Which Sparkle Is Right For You?

Thinking about adding some sparkle to your life? Add some to your prints! There are so many ways to bedazzle your prints, so it's important to find which one has the right sparkle for your designs.

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Shimmer vs. Metallic

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The two most frequently used, and also the most frequently confused types, are shimmer and metallic inks. The major difference to consider between these two is that shimmer ink has a slightly more defined glitter effect, while metallic ink looks… well, metallic! It has the shine of metal rather than visible particles inside it. 

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You can see those differences between the photos below.

There are also some important distinctions in their printing process. While shimmer functions in much the same way as normal ink, being printed using typical inks like plastisol or water-based, metallic ink requires a catalyst to activate, which then causes the ink to quickly solidify. This means that metallic has to be handled quickly, similarly to water-based inks, which air dry.

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‍Shimmer vs. Glitter

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Using our new knowledge of shimmer, we can now learn about glitter! The key visual with glitter is that it is chunky sparkles, rather than fine particles like with shimmer. The glitter particles are significantly larger than the shimmer, making it appear more like individual sparkles. 

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We can see the difference between our glitter and shimmer below.

The application of glitter functions much the same as shimmer, requiring a bigger mesh screen for the glitter to pass through, and is printed using typical plastisol or water-based inks. The only major differences are that glitter is mixed with a clear ink to allow it to be applied, and then requires a more gentle touch when washing the garment once it's been printed.

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Foil

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Last but not least is foil!

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Foil is unlike any of the previous; it is fully reflective and does not use any typical ink bases. Instead, an adhesive is applied in the shape of the design, followed by a sheet of foil, which is then heat-cured. The remaining foil is peeled away, leaving the garment with a lovely holographic shine!

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