Specialty Treatments

Discharge inks use an extra activator chemical mixed in with water based inks and are screened onto colored garments. The extra ingredient is heat activated when run through our high temperature dryers. The discharge chemical removes the dye from the fabric, leaving it in it's natural off-white state under the printed ink. The process results in a nice soft hand feel on dark garments that would otherwise require plastisol inks. This ink can be used by itself or in combination with other inks/treatments as a base for dark garments. This process is limited to some brands & 100% cotton garments only. Exact color matching is not always possible since garment type and color batches are not always consistent from shirt to shirt. It's an analog process, so go with it!

High density is a volumizing or dimensional ink is applied in layers to add another dimension to an image. Unlike puff inks, High Density inks looks and feels solid. Multiple levels of this treatment can be built within an image and work well in combination with most other inks/treatments. Flat images on a garment can now look and feel sculpted.

Foil treatment on a garment that looks like.. well, err... foil. It's shiny, sometimes metallic, and highly glossy. It's almost what gold leaf would look like on a shirt, only glossier, and available in many colors. The first step in the process is to screen print an adhesive in the desired shape of the foil. After the garment is cured in the dryer, A sheet of foil is cut to the approximate size and adhered to the shirt with a heat press. The excess foil does not stick to the adhesive, and can be peeled away. Foils can be combined with other inks and treatments. The process is more labor intensive than traditional inks, but the results can be luxurious.

Puff inks had their heyday back in the 80's, but don't let that stop you. Throw caution and good taste to the wind by puffing the heck out of your design on a tie-dyed neon shirt! Bring back new wave glasses and muscle shirts too! But seriously folks (cue rim shot...) When used with control, you can still achieve some surprisingly sophisticated looks with wisely applied puff inks. In a newer development, Blister Puff builds on the effect of regular puff by creating a bubbling molten effect on a garment.

This fun new treatment is an ink that can be used as a clear overlay or can be tinted for color and dimension. When tinted, it becomes a raised ink with the texture and feel of hard jelly but when used clear it can give some designs realism. Clear gel picks up the color on which it is printed and creates a wet, watery look in those areas. This treatment is regularly used to great success and customer satisfaction. Dew on a rose, beads of sweat, or condensation on a beer glass are some of the most realistic application of this specialty ink.

Available in a large variety of colors, sizes & shapes, Crystals & Studs can easily be heat-pressed on pre-printed garments of any kind. This embellishment can be used by itself to create a design on a garment or in combination with screen print to add some bling factor to a garment

Suede Inks are made with an additive that is similar to a puff ink, but it has a suede-like texture when heat cured. Three different mesh counts can be used with screens to help control how much of a raised effect is achieved.

Metallic inks have metal flakes suspended in the semi transparent base. They come in a handful of colors, with the most popular being gold, copper and silver. There are different types of metallic inks that can be used to achieve subtle differences even in the same color. Metallic inks require a lower mesh count (larger holes between threads) screen so they work better with designs that don't have fine details.

Not just the name of a questionable Mariah Carey movie, Glitter is also an ink treatment available in a variety of colors with different sized flakes. From micro flaked glitter to bigger flaked glitter, application onto a garment is the same as regular inks. However, Sugar Glitter, an iridescent frosted flaked glitter is applied as an overlay resulting in a sparkle-sugary-princess-pony goodness. This glitter is used dry and is brushed through a screen onto a thin layer of adhesive.

Glit-Kote is a post-printing treatment that is applied using a heat-press. A chemically treated paper is heat-pressed over an imprinted image resulting in a shiny, smooth, vinyl-like treatment of the imprinted image. The look is reminiscent of the old heat transferred shirt designs that were super popular in the late 70's and the early 80's. Groovy. It gives an image a gloss like a brand new hardwood floor. Glit Koate works best on designs that have a large area of ink coverage.

The design in the image above was printed with glitter ink and then had Glit Koate applied to the right half.

Mix and match it! Multimedia is our in-house name for combining multiple ink types and effects with embroidery or applique to create a high end garment that really stands out in the market. If you can imagine it, chances are OSI can make it.