Best Screen Printing Ink for Beginners

by Doug Berg | Last Updated: April 12, 2019

If you’re in a hurry and just want to quickly find out what our choice is for best screen printing ink for beginners check out the Speedball Opaque Fabric Screen Printing Starter Set.

Screen printing is an amazing hobby that can be turned into a profitable side hustle. Creating and selling your own screen printed t-shirts is a great way not only to express yourself but to dip your toes into the entrepreneurial swimming pool.

For artists and t-shirt entrepreneurs new to screen printing, learning about all of the equipment and materials you’ll need can be overwhelming. For many people, one of the first questions they ask is “what is the best screen printing ink for beginners?”. This isn’t a question with one single answer because there are many factors to consider. Let’s take a look at the best paints for screen printing on the market. 

What is Screen Printing?

Before we dive into the substance of this list, we wanted to take a moment for a quick refersher course on screen printing itself.

Screen printing is a form of art or decoration in which ink is applied to a surface and forced through a fine mesh scree. The ending resultis a beautiful design on t-shirt o any other garment or fabic material. To get started screen printing, it’s vital to have a few siple items on hand. These include:

• A frame for stretching the fabric
• A Fine layer mesh to help transfer the design
• A transparency of your design
• Emulsion and an exposure unit
• A squeegee to run over the paint, distributing it evenly across the work surface
• A selection of high-quality screen printing inks

Optional Equipment:

• A Screen Printing Press
• A flash dryer or curing machine

What is Screen Printing Ink?

People have been using pigmented ink to richly color items of clothing for many centuries. In fact, the earliest known reference to dyeing fabric clothing dates back to 2600 B.C. At that time, dyes were of course made from natural materials that were rich in pigment and staining ability. 

Screen printing ink is, most simply put, the colored ink used during the screen printing process. However, this product is so much more than your run of the mill craft store paint or ink. Screen printing is an intricate process that requires special paint formulated especially for the art of screen printing. 

If you want a quick lesson in screen printing ink, check out this fun little video:

What Makes a Great Screen Printing Ink? 

There isn’t any particular feature that makes an ink product great. What’s important is figuring out what type of screen printing ink would be best for your unique project. 

When planning your project, you should keep a few key factors in mind:

• Which colors or pigments do you need in your design?
• What color is the item of clothing you are screen printing?
• How many items do you need to print?
• How will your final product be used?
• What is your screen printing work space like?
• Do you own a heated curing appliance like a flash dryer

There are a few different varieties of screen printing ink. Here is some information on each variety of ink. 

What Are the Different Types of Screen Printing Ink?

Plastisol Ink

Even if you’re a beginner screen printer, you’ve probably heard of plastisol in. Plastisol is a liquid ink that turns solid when heat is applied. It’s essentially particles of resin that are suspended in a non-volatile liquid. Plastisol is great for screen printing because of the fully opaque nature of the print. It’s also able to stay on the screen for a decent amount of time without drying up, making the screen printing process easier. Plastisol is a popular choice and comes in many varieties. 

Water-Based Ink

While plastisol creates a solid layer of printed ink that sits on top of the garment, water-based ink works quite differently. Water-based inks work more like dye–they saturate the fabric fibers and change the color. This is great if you want a softer look and feel. Think of a comfy vintage t-shirt with a design that looks dyed or woven into the fabric itself. Water-based ink doesn’t color with the opacity of plastisol, but it offers a totally different look which can work well for many projects. 

Discharge Ink

Discharge ink is a relative newcomer to the screen printing game and works in a particularly unique way. With this ink, the dye that originally colored your garment is lifted, and then its replaced by a new color. Fans of this product love it because it allows easier printing on dark colored garments (without pre-basing with a light base color). Important: discharge ink can only be used with 100% cotton materials! Also, you should know that discharge ink gives off quite a bit of fume, so it should only be used in a well-ventilated workspace. Discharge ink comes in both water-based and plastisol forms.

Our Top Picks for Screen Printing Ink for Beginners

Speedball Art Products Fabric Screen Printing Ink 8 Fl. oz.

[amazon box=”B001038NLY” template=”horizontal”]

This Speedball product offers a great water-based solution at an affordable price. Here are a few facts:

• Non-toxic and non-flammable
• Works on most fabrics or materials
• Comes in a variety of richly pigmented, classic colors
• Speedball has a great reputation for producing quality products.

When it comes to the basics, this Speedball water-based screen printing ink will help you deliver amazing results. Speedball screen printing inks also earn quite a few positive reviews. Check them out for yourself.

Ecotex Fluorescent Discharge Screen Printing Ink Set

[amazon box=”B07KMRDF2N” template=”horizontal”]

This is a great little kit to get you started working with discharge ink. Here are a few important facts:

• You get 9 pints of water-based discharge ink in 9 different vibrant colors.
• Colors include the 90s style bright, neon shades that are back in style today. The colors are lightening yellow, slime green, nuclear green, electric blue, magestic magenta, hot pink, bright orange, blood orange and tang orange.
• This discharge ink claims to be low-odor, made with a PVC and non-phthalate formula
• This product offers high opacity but does not dry out quickly on the screen–which makes it a very good choice for screen printing beginners.

Check the prices as this set is generally the most expensive of the inks we’ve reviewed. However, we have no doubt that this set is a great way to get your next big project started. 

Speedball Opaque Fabric Printing Starter Set

[amazon box=”B0011YRZXO” template=”horizontal”]

Continuing with Speedball products, this is a set of 6 jars of opaque screen printing ink. This in can be used on dark or light fabrics of all kinds, and also on paper and cardboard. Here are a few stats about this set:

• Comes in 6 fashionable colors
• Each jar is 4 oz or 118 ml
• Must be heat set for colorfastness
• Non-toxic
• No solvents or offensive odor/fumes

This set is a super affordable pack if you’re looking for color variety. If you have a multi-colored project coming up, this is a great product. 

Versatex Screen Printing Ink

[amazon box=”B0007YG74C” template=”horizontal”]

Versatex created this screen printing ink with the professional screen printer in mind. Here are a few facts about this popular product:

• Mixable colors that can be thinned with water
• Provides strong, bold pigment with a silky finish that won’t affect the texture of your garment
• Beautiful creamy consistency
• Versatex black ink provides fantastic coverage

Versatex offers this professional-grade screen printing ink at an affordable price point. 

Jacquard Brand Screen Printing Ink–Assorted Colors

[amazon box=”B002IG4E9W” template=”horizontal”]

Jacquard is another well-known, high-quality brand bringing us this water-based ink in a variety of beautiful colors. This popular ink is:

• Non-toxic and non-flammable
• Works on porous fabrics and materials
• Works on paper
• Cleans up easily with water
• Air cures within 72 hours with wash fast results

This product is pretty affordable. It’s a solid choice for a water-based screen printing ink. 

So which screen printing ink did we choose?

This list covered just five of the many amazing screen printing ink products available to consumers. But, which one is our pick for the best screen printing ink for beginners in 2019?

Our top choice is the Speedball Opaque Fabric Screen Printing Starter Set.

We like this Speedball brand kit because it offers a nice selection of colors for beginners to experiment with during their new projects. This ink is non-toxic and does not have an offensive chemical odor, making it a safe choice for small home or garage screen printing studios. It’s also great to use on any fabric (like cotton, rayon or polyester)That fact also adds a sense of versatility for new screen printers to experiment. And at less than 20 dollars for 6 colors, the Speedball set is our clear choice.

More DIY Screen Printing Articles

Doug has been an entrepreneur for years, starting several businesses. Doug is a web developer, father of 2 great kids and husband to the best wife ever. I've been working on building my custom tee shirt business for 3 years.