Water based ink is essentially pigment suspended in a base mixture composed of primarily water. Water based ink comes in a lot of different varieties and can be used to achieve a worn vintage look as well as a pretty vibrant bold look. The main benefit to water based inks is the light hand feel that they provide. Generally speaking these inks are not more environmentally friendly than their modern plastisol counterparts even though they are often heavily marketed as an “eco-friendly” method.