We are pleased to announce the much anticipated launch of our PVC-free, Phthalate-free, eco-friendly GEN IV Series inks. GEN IV series inks are unique. Unlike other eco-friendly inks, GEN IV inks are creamy and full-bodied, and offer the coverage, opacity and performance of plastisols. GEN IV was developed to provide optimal performance on both manual and automatic printers.
GEN IV inks do not dry on the screen and cleanup is simple – all that’s needed is water. No harsh solvents or chemicals are necessary!
We have run extensive tests on GEN IV inks in our tech center. We love the soft hand and coverage it gives even on dark garments. Read our Press Release here.
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Printed in Halftones on Dark Fabric (Artwork by Great Dane Graphics) |
Printed Without Under-Base |
Initial GEN IV Product Line Details
In addition to being PVC-free and Phthalate-free, GEN IV does not contain any heavy metals or other harmful materials. GEN IV has been tested by independent labs and certified as meeting Oeko-Tex standards.
GEN IV’s initial product line consists of 19 primary colors and several specialty inks. The colors can be used as stock printing colors or as color primaries in the GEN IV color matching system. The initial line of GEN IV specialty inks include a Clear Base, Puff Additive, Foil/Transfer Adhesive, and a Glitter Base.
Here are actual scans of the color palette being offered (excluding white):
Charlie’s Corner
Industry expert Charlie Taublieb has considerable experience using the GEN IV line. Here are his comments about the product:
The buzz word is “Green”. Every screen printer wants to be Green, but very few want to use Green inks because that usually requires water base. The reason most printers don’t want to use water based inks is because unlike plastisol, they dry quickly in the screen.
Welcome to Gen IV. It’s not a true water based ink, but does require a water resistant stencil and needs to be washed up with water. The difference is, GEN IV is Green, does not dry quickly in the screen and is very opaque. I worked with it and it has most of the positive aspects of plastisol, from stretching to the opacity. The big difference is it can be ironed 24 hours after it has gone through the dryer, it’s Green and if it dries in the screen, a few hard print strokes and the screen is open again.
I was printing a job, stopped without cleaning the screen or covering the ink, went to lunch, came back and a few strokes later, was back to printing the job.
The photos are of the same job, one printed with plastisol and the other with Gen IV. Can you tell which is which? Want to try some? Call your ICC distributor and order a kit.
By the way, the Tiger prints below were printed through the same screens for both inks and printed the same way. 156 mesh @ 35 N/cm for the underlay, flash, and 230 mesh @ 35 N/cm for the colors printed wet on wet in the following order: Red, Yellow, White.
Want to know which Tiger is printed with the Gen IV inks? I’m not telling.
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Guess which print was printed with plastisol and which one with GEN IV?
(Find out below) |
What About Special Effects?
The minute our Print Applications Manager, Ed Branigan, got his hands on the GEN IV line, he immediately tested the ink on the manual as well as automatic printers. Not only did he print with the inks straight and tested the glitter and puff bases, but he also tried to come up with other techniques to showcase some special effects.
Here are just some of the results: (more to come!)
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Leather Crinkle Effect |
Leather Crinkle Effect Close-up |
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Antique Effect |
Antique Effect Close-up |
Everyone’s Going Green
Have you looked at a magazine lately? Chances are there is at least one article that talks about going “green” or mentioning eco-friendly choices available today. Even the fashion world has jumped on the bandwagon. Besides retailing behemoths like Target, Walmart, Barney’s and JC Penney’s, magazines such as Elle and Glamour also devoted entire editions to “green” topics with a fashion spin.
More and more consumers are purchasing “green” products. In fact, according to a recent Cone survey, almost 6 out of 10 consumers were likely to purchase “green” products in 2007 over the previous year. A recent study by Deloitte also showed that 17% of consumers were willing to pay more for green gifts or supplies.
So make GEN IV a part of your product offering. Your customers will notice!
Please Note: The GEN IV line will initially be offered only in the Americas.
*Tiger Prints Revealed: The left print was printed with plastisol, the right one with GEN IV. Did you guess correctly?
