Glow in the Dark ink Special effects inks are great for many uses. They can enhance a design to make it stand out or can be used as a stand alone special effect on a shirt. A very popular ink is glow in the dark ink. This ink glows just like the hands on a watch would that has been placed in a bright light. This ink is great for Halloween shirts, rock designs, or any design that you want to glow in the dark! 
The image must be exposed to light to take effect. Then once the lights are turned off the image will glow with a light greenish color. The less light in a room the better the glow will be. It has been said that you can add a little fluorescent ink to the glow in the dark ink to change its hue to a blue, red, or yellow.
However, it is recommended that you test this before printing a full run of shirts. The heavier the ink deposit and the more phosphorescent additive in the ink, the longer “after glow” you will have. The glow will eventually fade until the print is exposed to light again. In the day light the ink will appear as a dullish white. When you are using this ink for a customer design, be prepared to test the glow effect before you print the run of shirts. You’ll want know how bright the ink glow will be and how long your customer can expect the glow to last.
Glow in the dark inks work on white or colored shirts. Colored shirts will require that an underbase of white be printed for the glow effect to work properly. You can use 100% cotton or a cotton poly blend shirt. The ink is available already mixed and ready to be used for printing or you can purchase phosphorescent powder (glow in the dark) to be mixed with ink.
The ready mixed ink may be transparent and need to be printed on an underbase. But, if you are printing on dark colored shirts, try mixing the powder with white ink. The powder will make the ink stiff, but you would be saving yourself from printing an extra underbase screen. As with any special type of printing you do, always do a wash test to check for a full cure and see how the ink will hold up before your order is received by the customer.
Also check with your ink supplier to see what they offer. The products offered by manufacturers of glow in the dark ink will vary.
