Natron® ST Series Ink

Natron® ST Series ink for Soft-Touch materials, textiles, rubber etc.

The Natron® ST Series ink is a pad printing or screen printing ink for soft-touch materials, rubber, and apparel. It is a durable, flexible ink perfect for printing on textiles and other soft items.

The Natron® ST Series ink’s versatility makes it the perfect ink for printing care labels on T-shirts, shoes, and industrial and soft-touch promotional products. It withstands frequent industrial washing machine cycles once cured on apparel.

Adding hardener significantly increases the ink’s resistance to mechanical wear and tear. Even after numerous washing cycles, this ink will not fade due to our proprietary fade-resistant pigments. The high-opacity of the Natron ® ST Series makes it stand out when printing on dark substrates.

There are 23 standard colors, 6 neon colors, and 4 metallic colors. Additionally, we offer 24-hour turnaround custom color matching services for any color you request. To create new shades, you can mix any two or more colors to create over 1,600 PMS colors. Mixing the colors together does not affect the ink adhesion.

Available Sizes

1.0Kg (2.2lbs)

Hardener

i-300X

Solvents

TMF (Fast)

STB

TDG

Have questions?

Available Colors

Additives

How to Mix:

To be used as a 2-component ink, it requires a hardener.

I-300x Hardener.

Mix in the hardener with the ink. You will need 10-20% of the ink’s weight of hardener.

Note, the ink-hardener-solvent mixture is chemically reactive and, in a room temperature environment, must be processed within 6-8 hours.

i-300x Hardener →

Substrates

EPDM Rubber

EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) is a synthetic rubber made up of...

Features

Very High Opacity

The Natron ST series is intended for pad printing on rubber, natural, and synthetic fabrics that require high opacity, fade-resistant inks, which this ink provides. This ink series ink film has very high opacity.

Very good wash and mechanical resistance

This ink series is resistant to industrial machine washing. Washing resistance is achieved after a full cure of 24–48 hours at 20 °C (70 °F). The ST series is able to withstand over 50 industrial washes.

Very flexible

Outstanding flexibility and elasticity are two of the major characteristics of the ST ink line. As a result, this is the perfect ink for printing on flexible rubber substrates such as EVA, EPDM, and many other rubber substrates.

Abrasion resistance

For non-textile substrates such as EPDM, EVA, and soft-touch coated surfaces, the ST Series ink film exhibits outstanding adhesion, resulting in excellent rub, scratch, and block resistance. This pad printing ink is resistant to chemical products such as oils, greases, and solvents.

Durable, supercharged inks!

Print on Textiles, rubber, and soft touch substrates!

Applications

ST Series Mixing and Printing instructions

The only way to mix printing ink is by weight, whether you’re adding hardeners, solvents, or mixing different colors to make a new color.

To use the ink as one component, add the solvent to the ink. Mixing ratio: 10–35% of the ink’s weight, depending on the color. Solvent is added to the ink to adjust the ink’s viscosity. The choice of solvent and the amount added are highly dependent on the printing environment and the printing speed.

Using the ink as a two component ink

A two component ink has two components; the solvent and the hardener. This ink uses the i-300X hardener. Two component inks have a pot life of 8 hours.
Pour the printing ink into a mixing container and note the weight.
Add the hardener to the ink. The mixing ratio is 10 parts ink to 1 part hardener, i.e., 10% of the ink’s weight. Mix the ink and the hardener together.
The solvent, which should be between 10% and 35% of the ink’s weight, should then be added to the ink-hardener mixture.

Note, the ink-hardener-solvent mixture is chemically reactive and must be processed within 7–9 hours.

Printing Parameters: Pad Printing

Printing Plates (clichés) – Textiles
Use any commercially available clichés that are made of ceramic, photopolymer, laser, or steel plates. The recommended cliché depth is 35 μm for standard prints and 50μm for half tones.

Printing Plates (clichés) – Hard goods/ rubber substrates
Use any commercially available clichés that are made of ceramic, photopolymer, laser, or steel plates. The recommended cliché depth is 20 μm for standard prints and 35μm for half tones.

Printing pads
Use silicone printing pads. The ink works regardless of the hardness (durometer) of the pad. 60 – 65 Durometer for textiles.
Printing machines
The Natron ST Series is suitable for both closed-cup and open-ink well machines. Use the appropriate thinner for the correct type of machine. For open ink wells, use slower pad printing ink solvents (thinners).

Printing Parameters: Screen printing

For screen printing, use any of the commonly available polyester meshes and solvent-resistant emulsions. Use 110–156 mesh (mesh per inch)-count screens for the highest opacity and on dark substrates. Use a mesh count of 230 for fine details.

Compliance, Certifications and Resources

Natron® Ink Catalog

Natron® Ink Application Chart

RoHS

Ink Color Chart

ST Ink

CPSIA

Mixing instructions

Prop 65 compliance

ST Series and the Environment

The ST Series pad printing ink is non-toxic ink that is made with pigments that don’t fade and don’t contain any heavy metals. Additionally, it is eco-sustainable, meaning that it does not contain:

Alogens
Animal origin ingredients
Azo dyes
Bisphenol A (BPA)
Formaldehyde
G-B ester
Latex
Melamine
PAH
Persistent organic pollutants
Phthalates

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Natron® ST Series ink used for?

Natron® ST Series ink is a flexible, durable printing ink designed for soft-touch materials, rubber, textiles, and apparel. It is ideal for applications such as care labels on T-shirts, shoes, and other soft promotional products.

Can Natron® ST Series ink be used for both pad printing and screen printing?

Yes. Natron® ST Series ink is formulated for both pad printing and screen printing applications.

Is Natron® ST Series ink suitable for printing on apparel?

Yes. Natron® ST Series ink is designed for printing on apparel and textiles and can be used for applications such as care labels and other durable graphics on T-shirts, shoes, and soft-touch products.

Is Natron® ST Series ink resistant to industrial washing?

Yes. Once properly cured, Natron® ST Series ink is designed to withstand frequent industrial washing machine cycles on apparel and textile applications.

Does Natron® ST Series ink require a hardener?

Natron® ST Series ink can be used as a 2-component ink by adding i-300x Hardener. Adding hardener significantly increases the ink’s resistance to mechanical wear and tear and improves durability in demanding applications.

How do you mix Natron® ST Series ink with hardener?

Mix i-300x Hardener at 10–20% of the ink’s weight. Once the ink, hardener, and solvent are combined, the mixture is chemically reactive and should be processed within 6–8 hours.

Is Natron® ST Series ink suitable for printing on dark materials?

Yes. Natron® ST Series ink offers high opacity, making it an excellent choice for producing vibrant, highly visible prints on dark substrates.

Is Natron® ST Series ink resistant to fading?

Yes. Natron® ST Series ink uses proprietary fade-resistant pigments designed to maintain color performance through repeated washing cycles and demanding use.

How many colors are available?

Natron® ST Series ink is available in 23 standard colors, 6 neon colors, and 4 metallic colors, with 24-hour custom color matching available for requested colors.

Can Natron® ST Series ink colors be mixed together?

Yes. Two or more colors can be mixed to create more than 1,600 PMS color shades. Mixing colors does not negatively affect the ink’s adhesion to the substrate.

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