WB Retarder
Water-based retarder is a slow-evaporating humectant additive — typically glycol-based — that extends the open time of water-based inks on the screen during printing, preventing premature drying and mesh blockage in high-temperature printing environments or when long press dwell times are unavoidable. By slowing aqueous evaporation from the ink film on the screen surface, the retarder maintains printability and prevents dot-gain issues caused by viscosity increase from moisture loss during production runs.
Key Applications
- Hot and dry climate printing environments where WB inks dry quickly
- Large-format flood coats requiring extended squeegee open time
- Manual printing operations with slower production speeds
- Preventing mesh block-up during press stops and color changes
Frequently Bought Together
WB Thickener
Water-based thickener is a rheology modifier — typically an associative urethane or acrylic alkali-swellable emulsion — that increases the viscosity and body of water-based ink systems to achieve the correct print paste consistency for the application and mesh count in use.
Screen PrintingWB Binder
Water-based binder is a concentrated acrylic or polyurethane polymer emulsion used to increase the binder-to-pigment ratio in water-based ink formulations, improving film strength, adhesion, and washfastness, particularly in heavily pigmented or discharge-activated systems.
Screen PrintingWB Fixer / Crosslinker
Water-based fixer and crosslinker is a reactive polyisocyanate or aziridine-based additive that chemically crosslinks the acrylic or PUD binder polymer chains during the curing cycle, dramatically improving washfastness, chemical resistance, and bond strength to the fabric substrate.