Plastisol ink has better color accuracy For the same reasons that colors are more vibrant with Plastisol inks, color matching can be achieved down to a specific Pantone shade. When your print colors need to be exact (let’s say for the purpose of branding consistency) Plastisol is the way to go. No matter the shirt color or the type of fabric, if you need the color to be bright red 185 C, that’s what you get.
With water-based inks, results may vary. Improvements have been made over the years, but not enough to beat Plastisol. The difference in vibrancy alone can account for a color impression à chaud a few shades off. And that’s before you factor in other things like color shifts due to dye migration, curing, press conditions, if Mercury is in retrograde, and everything else.
Both inks are extremely durable This one could be argued from both sides, so I’m calling it a tie. There are many factors that contribute to a print’s durability. Because of the way water-based inks are absorbed into the fabric, the print should hypothetically last as long as the garment does. And because Plastisol is permanently bonded to the surface, it should also last as long as your T-shirt does.
That being said, if a print is not cured properly, no matter what type of ink used, it will affect the durability. Other factors such as the quality of the ink and the type of fabric also play a role. The biggest factor by far is the treatment and care of the garment itself– if you wash with hot water, heavy detergent and bleach every week, neither print will hold up well over time.