If you’re still manually mixing your inks—plastisol or water-based—you’re not alone. But you are missing out on one of the easiest wins in your printshop.

An automatic ink mixer isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a game changer for print quality, workflow, and your sanity. Let’s break down why this upgrade deserves a spot in your ink room.

Even Pigment Dispersion = Predictable Colour
Manual mixing may feel satisfying, but it’s also inconsistent. Clumps? Streaks? Patchy colour? Not ideal.

An automatic mixer uses orbital or gear-driven motion to uniformly disperse pigments and resins throughout the base—critical for achieving optical colour density and film consistency across your run. This is especially important in high-opacity formulations, where titanium dioxide can settle and be difficult to reincorporate fully by hand.

The result? Even prints from start to finish, whether you’re laying down a bright underbase or colour-matching for a retail brand.

Unlocking Plastisol’s True Potential
Plastisol is a thixotropic system—meaning it thickens at rest and becomes more fluid under shear. This behavior is great for screen stability, but it requires activation.

An ink mixer applies consistent shear that “conditions” the plastisol, breaking down internal structure without introducing excess air. This enhances the flow properties and reduces the squeegee pressure needed to clear the screen, especially through higher mesh counts.

Well-mixed plastisol inks exhibit:

Improved screen release

Sharper print edges

More uniform ink deposit

These aren’t minor perks—they’re crucial when you’re running fine halftones, high mesh whites, or complex simulated process prints.

Keep Your Water-Based Inks Fresh
Water-based inks separate because their binders (typically acrylic or polyurethane emulsions) are suspended in a fluid system. Over time, pigments drop out, and the surface binder dries or skins. A short cycle in an automatic mixer fully reincorporates the solids, stabilizes the viscosity, and makes the ink print-ready again.

This reduces your risk of:

Underperforming prints due to binder imbalance

Wasted ink from prematurely discarding separated tubs

Inconsistencies in wet-on-wet performance or colour vibrancy

For shops working with discharge, high-solids acrylics, or hybrid water-based systems, a mixer helps maintain the rheology needed for reliable stencil behaviour and flow.

Save Time & Boost Consistency
Mixing by hand costs time, which directly affects throughput and labor efficiency. But more critically, inconsistent manual mixing introduces variable shear, which changes the ink’s performance from batch to batch.

With an automatic mixer, you’re not just saving time—you’re locking in process repeatability. That means:

Consistent Pantone reproduction

Reliable print stroke and flash settings

Lower press adjustments between jobs

This is especially valuable in shops running high-volume fulfilment, contract work, or colour-critical designs where every gram of pigment counts.

Final Thoughts
In screen printing, the ink room is where consistency starts—and small variations in ink prep can cascade into major pressroom headaches.

By automating your ink mixing, you’re controlling the rheological profile of your inks. You’re ensuring that viscosity, flow, and pigment distribution are where they need to be, every single time. You’re also freeing up your team to focus on what matters most: printing high-quality work, on time, every time.

Whether you’re printing bold spot colours, fine halftones, or water-based discharge, an automatic ink mixer is one of the most impactful tools you can add to your workflow.