Photochromic Ink

Photochromic inks react to the sun and change colour once exposed to sunlight. Although pale when indoors, in strong UV or black light this ink bursts dramatically into intense colour. These inks are reversible and will become colourless again without UV exposure. It takes fifteen seconds for the colour to be at its brightest and five minutes for it to fade back to its original colour. Our paler inks (yellow, orange) will take longer to fade when not outdoors.

If the weather is wintery and dull, don’t think it can trick this smart ink! Your photochromic ink needs adequate natural light to work properly. For best results, use this product on a warm and sunny day.

It is best to use our inks on a surface or background that is opaque or white so that the colour can really shine though!

Because the sun reacts with this material so suddenly, it perfect in applications that warn of dangerous levels of UV radiation. On this note, make sure photochromic ink isn’t left out in the sun too long! The product will be damaged, and you won’t be able to witness the fierce colour it has to offer.

We sell several colours of photochromic ink: red, yellow, orange, green, blue, magenta. We also sell photochromic pigments.

Our photochromic plastisol screen printing inks are perfect for fabric applications and our water-based ink is ideal for use on textiles and paper and board. Please note this ink will not air dry and requires heat- curing (up to 165°C) to ensure your final product has a long life. This is especially true if applying to fabric and subjecting your material to numerous washes.

Photochromics are great on a white t-shirt- so go wild with your designs. But they can also be injected into plastic mouldings and used for screen printing; both silk screen and flexo-graphic techniques. These inks are routinely used in security practises and printing (paper and board) and coating, fabrics and other textiles applications.