What are the best inkjet inks for textile printing? - FESPA

In many ways, the digital printing of banners and flags may be perceived as a “predecessor” to soft signage. Since the s, pioneering companies tried to move from screen printing to digital printing for flag production.

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The resolution tends to not be an issue for most national and company flags; however, the durability of the flags can be problematic.

Most outdoor flags are made of polyester-based textiles. Today, they are usually printed using water-based direct disperse dye inks. When polyester is tinted with disperse dye inks, the result can look a bit dull at first, as the colours require 170 °C to develop. This is often done in line with a heat roll or calendar built into or onto the printer as with Dgen Teleios Grande G5.

Direct disperse dye inks offer a good through-print meaning the flag looks colourful on both sides. The outdoor durability is usually up to 3 years. This is why Direct Disperse ink technology is being used in the automotive industry as well as for garden furniture.

Dye-sublimation inks are also commonly used for flag and banner production. They are printed on very thin transfer paper first. During the transfer sublimation process, when transfer paper and polyester textile are calendered together at 180 to 200 °C, the colour transits from a solid into a gas phase without passing through an intermediate liquid phase. The colour is then embedded deep into the fibers. Sublimation print solutions are available from a wide variety of manufacturers, including EFI, Durst, HP and Mimaki.

Dye-sublimation inks produce very sharp images and can be used to create small letters, they are suitable for soft signage applications. Through-print is much less than with direct disperse dye-sublimation inks. The durability of sublimation prints are usually quite low.

Digital printing has been used to print shirts, caps and other clothing since copy-shops offered the first 4C inkjet prints. In the early years, the printer output on thick sublimation foil was simply ironed or heat-pressed onto the item.

Today the available sublimation ink solutions for apparel printing are far more sophisticated. They still require a polyester or polyester blend as a substrate or a polyester pre-coating. This is why dye-sublimation inks are frequently used for sports fashion as well as a numerous home décor applications such as cushions. The Roland DG Texart-XT-640 is a prominent example of a machine developed with these kinds of markets in mind.

Sublimation inkjet print technology works best on white light textiles. There is a toner-based LED printer technology from Oki, that allows opaque white and other colours to stand out on dark fabric.

Today, water-based pigmented inks are widely used in apparel printing as they work on most fibers on the market. They are printed directly onto the item, hence why the technology is known as “Direct to Garment” (DTG). Pigment DTG inks are available in CMYK and opaque White, they can print on dark fabric too. They typically require a pre-treatment as well as fixation in a heat press at about 160 °C. DTG printers of various sizes with pigment inks are available from Epson, Brother and Kornit Digital. 

Pigment inks have also become very popular in the roll-to-roll digital textile printing community, as they can be used on a wide variety of fibers. Several Pigment ink brands are OekoTex 100 certified, meaning they are suitable for children´s items. In a direct comparison to acid and reactive dye, prints with pigment inks seem duller. As colours don´t penetrate the fabric´s surface, but rather settle on the fiber´s surface, while colour fastness is usually good, but washability is sometimes lacking. Most experts therefore recommend pigment inks for home décor rather than every-day fashion applications.

Industrial strength roll-to-roll digital textile printing mainly takes place in the textile industry. The two main water-based fluids used there, reactive dyes for cotton, wool and nylon, and acid inks for silk, wool or polyamides require custom pre-treatment for quality results. Post-treatment requires steaming to ensure the dye is embedded into the fiber. Several washing cycles are needed to remove any excess inks.

Acid and reactive Dye offer brilliant colours, a smooth textile grip, good washability and light fastness, they mainly are used fashion and high-end home décor. Inkjet inks are available for market-leading printheads from companies like Sun Chemical. Industrial strength roll-to-roll textile printers like the Epson Monna Lisa Evo line or the Zimmer Austria Colaris are developed for use with various ink chemistries.

Conclusion

Today a wide range of ink technologies are available to cater to every digital textile printing requisite. However, it is important to consider that, depending on the technology, pre and post treatment will take a lot of time. Necessary pre and post-printing steps may require increased investments that may exceed the price of a printer. Intensive research is therefore highly recommended.

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Textiles and apparel fabrics are becoming more personalized and comfortable as people's clothing needs become more individual. Digital printing technology is becoming increasingly popular with the public due to its advantages such as high print accuracy, no need for plate making, flexible batch size, environmental protection and small footprint. However, how companies choose the right digital textile printer has become a new problem. This article discusses several factors that need to be considered when choosing a digital textile printer, hoping to give you some inspiration.

1. Selection of printing technology

The choice of printing technology directly determines the choice of digital press type. For garment printing, the choice between transfer printing and direct inkjet printing plays a decisive role in the selection of the digital printing machine. Transfer printing, such as sublimation printing, require less investment and high printing accuracy, However, the fabrics that can be used are limited and mainly suitable for man-made fibers. The direct injection process generally requires fabric sizing, steaming, washing and other steps, which require a relatively large investment, but it has a wide range of fabrics and can be applied to polyester, nylon, cotton, linen, silk, wool, modal and other fabric types.

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2. Choice of fabric form

Fabric form refers to rolls, cut pieces, pullovers or ready-made garments. Companies can decide whether the digital printer they choose will print on rolls, cut pieces, sweaters or ready-made garments based on the type of fabric they mainly produce and process.

3. Choice of printing accuracy

Companies can select equipment that can meet customers' printing accuracy based on different fabrics and customers' needs. Generally speaking, fabrics with relatively fine and smooth fibres, such as silk, chiffon, etc., have higher accuracy requirements; fabrics with relatively rough fibers, such as canvas, sweaters, etc., have lower accuracy requirements. When choosing the printing accuracy, it should be noted that higher accuracy is not better, as accuracy and efficiency are two opposing factors. The higher the accuracy requirement, the lower the efficiency.

4. Choice of ink

There are generally three points to consider when choosing an ink:

The first point is the choice of ink color. According to the customer's needs and the type of fabric, you can choose four-color ink, six-color ink, eight-color ink, etc. In general, the more colors of the ink, the better the color saturation and color effect of the print, which also directly determines the ink type of the printing machine.

The second point is the choice of ink type. Printing inks generally include reactive inks, acid inks, disperse inks, varnish inks, etc. The type of ink should generally be selected according to the material of the fabric. Choose an ink that has good coloring and color performance for the fabric.

The third point is the choice of ink brand and model. Generally, the ink is designed for the brand and model of the nozzle. When choosing an ink, you should make sure that it is suitable for the nozzle model of the printer. In addition, the smoothness, vividness, color fixation, environmental friendliness, etc. of the ink are all aspects that should be considered when choosing an ink.

5. The heart of a digital press: nozzle selection

As the most important component and main consumable of a digital printing machine, the nozzle plays a decisive role in the choice of a digital printing machine. The type of nozzle determines the printing accuracy, ink jet quantity, printing speed, production cost, etc. The selection of nozzles should take into account the type of fabric to be printed, cost estimation, production efficiency requirements, and other factors. As the main consumable, the replacement cost and durability of the nozzle should also be fully considered.

6. Manufacturers' technical capabilities and sustainable development

When choosing a digital printing press, you should focus on the technical capabilities and sustainable development capabilities of the manufacturer, which are mainly reflected in the following:

(1) What is the R&D strength of the manufacturer? The manufacturer's R&D strength determines the market competitiveness of the manufacturer's products, whether the equipment used can keep up with the times, whether it can be upgraded, and whether a new generation of products can be produced to meet the requirements of future development.

(2) The level of support provided by the manufacturer throughout the process. In particular, the direct injection digital printing process is relatively complex. It consists of fabric sizing, printing and drying, steaming, washing, finishing and other links. Any control error in any of these links will affect the quality of the final product.

Therefore, it is very important to get technical support from the manufacturer for the whole process, which is especially reflected in the cooperation between the slurry and the fabric, the cooperation between the ink, the machine and the nozzle, the cooperation between steaming, washing, finishing and printing, etc.

7. Other factors

The following factors should also be considered before making the final choice of digital textile printing equipment:

(1) Printing cost. This is a comprehensive calculation of equipment depreciation, ink consumption, nozzle loss, factory rent, water and electricity bills, labor costs, etc. to calculate the total cost of printing finished products per square meter.

(2) Equipment footprint and required environmental conditions. Measure the floor space required for computer equipment and whether the temperature and humidity requirements of the environment are met.

(3) Water, electricity, gas and other requirements. It is necessary to understand the specific requirements of power, voltage, air pressure, etc. of the equipment.

The above points are the factors to consider when selecting a textile digital printing machine. When choosing a digital printing machine, you must consider the above factors in detail and make a choice based on your actual situation and needs.

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