destroy.

With these bandannas, Forged Clothing has raised over $2,500 for their friend. This is an amazing and touching project that we are very proud to be a part of. If you have any questions or would like to find out how you can help, please contact us :)

I always have a blast working with them and love their designs!

BOLTZ!

Is everyone pumped for the playoffs?

We are! Which is why we were so happy to do this print yesterday...for the second time in 2 weeks! These shirts are selling fast just in time for the game this weekend. The beautiful artwork was done by our client Rob, who is a very nice guy on top of being ectremely talented.

My favorite part of this design is the "family crest" feel of it. With the border around the horse which he seems to be charging out of along with the bolts, San Digo flag and design around that. I think it gives the shirt a really special feelin of San Diego Charger pride!

They also have been doing Raider Nation T's for some time now. This also has the "family crest" look! Vote in our poll which design you like the best! Feel free to leave comments.

New Bloggers Here!!!

Hello Everyone!

Thank you for visiting our Blog. This is our first post...EXCITING!

We are looking forward to sharing a wide range of information with you here, from Screenprinting and Embroidery news to our every day lives in the shop. We will update you with what we are printing everyday along with the process we used to do so, followed with pictures! We are always discovering new and fun ways to print which we are looking forward to sharing with the world! From our clients to collegues, we are looking forward to your thoughts and input and ideas. Become a follwer and enjoy our daily posts!

We look forward to meeting you :)