Matsui Soft Stretch White 301 | Softest Performance White Water-Based Ink for Stretch & Athletic Fabric Screen Printing

Matsui Soft Stretch White — The Premium Soft Hand for Performance Fabrics

Every screen printer who works on athletic and performance garments faces the same tension: opacity vs. softness. You need the white bright enough to pop on dark Dri-Fit. But you also need the print to feel like it belongs on a premium garment — not a stiff rectangle glued to the chest.

Most stretch whites solve this by engineering for opacity and elasticity first, then accepting whatever hand feel the formulation delivers. The result is a print that stretches and covers well, but still has a noticeable tactile presence on the garment. You can feel it. The customer can feel it.

Soft Stretch White takes the opposite approach. It was engineered from the ground up with hand feel as the primary design objective — then formulated to deliver high opacity and excellent elasticity within that constraint. The result is a stretch-rated performance white that produces a pillow-soft, silicone-like finish with a barely-there hand feel that is genuinely difficult to detect on the garment.

This is the white ink for the premium end of the performance apparel market — high-end activewear lines, luxury athletic brands, fashion-forward fitness apparel, and any application where the customer picks up the garment and immediately notices how soft the print feels compared to what they expected.

Where Soft Stretch White Sits — And Why It Exists

If Matsui already makes Stretch White (the workhorse performance white) and EasyPrint White (the high-mesh fine-detail performance white), why does Soft Stretch White exist?

Because hand feel is a spectrum, and different market segments have different thresholds.

Stretch White is the balanced workhorse — high opacity, excellent elasticity, silicone-like finish. It handles 80% of performance fabric white printing. But for the top 20% of the market — the brands that charge $60-$120 for a performance shirt and compete on hand feel as a differentiator — Stretch White’s hand is good but not invisible.

Soft Stretch White closes that gap. Same mesh range (150-180). Same high opacity class. Same excellent elasticity. But the formulation is tuned to produce a noticeably softer, more barely-there print film. The difference between Stretch White and Soft Stretch White is the difference between “that’s a nice soft print” and “wait, where’s the print?”

That’s why it exists. Some jobs pay for invisible.

The Complete Matsui White Ink Comparison — Every White, Side by Side

Soft Stretch White vs. Stretch White — The Premium Upgrade

This is the comparison that matters. Soft Stretch White and Stretch White share the same mesh range, the same high-opacity class, and the same excellent elasticity. The difference is what they prioritize within those shared parameters.

The bottom line: Stretch White is the reliable daily driver for performance white printing. Soft Stretch White is the premium upgrade for the jobs where hand feel is what sells the garment. If your client’s customer will touch the print and make a buying decision based on how it feels — reach for Soft Stretch White.

Soft Stretch White vs. EasyPrint White — Premium Softness vs. High-Mesh Detail

The bottom line: Different specialties for different jobs. Soft Stretch White gives you high opacity + the softest hand at 150-180 mesh. EasyPrint White gives you fine detail through 225 mesh with excellent elasticity. If your design needs ultra-fine halftones on performance fabric, EasyPrint is the answer. If your design needs bold, bright white with the softest hand on the market, Soft Stretch White is the answer.

Why Screen Printers Choose Soft Stretch White

“My client sells $80 yoga pants and the print has to feel invisible.”
This is the signature Soft Stretch White application. Premium yoga wear, luxury activewear, high-end compression garments — any product where the customer’s first interaction is touching the fabric and the print must not break the premium hand feel. Soft Stretch White’s barely-there finish means the printed area feels nearly identical to the unprinted fabric, which is exactly what luxury athletic brands demand.

“I already use Stretch White but my high-end clients keep asking for something softer.”
Soft Stretch White is the direct upgrade. Same mesh range, same opacity class, same elasticity — but noticeably softer. You do not need to change your screen setup, your cure process, or your additive recipes. You just swap the white and the hand feel improves. This is the simplest way to move your high-end performance jobs from “good” to “premium.”

“I need opaque white on dark Dri-Fit that does not feel like a sticker.”
This is the exact tension Soft Stretch White resolves. Dark performance fabrics demand high opacity to make white visible. But high opacity usually means a thicker, stiffer ink deposit that feels plasticky on athletic wear. Soft Stretch White maintains the opacity you need for visibility while delivering the barely-there hand that makes the garment feel premium rather than decorated.

“I print for fashion-forward athletic brands that compete on hand feel.”
The activewear market has segmented. Budget athletic brands compete on price. Premium athletic brands compete on feel. When your client’s brand identity is built around how their garments feel — how the fabric moves, how the print integrates — Soft Stretch White is the ink that supports that brand promise. It is the difference between “screen-printed athletic wear” and “luxury performance apparel.”

“I need a soft white that still works as an underbase on dark stretch fabrics.”
Soft Stretch White makes an excellent underbase for dark performance fabrics. Its high opacity creates a solid white foundation for overprinting colors, and the soft formulation means the final multi-color print retains a softer overall hand than if you used Stretch White as the underbase. Flash at 160°F (71°C), then overprint your color layers.

“Can I mix custom colors with Soft Stretch White?”
Yes. Add up to 15% Matsui Neo Pigments to create custom pastel and tinted shades that retain Soft Stretch White’s premium hand feel and elasticity. The high-opacity white base produces vibrant, true colors — ideal for branded team colors and custom athletic lines where the finished print needs to feel as soft as it looks.

Matsui Soft Stretch White Key Features

• Softest hand feel of any stretch-rated white ink — produces a pillow-soft, silicone-like, barely-there finish that is noticeably softer than every other performance white in the Matsui lineup.
• High opacity on dark performance fabrics — maintains bright, visible white through 150-180 mesh for dark Dri-Fit, polyester, and stretch blends.
• Excellent elasticity — engineered for stretch-and-recovery cycles in athletic wear, compression garments, yoga apparel, and high-stretch synthetics.
• Silicone-like finish — smooth feel with no stiffness, no plasticky layer, and no tack.
• Triple-purpose performance — use as a standalone white, a premium-soft underbase, or a mixing base with up to 15% Neo Pigments.
• Zero viscosity modifications — prints straight from the bucket on manual and automatic presses.
• Compatible with Matsui acrylic additives — works with Retarder MG, Fixer WF-N, Softener MG, Thickener B, RV Additive, and Quick Additive.
• PVC-free and eco-compliant — OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified, CPSIA compliant, HR4040 compliant. Free of PVC, phthalates, and co-solvents. Safe for ironing.

How to Print with Soft Stretch White

Screen Setup: Use mesh counts between 150-180/inch. For maximum opacity on dark garments, use 150-156 mesh. For moderate detail with excellent coverage and the softest hand, use 160-180 mesh. Do not use mesh above 180 — if you need higher mesh, switch to EasyPrint White 301 (225 mesh max).

Emulsion: Use a water-resistant emulsion. Standard stencil thickness works well for Soft Stretch White.

Printing: Print straight from the bucket with no viscosity modifications. Use a medium-hardness squeegee at approximately 45 degrees. Soft Stretch White flows smoothly and consistently on both manual and automatic presses.

Dark Polyester: For dark-colored polyester, print an Under Base Blocker first, flash, then apply Soft Stretch White on top. This prevents dye sublimation from the polyester migrating into the white print and causing discoloration.

Underbase Technique: When using Soft Stretch White as an underbase, print the white layer, flash at 160°F (71°C), then overprint your color layers. The soft formulation produces a softer overall hand on the final multi-color print compared to using Stretch White as your underbase.

Curing: Cure at 320°F (160°C). Verify garment surface temperature with a temperature probe or heat strips. Full cure is essential — under-cured prints will have poor wash fastness and may feel tacky.

Flash Temperature: 160°F (71°C) between layers when needed.

Contamination Warning: Mix Soft Stretch White in clean vessels using clean mixing blades and utensils only. Contamination from other ink sources or non-approved additives may result in positive tests for restricted PVC substances.

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