Permaset® Aqua Print Pastes / Bases (Various Types)

Permaset® Aqua is a durable range of water-based screen printing inks for textile printing. Manufactured in Australia, they are 100% solvent free, making equipment easy to clean with water.

Print paste is used as a base for mixing ink colours. You can add concentrated colour pigments to print paste, or you can use pastes to thicken or dilute the viscosity of existing Permaset® Aqua inks. They can also be used to achieve particular art-finishing effects when applied directly to textile surfaces with a brush.

There are 2 types of Permaset® Print Paste:

• Standard Print Paste - Translucent paste which can be added to standard or supercover fabric inks to dilute the colour intensity / opacity of the ink. Use this base to make an ink more see-through in appearance or to give it a softer handle. Handy when trying to achieve watercolour effects.
• Supercover Print Paste - this is a grey-coloured thick paste that can be used as a base for mixing supercover colours or to thicken an ink and give it more opacity. The grey colour is neutral to prevent it clashing with pigment colours or over pigmenting inks when mixing darker colours.

If you are mixing light or pastel colours, Permaset Aqua Supercover White or Permaset Aqua Standard White can be used instead or in league with these bases. Similarly,  Permaset Aqua Supercover Black  can be used as a starting point to be diluted with these pastes to achieve very dark colours.

If you need further help experimenting with or understanding how these inks work, we recommend signing up for our Screen Printing for Beginners class for hands-on guidance.

The Permaset® Aqua range must be heat set or 'cured' after printing, to ensure it doesn't wash out of your fabric. See below for details on this. It is not the ideal ink for printing onto hard surfaces such as signs, wood or plastics if they will be exposed to water or elements. See instead the Permaprint Premium range of inks if you intend to print onto hard surfaces or items that cannot be heat set.

For the rest of the Permaset® Aqua range, see the supercover, metallic and glow colours.

Suitable Substrates/ Print Surfaces:

Permaset® Aqua is ideal for use on a full range of fabrics including Cotton, Polyester, Silk and most synthetics. 

Printing:

Screen meshes between 43T-100T (110-250 TPI) monofilament polyester are recommended. For t-shirt printing, normally two pulls of the squeegee using a 43T screen are required when printing. If using stencils, ensure they are water resistant and fully cured before printing. To prevent ink drying out or changing viscosity, flooding between prints is recommended and always replace the lid when not in use.

Drying/Curing:

Permaset® Aqua inks will become touch-dry by evaporation over 20-30 minutes depending on the ambient temperature /humidity. In order for the ink to fully cure however (i.e. not rub off or wash out of fabric during washing/dry cleaning), it must be heat cured. Check the label on each Permaset® ink pot for specific curing instructions, but as a general guide ensure the ink is heated for at least:

2-3 minutes @ 160°C (355°F) - Hand Iron, Cotton Setting or
5-6 minutes @ 140°C (285°F) - Hand Iron, Wool Setting or
8-9 minutes @ 120°C (250°F) - Hand Iron, Wash 'n' Wear Setting

It is also possible to cure ink in an oven or dryer, provided you can mimic similar temperatures and times as listed above.

*Important*: Before attempting any print run, experiment with pieces of test material to check adhesion and water-resistance properties. If using a tunnel drier, run a number of full sized test blanks through, both before and following the test print, to simulate thermal load. Fabrics can burn or singe at too high temperatures.

Storage and Handling:

USE ONLY IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA.

Handle according to good industrial hygiene and safety practices. Store in a cool, secure place, out of reach of children and direct sunlight, as well as sources of heat / extreme cold.

First Aid:

Not an inhalation risk. If ingested, immediately rinse mouth out, drink plenty of water and seek medical attention. Repeated or prolonged skin contact may lead to irritation and it is recommended that any skin contact should be avoided by wearing gloves. If contact occurs, wash skin immediately and thoroughly with soap and water.

Safety and Handling:

Permaset Aqua has been formulated to be free of any toxic chemicals. The range has no flash point, and as such is exempt from Flammable Liquids regulations.

Permaset Aqua inks do not contain ozone-depleting chemicals such as CFC's and HCFC's, aromatic hydrocarbons or any volatile solvents. They don't contain lead, heavy metals, toxic chemicals, or white spirits like other water based inks on the market. It passed the Oekotex Class 1 standard (with 60% to spare!) and is safe to use on underwear, swimwear and even baby clothes.