Fashion Base vs Finesse Base vs Curable Reducer

[Allen]

Hey Colin,

Figured it made sense to post some of my questions here so the community can gain from some of the stuff I pester you with.

Was hoping for the official explanation describing the differences and usages between the various Wilflex plastisol additives available since the product pages don't go into much detail.

I did order some, but got side tracked before fully exploring them. Now I'm revisiting the idea based on something that might be coming down the pipeline. Thought it might be a good time to deep dive with you on the subject.

WILFLEX EPIC FASHION SOFT BASE - https://www.screenprinting.com/produ...hion-soft-base

WILFLEX EPIC FINESSE PLASTISOL ADDITIVE - https://www.screenprinting.com/produ...tisol-additive

WILFLEX EPIC CURABLE REDUCER - https://www.screenprinting.com/produ...urable-reducer

The product descriptions and corresponding videos don't really differentiate the differences / applications on the first two. Likewise, only reason I can think of for curable reducer beyond some experimental print would be change the opacity of inks used in sim process prints.

Anyhow, wondering if you can sort ofd break it all down and add some context to these products.

Thanks man!

Allen

[Chuggins]

ALLEN!!!!!

So lets see:

1) Fashion soft: There are a couple of things you can do with this ink. A) Add this to your ink when you want to quickly reduce the body of the ink and make it easier to print. B) Add this when you want to change how the ink feels when printed directly on the garment - this makes the final print feel much softer when cured. Addendum: If adding to ink that will overprint a base white, add less than you would normally. Fashion soft is specifically design to get your plastisol inks to have more of a waterbase like feel to the finished product.

2) Curable Reducer: You can also add this to your inks to quickly reduce the body of the ink - this will not change the final feel of the ink. The ink will have the same finish and hand. If you add enough, you can greatly thin out your ink creating a softer ink, but not as soft as with Fashion Soft.

3) Finesse: Finesse has a lower viscosity than traditional inks and can be used as both an ink extender (to thin out the ink without changing the body of the ink much) and as a base that you can add pigments too.

Design types:
1) Super Soft vintage feel design - I would add Fashion Soft to create the super soft feel, then add just enough Finesse to lower the opacity to what looks good.
2) Spot Color - but the ink is really thick: I would add a little Curable Reducer to quickly make the ink easier to work with.
3) Sim Process: I would add Finesse to reduce the ink opacity to assist in better halftone dot blending.
4) Wet on Wet printing directly on the fabric: I would start with adding Finesse to extend the usage of the ink (you dont need full opacity color for light color garments) maybe add a little Fashion Soft depending on what the customer is looking for.

While there are general guidelines to follow for adding these inks: Do what looks best and feels best. There is no WRONG answer. Start small and test test test before production.