You can make custom screen printing ink colors at home or in a small shop, but there is an important difference between mixing ink and manufacturing ink.

Blending professionally formulated inks or combining concentrated pigments with a compatible ink base is practical. Attempting to manufacture screen printing ink from raw resins, plasticizers, binders, pigments, and household chemicals is a completely different process and is not recommended for the average printer.

For most screen printers, "making your own ink" should mean creating custom colors from a tested mixing system. This gives you control over color while preserving the curing, stretch, opacity, bleed resistance, and printing characteristics built into the original ink system.

What Does Making Your Own Ink Mean?

The phrase can describe three very different activities:

The first two methods are realistic for home printers and professional shops. The third requires formulation knowledge, specialized equipment, chemical controls, quality testing, and access to raw materials that are not normally practical for a small operation.

A properly manufactured ink must do much more than display the correct color. It must also:

Combining craft paint, fabric paint, household dye, adhesive, or an improvised thickener may create something that passes through a screen, but that does not make it dependable textile screen printing ink.

Can You Mix Two Screen Printing Inks Together?

Yes. Mixing finished inks is the easiest way to create your own colors, provided the inks are chemically compatible and belong to an appropriate system.

For example, you can combine a printable blue ink and a printable red ink to create a purple. The original red, the original blue, and the new purple can all be printed because every component was already a complete ink before mixing.

This type of system is commonly called an ink-to-ink or Mix & Match system. Each component contains the ingredients required for printing and curing. You are changing the color balance rather than building the ink chemistry from the beginning.

Our ELT Mix & Match System is an ink-to-ink system for simulating Pantone® colors. It includes 17 printable colors plus a mixing white. The finished inks retain the ELT system's low-temperature performance, opacity, bleed resistance, and stretch.

How An Ink-To-Ink System Works

An ink-to-ink system uses a controlled group of finished colors designed to work together. A formula might call for several measured portions of red, blue, white, yellow, or another component to produce a target color.

The major advantage is flexibility. Every component is printable by itself. You might use the blue on one job, the red on another, and then combine them to create purple for a third job.

This makes an ink-to-ink system useful for:

Ink-to-ink systems are generally easier to understand than pigment systems because every ingredient in the formula looks and behaves like normal screen printing ink.

Will Red And Blue Always Make The Purple You Expect?

Red and blue will produce some form of purple, but not necessarily the exact purple you have in mind.

Screen printing colors have undertones. A warm red may lean toward orange, while a cool red may lean toward violet. A green-shade blue will create a different purple than a red-shade blue. The strength and opacity of each ink also affect the result.

Adding equal amounts of red and blue does not guarantee a balanced purple. One color may be significantly stronger than the other, so the formula may require much more of the weaker color.

For casual color creation, begin with the lighter or weaker color and add the stronger color gradually. For repeatable customer work, use a formula and weigh every ingredient.

What Is A Pigment Mixing System?

A pigment system uses concentrated colorants that are added to a compatible ink base. Unlike an ink-to-ink system, the pigment components are not complete screen printing inks.

Our ELT Pigment System includes 17 concentrated pigments that are mixed with a base of your choice. Our usual recommendation is ELT Base because it provides extreme low-temperature curing, opacity, bleed resistance, and stretch.

The base carries the primary performance characteristics of the finished ink. The pigments provide the color.

You Cannot Print Concentrated Pigment By Itself

This is the most important distinction between the two systems.

An ink-to-ink mixing color is already printable. A concentrated pigment is not.

Pigment concentrates do not contain the complete balance of ingredients required to create a printable, curable ink film. They must be added to the correct base at the proper ratio.

Attempting to print pigment directly may result in:

Think of pigment as the coloring component and the base as the functional ink. The pigment changes the color, but the base is what allows the mixture to print, cure, stretch, and remain attached to the garment.

The Base Determines How The Finished Ink Performs

Choosing a base is not simply choosing a clear material to hold the color. The base determines many of the finished ink's most important characteristics.

Depending on the system, the base may control:

If a low-cure, bleed-resistant base is used, the finished color can retain those properties when it is mixed according to the system formula. If a soft, transparent base is used, the final ink may be softer and less opaque.

This is why pigments should not be placed into any random clear ink or additive. The pigments and base need to be designed and tested to work together.

Ink-To-Ink Versus Pigment-To-Base Mixing

Both systems can create custom colors, but they approach the job differently.

Ink-To-Ink Mixing

Pigment-To-Base Mixing

An ink-to-ink system is often the easier choice for a beginner. A pigment system can be more efficient for shops that mix many colors and understand how base selection affects the finished product.

Can You Mix Inks From Different Brands Or Series?

Sometimes two inks will physically blend, but that does not prove they are chemically compatible or that the mixture will cure properly.

Different ink systems may use different resins, plasticizers, curing mechanisms, additives, and pigment concentrations. Combining unrelated products can change:

The safest approach is to mix products that are designed as part of the same system. Do not assume that every plastisol is interchangeable simply because the products are all described as plastisol ink.

This is especially important when combining standard-cure and low-cure inks. The mixed ink should be cured according to the requirements of the least-forgiving component unless the manufacturer has tested and approved the combination.

Do Not Use Household Paint To Make Screen Printing Ink

House paint, acrylic craft paint, and general fabric paint are not substitutes for professional screen printing ink.

These materials may:

A material being water-based does not automatically make it suitable for water-based screen printing. Professional textile ink contains a carefully balanced binder and pigment system designed to become durable after curing.

Why Making Ink From Raw Ingredients Is Difficult

Commercial ink manufacturing involves more than stirring pigment into a clear liquid. Pigments must be properly dispersed so that particles remain evenly distributed and pass through the intended mesh.

The manufacturer must control:

Professional mixing and milling equipment may be needed to break apart pigment agglomerates. The finished product must then be tested rather than judged only by how it looks in the container.

Raw materials may also require specific handling, ventilation, protective equipment, and disposal procedures. A home printer usually saves little money after purchasing small quantities of ingredients and the equipment required to process them correctly.

Creating colors from a formulated mixing system is much safer, more practical, and more repeatable than trying to become an ink manufacturer.

Measure Ink By Weight

For repeatable colors, use a digital scale and record formulas by weight. Measuring by spoonfuls, cup markings, or visual estimates introduces too much variation.

A formula written as percentages can be scaled to any batch size. For example, a color containing 70% blue and 30% red can be mixed as:

The ratio remains the same even though the total quantity changes.

Use a scale with enough precision for the size of the batch. A large shipping scale may not accurately measure a fraction of a gram needed for a small color adjustment.

Use Clean Containers And Tools

Small amounts of contamination can noticeably change a custom color. Use clean containers, spatulas, scoops, and mixing blades.

Before mixing:

Do not use a tool that still contains black ink when mixing a pale yellow. Even a small trace may create a dull or dirty color.

For larger batches, an Ink Mixing Drill Bit can help blend the material thoroughly. Use a controlled speed to prevent splashing or unnecessary air from being introduced into the ink.

How To Mix Ink-To-Ink Colors

A basic ink-to-ink workflow is:

  1. Choose compatible colors from the same mixing system.
  2. Determine the desired batch size.
  3. Place a clean container on the scale and tare it to zero.
  4. Add the first color according to the formula.
  5. Add each remaining color by weight.
  6. Mix from the bottom and scrape the container walls.
  7. Print and cure a test sample.
  8. Allow the sample to cool before evaluating the color.
  9. Make small measured adjustments if necessary.
  10. Record the final formula.

Whenever possible, add the strongest or darkest component gradually. It is usually easier to darken a mixture than to lighten a large batch after too much strong pigment has been added.

How To Use A Pigment System

A pigment-system workflow is similar, but the base must be included:

  1. Select the base that provides the required printing characteristics.
  2. Use a formula developed for that base and pigment system.
  3. Weigh the base into a clean container.
  4. Add each concentrated pigment according to the formula.
  5. Mix thoroughly until no streaks remain.
  6. Scrape the bottom and sides of the container.
  7. Print and cure a test sample.
  8. Evaluate the cured color, opacity, and print performance.
  9. Adjust only with measured amounts of approved components.
  10. Save the final formula and production information.

Do not guess at the maximum amount of pigment the base can accept. Excess pigment may affect viscosity, curing, stretch, adhesion, and wash durability. Follow formulas and loading limits established for the system.

Wet Ink Is Not The Final Color

Always evaluate the cured print rather than the ink inside the container.

Color can change because of:

A color that appears correct on a mixing spatula may look different after being printed through a screen and cured on fabric.

For accurate matching, create a controlled drawdown or screen-printed sample using the same substrate and ink deposit planned for production.

Why A White Underbase Changes The Color

A custom color printed on white fabric may appear completely different when printed directly on a black or colored garment.

Transparent and medium-opacity colors allow some of the fabric or underbase to influence the finished appearance. A white underbase creates a brighter and more consistent foundation, but its thickness and surface texture also matter.

When matching a customer color, approve it using the complete production system:

A formula approved on white test material may require adjustment when moved to a dark polyester garment.

How Much Custom Ink Should You Mix?

Mix enough for testing, production, and reasonable press waste, but avoid creating a large batch before the color is approved.

A practical approach is:

Because percentages scale mathematically, a correct small formula can be enlarged without changing the color balance. However, the scale and mixing method must remain accurate.

Keep a small retained sample from important custom colors. That physical sample can help verify future batches and reorders.

Label Every Custom Mixture

Never place a custom ink on the shelf without a complete label.

Record:

For a pigment system, clearly identify that the finished container contains base and pigment. Keep the concentrated pigment containers separately labeled so no one accidentally attempts to print them directly.

Test More Than The Color

A homemade custom color is not successful merely because it matches the target. It must also print and perform correctly.

Test the mixture for:

Polyester prints should be checked after they have cooled and rested because dye migration may appear later. Stretch fabrics should be tested at the actual extension expected during wear.

Common Home Ink-Mixing Mistakes

Several mistakes can make a custom color inconsistent or unusable:

The easiest way to ruin repeatability is to make undocumented corrections. If you add "a little more blue," weigh that addition and update the formula.

Can You Save Leftover Mixed Ink?

Unmodified plastisol ink mixed from compatible components can generally be stored like the original plastisol system. Keep it at normal room temperature, close the lid securely, and protect it from heaters, direct sunlight, flash dryers, and other heat sources.

Label the mixture clearly and stir it thoroughly before future use.

If a catalyst, bonding agent, or time-sensitive additive has been included, the usable storage period may be much shorter. Follow the instructions for that additive rather than assuming the mixture will remain usable indefinitely.

When Should You Mix Your Own Color?

Mixing your own ink is practical when:

It can also be useful for creative work where an exact standard is not required. Blending blue and red to discover a new purple can be an excellent way to learn color behavior.

When Should You Order A Professional Custom Match?

A professionally manufactured custom color may be the better choice when:

A professional match also shifts much of the testing and batch-control responsibility to the ink manufacturer.

Which One Stroke Mixing System Should You Use?

Choose the ELT Mix & Match System when you want printable ink colors that can be used individually or blended together. You can print the red, print the blue, combine them for purple, and print the purple as another complete ink.

Choose the ELT Pigment System when you want concentrated colorants and the flexibility to combine them with an appropriate base. Remember that the pigments cannot be printed directly. They must be added to a compatible base before the mixture becomes printable ink.

Both systems can simulate Pantone® colors and allow shops to create a large color range from a controlled set of components. The best choice depends on whether you prefer the simplicity of blending finished inks or the efficiency and base flexibility of concentrated pigments.

Final Thoughts

You can make custom screen printing ink colors at home, but the most reliable method is to use a professionally formulated mixing system.

Ink-to-ink systems allow you to blend complete printable colors. A red and blue can become a purple, and all three colors can be printed. Pigment systems work differently: the concentrated pigments supply color but cannot be printed alone. They require a compatible base that gives the finished ink its curing, opacity, stretch, bleed resistance, and printing characteristics.

Avoid trying to manufacture textile ink from household paint or improvised raw ingredients. Matching the color is only one part of the job. The ink must also flow, cure, adhere, stretch, wash, and remain stable.

Use compatible components, weigh every ingredient, record the formula, evaluate the cured print, and test it on the actual garment. With those controls in place, mixing your own colors can be practical, economical, and one of the most useful skills in a screen printing shop.