Water-based Inks

The Permaset Aqua inks used on our garments do not contain ozone-depleting chemicals such as CFC’s and HCFC’s, aromatic hydrocarbons or any volatile solvents. They don’t contain lead or any heavy metals. In fact, Permaset Aqua inks do not contain any toxic chemicals at all, not even white spirits like other water based inks on the market. These inks passed the Oekotex Class 1 standard (with 60% to spare!) and are safe to use on underwear, swimwear and even baby clothes. The Permatone range of inks (for printing onto white garments or a white underbase) are also certified organic with the Soil Association.

Permaset Aqua was developed with this in mind and is highly durable to wash, wear and even to dry clean. We recommend washing up to 30°C but don’t recommend tumble drying. The inks contain a superior pigment colour for brightness and opacity, which means that you can use water based inks on dark colours without having to resort to bleaching the fabric using harmful discharge printing. 

Water based inks have the added benefit that they don’t have a rubbery feel like plastisol inks or transfer printing and are softer to the touch.