Metallic Ink

Metallic ink suspends very fine metal flake, aluminum for a silver cast, a brass or bronze-toned flake for gold, directly in the plastisol base, then prints through a coarser mesh, usually 86 to 110, so the flake particles pass through the open threads instead of clogging them.

The payoff is a real shimmer rather than a color pretending to look like metal: a flat mustard-yellow ink might read as "gold" from across a room, but the real thing catches and bounces light the way the name promises. That's why event tees, anniversary team shirts, and a championship year print all lean on it specifically, buyers wanting that print to visibly glint under stage or gym lighting.

Because metallic ink is less opaque than a standard plastisol, pros lay it as the final layer, not buried under other colors, and often print it over an extra-thick single hit or a white underbase for punch on dark garments. Fine detail under about an eighth of an inch tends to lose its sparkle since the flake needs enough surface area to catch light.

A frequent mix-up: buyers expect metallic ink to look exactly like foil. It won't; foil is a separately applied reflective film with a true mirror shine, while metallic ink gives a shimmer and sparkle effect within the printed ink itself.