/ Products / PERMATONE®

Water-based, colour matching screen printing ink system 
with Organic Approval from the Soil Association of the UK

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PERMATONE® – Water-Based Colour Matching Inks

PERMATONE® Inks are a water-based, colour matching system for screen printing on textiles. The PERMATONE matching system is made up of 12 bases.   

PERMATONE® Inks have been granted Organic Approval by the Soil Association, having successfully met the requirements of the Global Organic Textiles Standards (GOTS) for non organic chemical inputs for use in organic textile processing. 

The range is ideal for matching corporate brand colours in a certified eco-friendly product. 

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Character

Exhibiting soft handle and long lasting rub resistance, PERMATONE Inks provide pure vibrant colour. 
 
PERMATONE Inks are highly pigmented and come with a colour matching tool that can allow mixing to over 1869 colours. 

PERMATONE Ink colours are lightfast and non bleeding. Prints exhibit a matt finish, soft handle, excellent wash, rub and dry clean resistance once cured and are ironable. 

Whilst the mixing colours are transparent, the system can be used on black T-shirts by using PERMASET SUPERCOVER First Down White as an underbase.  

PERMATONE Ink is safe for screen printers to use as the formulation does not contain ozone-depleting chemicals, aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile solvents, phthalates, lead or other heavy metals.   

Fabrics

PERMATONE Inks may be used for printing on a full range of fabrics including cotton, polyester, polyester blends, silk and most synthetics. The ink colours have light-fastness ratings of at least 6/8 on the Blue Wool scale – in fact most of the colours received ratings of 8/8.   

If you are wishing to print a totally sustainable product, the PERMATONE range works perfectly with organic cotton, hemp and other sustainable fabrics.   

Use cases

PERMATONE is the ink of choice for screen printing babywear, underwear, swimwear and homewares which come into contact with delicate skin. 

PERMATONE Ink is used widely in corporate branding. The range is excellent for matching corporate colours. The range is seeing increasing use for those brands where environmental sustainability is important to their corporate identity and messaging. 

PERMATONE Ink may be used for printing organic T-shirts, sports and fashion wear, scarves, swimwear, yardage, upholstery, window furnishings, table and bed linen, tea towels and tote bags, flags and banners. 

Specification

Information on Drying, Thinning, Wash Up, Mesh Ranges, Stencil Types, Coverage and Ancillary Products are available in the PERMATONE Colour Card and Technical Data Sheets for PERMATONE, PERMASET Heat Curing and PERMASET FAQs.

PERMATONE® Ink Range

  • PERMATONE® Mixing Set
    PERMATONE® Mixing Set
    The PERMATONE® Colour Mixing Set enables you to mix 1869 colours and is excellent for matching corporate colours. The mixing set contains 9 x 1 L Colour Bases plus Black, White and Extender. PERMATONE® inks are great for printing corporate merchandise, organic t-shirts, delicate fabrics, swimwear and even underwear.  The range works perfectly with organic cotton, hemp and other sustainable fabrics. PERMATONE® Inks have been granted Organic Approval by the Soil Association, having successfully met the requirements of the Global Organic Textiles Standards (GOTS) for non organic chemical inputs for use in organic textile processing. If you want to print organically, then this is the ink range for you.
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  • PERMATONE® Colours
    PERMATONE® Colours
    PERMATONE® Inks are a water-based, colour matching system for screen printing on textiles. The PERMATONE® matching system is made up of 12 bases that can mix 1869 colours. PERMATONE® Inks have been granted Organic Approval by the Soil Association, having successfully met the requirements of the Global Organic Textiles Standards (GOTS) for non organic chemical inputs for use in organic textile processing. The range is ideal for matching corporate brand colours in an eco-friendly product that comes with an internationally recognised certification. Suitable for printing on light and dark toned fabrics. If printing on dark fabrics print over PERMASET SUPERCOVER® First Down White.
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  • PERMASET SUPERCOVER® First Down White
    PERMASET SUPERCOVER® First Down White
    PERMASET SUPERCOVER® First Down White is an HSA (High Solids Acrylic) opaque White designed as an underbase to be over-printed. The underbase also acts as a primer and improves both adhesion and rub-resistance of the over printed inks. Suitable for over-printing with the PERMATONE® Ink System, which is useful when printing on dark fabrics. PERMASET SUPERCOVER® First Down White has been granted Organic Approval by the Soil Association, having successfully met the requirements of the Global Organic Textiles Standards (GOTS) for non organic chemical inputs for use in organic textile processing.
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  • PERMATONE® Extender
    PERMATONE® Extender
    PERMATONE® Extender is essentially unpigmented ink and is an essential component of the PERMATONE® Mixing System, ideal for mixing your own colours. PERMATONE® Extender has been granted Organic Approval by the Soil Association, having successfully met the requirements of the Global Organic Textiles Standards (GOTS) for non organic chemical inputs for use in organic textile processing. Use of PERMATONE® Inks allows you to maintain the Organic integrity of ethically/sustainably sourced garments and textiles.
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We create in an ethical and sustainable manner and aim to walk softly on the earth. We use certified organic and sustainable base cloths and PERMATONE water-based, organic certified inks.

Ink & Spindle 

An ethical and sustainable yardage printer in Abbotsford, Melbourne

Frequently Asked Questions

Rather than the standard PERMASET AQUA Ink range, we’d suggest that you look at our PERMATONE Ink range for printing baby wear and children’s clothing.

The PERMATONE Ink range has been tested to Oekotex Class I for formaldehyde content (less than 16 ppm). This result means that it meets the criteria for approved safe usage on clothing for infants less than 2 years old. However, this range has not been tested for saliva extractables so it may not meet your criteria.

The PERMATONE Ink range also has Organic Approval from the Soil Association (UK) as an input into a Certified Organic Textile printing process.

Fujifilm Dirasol® 916, KIWO POLYCOL®, ULANO 925WR, MacDermid Autotype PLUS 5000, Murakami TXR®/T9 or Chromaline® CP-TexTM. Ask your local supplier for their recommendation for a water resistant emulsion.

The AQUATONE colour matching set can be used in conjunction with the PERMATONE® Mixing Guide. This is a database of colours with the proportions required to mix each colour. 

43-120T (metric) or 110-305 tpi. The finer the mesh the softer the handle and the greater the design detail that can be achieved. However, that needs to be weighed against the increased propensity of ink to dry in on finer meshes. 

For screen printing purposes, the PERMASET AQUA and PERMATONE Inks are very similar and perform in a comparable way on the screen.  These two inks do however differ in the following ways: 

  1. The PERMATONE Ink range was designed as a complete system for colour matching and comes with a matching tool for 1869 colours. PERMATONE inks are generally significantly stronger than the comparable PERMASET AQUA colour, and may incorporate slightly different pigmentation in order to work within the mixing system, They would rarely be used without mixing.   
  1. PERMATONE Inks have also been certified organic by the Soil Association of the UK, whereas only the PERMASET AQUA Process Colours have been through this organic approval process. 

Yes, you can.  In order to print with PERMATONE Inks onto black T-shirts (or any dark coloured fabrics) you need to first print an underbase with PERMASET SUPERCOVER First Down White. Once this has been flash dried, you can print PERMATONE colours over the top. You will typically need a multi station carousel capable of maintaining tight registration.

Find more PERMASET FAQs here