Silicone screen printing on textiles
Silicone screen printing ink for textiles
Silicone ink is an elastic, PVC-free alternative to plastisol. The print stretches with sportswear and stretch garments, is wash-resistant and has a soft or deliberately rubbery feel. With the same base you can create matt, gloss, transparent, 3D or anti-slip effects.
Silicone ink is an addition-curing system: a base with a platinum catalyst that cures in a few minutes at 100 to 150 °C. Below you will find how such a system is built up, starting formulations and the products from CHT and Nanotech.
Applications: sportswear and teamwear, stretch and lycra, T-shirts, socks, labels, 3D logos and effect prints.
For: screen printers, textile printers and brands that want to move away from plastisol.
⚠️ Temporarily an information page
The products on this page are not yet available in our webshop. They can, however, be supplied on request through our suppliers. Send us your application, the textile and the required quantity, and we will prepare a quotation or arrange a sample.
How a silicone print system is built up
- ✓Base: the silicone paste itself, clear, white or opaque.
- ✓Catalyst: platinum catalyst, usually 1 to 5%. More catalyst gives a faster cure but a shorter pot life.
- ✓Colour: reactive silicone pigments or colour pastes. White requires a higher dosage than colours.
- ✓Additives: thickener, thinner, inhibitor for longer pot life, elasticity improver, matting or foaming additive.
- ✓Underbase: on sublimated or dyed polyester, a blocking layer or additive against dye migration.
A common build-up is an underbase, with the colour layer on top and optionally an effect layer. The layers are briefly flash-cured in between, followed by a full cure at the end.
CHT: ALPAPRINT and ALPATEC
CHT has the most complete silicone print system for textiles, with ready-to-use pastes, its own catalyst, colours and additives.
| Product | Function | Properties according to manufacturer | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALPAPRINT CLEAR NG | Print paste for light textiles | Ready to use, with 2% ALPAPRINT CAT, cure 2 minutes at 130 to 140 °C, pot life approx. 8 hours at 35 °C | On request |
| ALPAPRINT WHITE NG | White paste for dark textiles | With 2% ALPAPRINT CAT, matt surface | On request |
| ALPAPRINT OPAQUE NG | Opaque paste for dark textiles | With 1 to 3% ALPAPRINT CAT, no shrinkage during fixation, suitable for 3D prints | On request |
| ALPAPRINT CAT | Platinum catalyst | Standard 2%, up to a maximum of 5% | On request |
| ALPATEC 30142 A/B | Base for prints and coatings | Mixing ratio 10:1, high stability and transparency | On request |
| COLORMATCH SI | Silicone colours | Colours based on reactive silicone polymer, dosage 1 to 20% | On request |
| KÖRAFORM TM | Thickener | Thixotropic agent, dosage 0.1 to 1% | On request |
| ALPA-OIL 50 | Thinner | Silicone oil, dosage 0 to 5% | On request |
| ALPAPRINT ELASTIC ADD | Additive | Increases the elasticity of the print | On request |
| ALPATEC AM ADDITIVE | Additive | Prevents sublimation of disperse dyes from synthetic textiles | On request |
| ALPATEC 30340 A/B | Flock adhesive | Mixing ratio 50:50, pot life 6 hours at 35 °C | On request |
For anti-slip, 3D and puff, CHT has separate pastes. These are covered on the pages about anti-slip, printing textiles and puff prints.
Nanotech: SILME and CSILMENT
Nano Tech Chemical Brothers supplies a silicone print system based on a base, a platinum catalyst, an inhibitor, a reducer and CSILMENT colour pastes.
| Product | Function | Properties according to manufacturer | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SILME 5700 BASE | Base for textile printing and coating | Addition curing, viscosity 65,000 to 85,000 mPa·s, elongation 400 to 600%, 100:3 with SILME-6160, 20 kg pail | On request |
| SILME-5500 BASE | Base for label coating | Thinner (approx. 11 Pa·s), 100:3 with SILME-6160, 20 kg pail | On request |
| SILME-6160 CATALYST | Platinum catalyst | Dosage 1 to 5%, 1 kg pack | On request |
| SILME-6080 INHIBITOR | Pot life extender | Extends the pot life from 2 to 4 hours to 10 to 12 hours, depending on the dosage | On request |
| SILME-8109 REDUCER | Thinner | Reduces or corrects the viscosity during the pot life | On request |
| CSILMENT colour pastes | Colour | White approx. 10%, on dark substrates up to 25%, colours 5 to 15% | On request |
Starting formulations according to Nanotech
| Ink | Base | 6160 cat. | White | Colour | 8109 reducer | 6080 inhibitor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 75 to 80% | 1 to 4% | 20 to 25% | - | 3 to 4% | 2 to 4% |
| Colour | 85 to 95% | 1 to 4% | - | 5 to 15% | 3 to 4% | 2 to 4% |
| Clear | 100% | 1 to 4% | - | - | 3 to 4% | 2 to 4% |
Curing: 1 to 2 minutes at 100 to 150 °C, depending on substrate, layer thickness and heat sensitivity. Above room temperature, 1 to 2% catalyst is usually sufficient, below it 2 to 4%. Reducer and inhibitor are optional.
Additionally: pigment pastes from Wacker
If you want to mix your own colours, you can also use Wacker's ELASTOSIL COLOR PASTE FL pigment pastes. They are intended for ELASTOSIL LR and RTV-2 silicones, at a dosage of 0.5 to 4%. Test them in your own printing system first. On request.
Tips for silicone screen printing
- →Mix base and catalyst homogeneously and only prepare as much as you can print within the pot life.
- →Use a coarser mesh and a thicker stencil if you want a greater layer thickness or a 3D effect.
- →Flash briefly between layers and only fully cure at the end.
- →Keep tin, sulphur and amines away, for example residues of plastisol or tin-cure silicones on the screen or squeegee.
- →Clean with a non-polar solvent such as white spirit. Alcohol and ketones are not suitable.
- →Test adhesion, stretch and wash resistance only after a full cure, on your own fabric.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between silicone ink and plastisol?
Plastisol is PVC-based and contains plasticisers. Silicone ink is PVC-free, stretches further, remains elastic over a wide temperature range and feels softer. Silicone does, however, require a clean, separate workflow because it is sensitive to inhibition.
How long is the pot life of silicone ink?
Usually several hours, depending on the system, catalyst dosage and temperature. Nanotech states 2 to 4 hours, up to 10 to 12 hours with inhibitor. CHT gives approx. 8 hours at 35 °C for ALPAPRINT CLEAR NG.
Can I print silicone ink on sublimated polyester?
Yes, but disperse dyes can migrate through the print. Use an additive or a blocking underbase, for example ALPATEC AM ADDITIVE from CHT, and test beforehand.
Are these inks OEKO-TEX certified?
That varies by product and by manufacturer. Tell us, per product, which certificate your customer requires and we will check it with the manufacturer.
Related categories
Request silicone ink
Tell us which textile you print on, which effect you are looking for and how much you need. Email info@siliconesandmore.com or call +31 (0)85 485 83 11, Monday to Thursday 08:30 to 17:00, Friday 08:30 to 15:00 (CET).
Product information is based on the manufacturers' technical data sheets, brochures and websites (as of September 2026). Values are typical values and not a specification. Always consult the current TDS and test on your own textile and process. ELASTOSIL is a trademark of Wacker Chemie AG, ALPATEC and ALPAPRINT are trademarks of CHT, SILME and CSILFLEX are trademarks of Nano Tech Chemical Brothers.