Aquarius Soft Base - 20KG
Premium water-based soft base ink engineered for bright, vivid color printing on white and light-colored garments, delivering excellent wet-on-wet performance, superior screen open time, and an exceptionally soft fabric hand.
Characteristics
Aquarius™ Soft Base is a professional water-based screen printing base from Avient Specialty Inks designed to produce bright, vibrant prints while maintaining the natural soft feel of the garment. Part of the Zodiac™ Aquarius™ water-based ink system, Soft Base is intended primarily for printing on white and light-colored garments where a soft-hand finish and strong color performance are required.
The ready-to-use base can be combined with Aquarius water-based pigment concentrates to formulate custom colors. Avient specifies a maximum pigment loading of 6%, helping maintain excellent crock and fastness performance. Color formulations can be created through the Aquarius-supported IMS 3.0 Pantone® color-matching system, providing printers with repeatable color recipes for production.
Aquarius Soft Base is formulated for excellent on-press performance. It can be printed wet-on-wet and is engineered to remain open in the screen, helping reduce drying and screen blockage during production. Depending on the application, recommended mesh counts range from 110–320 threads/in (43–125 threads/cm), making the ink suitable for everything from general graphics to fine-detail printing.
The system is compatible with 100% cotton, blends, and synthetic fabrics, although the specific garment and ink combination should always be tested before production. The Soft Base system is water-based, non-PVC, and non-phthalate.
- Produces an exceptionally soft-hand print
- Designed for white and light-colored garments
- Professional water-based ink system
- Ready-to-use soft base
- Compatible with Aquarius water-based pigment concentrates
- Supports custom Pantone® color matching through IMS 3.0
- Maximum recommended pigment loading: 6%
- Excellent wet-on-wet printability
- Maintains excellent screen open time
- Designed to resist drying in the screen
- Suitable for high mesh counts up to 320 threads/in
- Excellent color and fastness performance
- Suitable for cotton, blends, and synthetic fabrics
- Water-based, non-PVC, and non-phthalate formulation
- Available in a 20KG container size
- Aquarius Water-Based Pigment Concentrates: Up to 6% maximum total pigment loading
- Use pigment formulations from the Aquarius IMS 3.0 Pantone® color-matching system when appropriate for repeatable production colors.
- Thoroughly mix Aquarius Soft Base before use.
- Mix Aquarius pigment concentrates into Soft Base according to the desired color formulation.
- Keep total pigment loading at or below the recommended 6% maximum.
- For repeatable production colors, use formulations from the Aquarius IMS 3.0 Pantone® color-matching system.
- Use approximately 110–320 threads/in (43–125 threads/cm) mesh depending on the desired ink deposit and image detail.
- Maintain approximately 1/16" (2 mm) off-contact.
- Use a 60/90/60 durometer squeegee with a sharp, square profile.
- A single medium-speed print stroke is recommended as a starting point.
- Print colors wet-on-wet, generally working from lighter colors toward darker colors.
- Keep the ink moving during production to help maintain screen open time.
- Avoid allowing ink to build up or dry in the image area during extended production stops.
- Clean the stencil area when necessary to help prevent screen blockage.
- Cure printed ink at approximately 330°F (165°C) for 90 seconds.
- Verify the actual temperature at the ink surface rather than relying solely on dryer settings.
- Test finished prints for complete cure, wash durability, and colorfastness before beginning a full production run.
Always verify the actual ink-film temperature during curing. Dryer performance, belt speed, garment construction, ink deposit, and production conditions can affect the amount of time required for the printed ink to reach the recommended cure temperature.
Aquarius Soft Base is designed primarily for white and light-colored garments. Always test the ink with the specific garment, fabric construction, color, and production conditions before beginning a full production run.
Finished prints should be tested for complete cure, adhesion, colorfastness, crock performance, and wash durability before production approval.
