We all know of products that are made out of silicone material. From medical and promotional products, to rubber parts and buttons, there are many different silicone applications one can Print on. But what about the type of ink to use when printing on these materials? Virtually all inks in the printing industry and certainly at Inkcups, can print on a wide range of applications but yet, there are very few inks in the industry that are available for silicone decoration. Prints on wristbands for example, go through a myriad of wear and tear on a person’s wrist. As they are used for an extended period of time, the image is consistently stretched when taken off or put on. So what is the solution? The answer is Inkcups’ SI Series ink. Here at Inkcups, we possess over eight assorted types of inks and plenty of colors. With our Sapphire series, our inks can print on several products ranging from promotional products, metals, plastics, etc.

As mentioned, Inkcups possesses a specialty ink produced in-house, labeled the SI Series. What separates the SI series from all of other inks we offer? This ink Series is our only ink exclusively aimed at printing on silicone applications. The SI Series ink can be utilized by either screen or pad printing processes and the finishing product produces an opaque, supple, smooth and scratch resistant appearance. SI also, comes in 18 stock colors and we also offer a twelve color mixing system with a calculator for color matching. This method allows customers to be able to create Pantone colors in-house. This specialty ink is a platinum based, two-component ink that is comprised of ink and catalyst (hardener). The pot life of the SI Series is much more user friendly than other solvent based inks. The great benefit of the pot life of SI ink is that the customer has 24 hours or more to use that ink which is significantly higher than the 6-8 hour life for other solvent based inks.

SI Series cannot be used to print on any other applications except silicone making it the perfect ink for any looking to print on silicone products. Print on items made of silicone rubber including:

• Oven mitts
• Wristbands
• Swim caps
• Buttons
• Touch pads
• Remote controls
• Phone cases
• Credit card wallets (which people attach to the back of their cellphones)
• Spatulas, and more!

For those of you wondering, how do we achieve the appealing finish to each of our silicone products using the SI Series? The process is simple. We mix the ink, print and then cure the ink and you can too! Once the SI Series is fully cured, you will notice that the ink will have a very high resistance to abrasion and be very flexible so whether you bend or stretch the product, the print will not break.

Unlike our other solvent based ink product lines, the SI Series remains wet until it is dried and cured in an oven. Silicone ink is normally heated for six minutes at 124 degrees C (255 degrees F). However, if you are printing in-house, certain products can vary with curing time. For example, a wrist band takes less time to cure than say a swim cap based on the size of the products so it depends on the product you are printing on. It should also, be noted that the SI Series ink is a harmless product with little to no odor. It passes compliance tests such as CPSIA with flying colors, so the advantages are paramount with the SI Series ink!