Tried speedball ink vs a cheap house paint mix for shirts

I've been printing tees in my garage for about 6 months now. Last week I finally tested speedball fabric ink against a homemade mix of house paint and fabric medium. The speedball cost $12 a bottle but gave me a crisp print on the first pull. The house paint mix was only $4 but took three coats and came out stiff after washing. I also ruined two screens because the house paint dried too fast in the mesh. Anyone else try swapping cheap materials and regret it?

2 comments

2 Comments

leobrown15d ago

Did you let the house paint mix sit longer before pulling? I tried a similar budget mix once and waiting a full minute after flooding the screen helped with the drying issue. My best results came from just sticking with proper ink in the end though.

the_sarah12d ago

Patience usually pays off, same with letting things settle in life too.