The range of available plastisol products is broader than ever. This variety creates a challenge for printers, who not only must determine what ink line will work best in their shops, but what modifiers are compatible with that ink and when they are necessary. It's easy to assume that every ink will be ready for use straight out of the can, but this is not the reality of our industry. The fact is, as ink lines have become more diverse to address a wider range of applications and substrates, the list of modifiers to enhance printability and performance has also grown.
Manufacturers take several approaches in offering ink-mixing systems and corresponding modifiers.
Ink-mixing systems targeted at one specific substrate with modifiers offered to expand the ink's applicability to other substrates. General-purpose mixing systems that offer a variety of bases and provide the versatility to decorate a wide variety of substrates. While each of these systems approaches flexibility and versatility from a different angle, the modifiers they incorporate are similar. Only your application requirements and the characteristics of the unmodified ink will determine when modification is necessary. All ink manufactures offer additives for their standard ink lines to help the printer satisfy key application parameters.