Aquarius Soft Base - 5KG
Premium clear water-based mixing base engineered for printing bright, vibrant colors on white and light-colored garments while delivering an exceptionally soft hand, excellent detail, and reliable wet-on-wet printability.
Characteristics
Aquarius™ Soft Base is a professional water-based screen printing base from Avient Specialty Inks designed to produce extremely soft-hand prints on white and light-colored garments. The clear base works with Aquarius Water Based Pigments to create bright custom colors while allowing the natural feel and flexibility of the fabric to remain virtually unchanged.
Designed for both vector and tonal artwork, Aquarius Soft Base provides excellent detail and can be printed through mesh counts ranging from 110–320 threads/in (43–125 threads/cm). Its formulation maintains excellent screen open time and supports wet-on-wet printing, helping improve production efficiency on multicolor jobs.
Aquarius Soft Base can be mixed with Aquarius Water Based Pigments at a maximum pigment loading of 6%. Colors can be formulated using the Aquarius IMS Pantone® color-matching system, providing screen printers with repeatable formulations for custom and standardized colors.
The Aquarius water-based system is non-PVC and non-phthalate and is designed to provide strong wash durability and crock performance when properly mixed, printed, and cured.
- Produces an exceptionally soft hand on printed garments
- Clear water-based mixing base
- Designed primarily for white and light-colored garments
- Creates bright colors when combined with Aquarius Water Based Pigments
- Maximum recommended pigment loading: 6%
- Supports Aquarius IMS Pantone® color matching
- Excellent wet-on-wet printability
- Maintains excellent screen open time
- Suitable for vector and tonal artwork
- Excellent wash durability and crock performance
- Prints through mesh counts up to 320 threads/in
- Water-based, non-PVC and non-phthalate formulation
- Cleans up with water and mild detergent
- Available in a 5KG container size
- Aquarius Water Based Pigments: Maximum total pigment loading of 6%
- Aquarius Softener: 1–5%
- Aquarius Thickener: 0.1–1%
- Aquarius Retarder Gel: 1–5%
- Thoroughly mix Aquarius Soft Base before use.
- Mix Aquarius Water Based Pigments into Soft Base according to the desired color formulation.
- Keep total pigment loading at or below the recommended 6% maximum to maintain recommended crock performance.
- Use the Aquarius IMS Pantone® color-matching system for repeatable custom and standardized color formulations.
- 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 single controlled print stroke for recommended printing performance.
- Multicolor designs can be printed wet-on-wet, generally working from lighter colors toward darker colors.
- Avoid unnecessary flash curing between colors.
- Keep the ink moving during production to help maintain screen open time and prevent drying in the image area.
- Cure printed ink for approximately 90 seconds at 330°F (165°C).
- Verify the temperature at the actual ink surface rather than relying solely on the dryer's temperature setting.
- Always test finished prints for cure, wash fastness, crock resistance, fabric compatibility, and color accuracy before beginning a full production run.
Aquarius Soft Base is designed primarily for white and light-colored garments. Because fabric construction, dyes, and garment composition can affect printing performance, always test the actual production garment before beginning a full run.
For custom colors, keep the total Aquarius pigment concentration at or below the recommended 6% maximum. Excessive pigment loading may negatively affect crock and overall print performance.
Always verify the actual ink-film temperature during curing. Dryer settings alone do not guarantee that the printed ink has reached the required 330°F (165°C) cure temperature.
Production prints should be tested for complete cure, wash fastness, crock resistance, fabric compatibility, and color accuracy before production approval.
