Assignment-1

For
Textile (Technology of Textile Printing)
2022

DIGITAL PRINTING
Tanmay Kandpal
19CHE760
 DIGITAL TEXTILE PRINTING
INTRODUCTION:
Printing first appeared in our garment sector in the 1980s. Although roller printing was
popular at first, flatbed and rotary screen printing gained popularity later. People's interests,
preferences, and needs evolve with the passage of time. Today's youthful generation, in
particular, is considerably more conscious of their appearance and fashion and as a result,
worldwide demand for all-over printing is booming. There are numerous other products with
all over print, such as t-shirts, shirts, pants, three-piece suits, bed sheets, and so on. However,
there are some drawbacks to all-over screen printing technologies, one of which is that not all
types of designs can be printed using flatbed or rotary screen printing methods. Despite the fact
that various technologies may print 1-20 colours, more than 12 colours are rarely produced for
two reasons, first being high print costs and second, machine complexity. Furthermore, the
photo print and 3D effect cannot be clearly highlighted using screen printing methods. To
address all of these issues, a new chapter in the printing business has been added i.e Digital
Textile Printing.

WHAT IS DIGITAL TEXTILE PRINTING?

Digital textile printing is a technique that uses digital ink-jet printing technology to
emboss multi coloured graphics on a range of materials, allowing any design to be readily and
correctly printed on fabrics. One of the most exciting technologies in the textile business is
digital textile printing. Digital textile printing has opened the door to various possibilities for
meeting the increased demand for textile printing while maintaining design quality. This
printing technology does not require screens and has no colour restrictions. Digital printing is
also an excellent choice for printing 3D designs. This technique can be used to print on fabrics
as well as directly on clothes such as t-shirts, shirts, and trousers.

(Continuous Process Flowsheet for Digital Textile Printing)

PROCESS

The whole process of digital printing consists of six major steps namely, Design Development
(1), Fabric Preparation (2), Ink Selection (3), Printing (4), Fixing (5), Washing (6). Each one
of them is explained briefly:

1) Design development: The first step in digital printing is to produce a design that
meets the needs of the buyer. A design developer/artist develops designs using
graphic tools such as Adobe Photoshop (often Adobe Illustrator) and the CYMK
colour model as the primary colour. To maintain the quality of artwork, designers
typically used TIFF files for printing. If the design is unique, the hand-drawn
artwork is scanned and transferred to digital format, in this case the design does not
have firm borders that can be replicated many times. This computer image can now
be transferred to fabric.

2) Fabric preparation: We must pre-treat the fabric using liquid (chemical) solutions
before printing. Cotton and viscose fabrics are commonly ink-jet printed with
reactive dye. Thickener, alkali, and urea are used in this procedure to prepare the
fabric to take the dye/ink and absorb the colour more effectively. The fabric
preparation technique removes fabric crumbles and stiffens the fabric for improved
feeding during printing.

3) Ink selection: The type of ink required is determined on the fabric being used. The
following section discusses some popular varieties of ink:
 Pigment Ink: It is commonly used for printing on natural and synthetic
fabrics such as cotton, silk, rayon, cotton/poly mixes, and 100% polyester.
The ink set has eight colours (cyan, magenta, yellow, black, grey, orange,
violet, and red).
 Acid & Reactive Ink: These are dye-based inks that are used on natural
fabrics. The hand feel and wash fastness of dye inks are excellent. Although
dye ink penetrates the fabric very well, various steps must be performed
before it can be used, including pre-treating, heat, washing, and steaming.
 Sublimation/Disperse Ink: Sublimation ink is used to create banners, soft
signage, and sportswear with high content polyester and spandex fabrics.
 This set comes in 15 different colours. Sublimation/disperse inks are applied
directly to the cloth or with the use of a receptive paper roll.

4) Printing: Ink-jet technology and ink cartridges are commonly used in digital textile
printing. The pre-treated cloth is fed into a digital printer, which sprays ink/dye in
small droplets according to the design and software. To avoid miss prints, the fabric
is first laid smoothly and with optimum tension. The printing machine's heads are
then adjusted based on the fabric thickness and width. The more machine heads
there are, the more production there is. There are numerous types of digital printing
machines, such as:
 Direct Textile Printing: In this situation, the printer uses ink-jet technology
to transfer ink straight to the fabric or directly to the clothing. This approach
allows you to print the most detailed artwork/design on a range of fabrics
such as cotton, silk, and nylon.
 Sublimation printing: This is a contemporary printing process. Dyes are
transformed to gas in this method by applying heat and pressure and then
bonded to the surface of the polymer-based fibre (Polyester). It is ideal for
short runs and allows for extremely detailed design.
 Disperse Dye Sublimation: This method eliminates the requirement for
printing transfer paper. For dye fixation, the fabric is run through a heat
 press. The fabric is prepared before printing in this case. This printing
method enables two-sided printing.

5) Fixing: The final stage is to fix. Fixing implies the design's durability. It is
determined by the cloth and dyes used. Depending on the cloth and printing method,
fixation is accomplished by a variety of methods:
 Pigment Ink: Dry heat (Usually through a roll fixation Calendar or Heat
Press)
 Acid Dye: steaming - washing - drying (Usually large Industrial specialised
equipment)
 Reactive Dye: Steam - Wash - Dry - (Usually large Industrial specialised
equipment)
 Sublimation/Dispersed Dye: Dry Heat (Usually through a roll fixation
Calendar or Heat Press)

6) Washing: The fabric is washed and dried thoroughly after the dye/ink fixation
process.

TYPES OF DIGITAL PRINTING

1) Continuous ink jet printing (CIJ): In continuous jet printing, a constant stream of ink is
used to print onto a rotating drum with the substrate; extra drops of ink pass through
the fabric and are pumped into a reservoir for recycling. The binary ink jet method,
prints multiple substrates using various dyes. Uncharged drops of ink were used for
printing, and charged drops of ink were pumped back into the reservoir; in this printing
method, only one dot location was printed per nozzle. CIJ printing was the first
commercial printing technology.

(Continuous ink jet printing)

2) Drop on demand ink jet printing: With continuous advancements in inkjet printing
technology and ink chemistries, the most commonly used method is Drop on Demand
(DOD), specifically Piezoelectric, because it is less expensive and produces zero waste
of ink. Drop on Demand has been the only major textile digital printing system available
since 2009. Drop on Demand printing is further subdivided into Piezoelectric and
Thermal printing. Thermal technology was used in the first inkjet printing solutions for
textiles, and piezoelectric technology is primarily used in textile applications.
3) Thermal ink jet printing: The heater rapidly heats the ink to 300-400°C per second,
causing vaporisation of the ink, which results in the generation of bubbles and the
buildup of pressure in the nozzle, causing the ejection of a drop from the nozzle and
burst on the fabric. When the heating element is cooled, a vacuum is created, which
draws more ink from the reservoir, causing the cycle to repeat. Given the requirement
of heat, this technology for textile printing has seen only limited development. This
technology is primarily used in the printing of paper.

(Thermal ink jet printing)

4) Piezoelectric ink jet printing: By deforming piezoelectric material, such as piezoelectric

crystals, the piezoelectric effect generates a voltage on the surface. As a result, the
printing nozzle is temporarily deformed and creates high pressure on the ink, causing
the print head to eject an ink droplet. The ink stops flowing from the nozzle when the
voltage polarity is reversed. Piezo inkjet printers have several advantages over thermal
inkjet printers, including higher resolution, greater control over the shape and size of
the ink release, fine print, faster and longer life, and compatibility with a wider range
of inks.
 (Piezoelectric ink jet printing)

FEASIBILITY OF DIGITAL PRINTING

Digital printing comes with its own advantages and limitations. Some of the advantages
and disadvantages of digital printing are discussed below:

 Advantages:
1) There are no colour restrictions. As a result, extremely detailed artwork and improved
crispness are possible.
2) There is no need for a screen when printing digitally.
3) Water and electricity requirements are 90% and 30% lower (respectively) than in
traditional printing process, because there is no need to wash screens when applying
fresh colours.
4) Manpower required is lower than traditional printing.
5) Design of any measurement is possible and there is no need to calculate repeat
measurements.
6) High resolution (300-1200 pixel/inch) designs are possible, as a result, the printing
quality is improved.
7) There is no requirement for screen engraving or colour separation, hence this technique
is less expensive.
8) Less dye/ink and chemical waste than flatbed or rotary screen printing.
9) The primary advantages of digital textile printing include cheaper fixed costs and lower
sample costs.
  Disadvantages
1) Blended fabrics can’t be printed using digital printing method.
2) Deep colour fabrics are not printed using digital printing.
3) The design takes longer to develop when the resolution is higher.
4) The cost of digital printing is relatively high; however, it is decreasing day by day.
5) Lower production than traditional printing. It is determined by the machine head. The
higher the machine head, the greater the output. In general, the output rate is 1-3 metres
per minute.
6) Digital printing is not feasible at higher temperature. A temperature of around 20-25
degrees has to be maintained. We must print digitally in an air-conditioned area
otherwise, if the temperature increases, the machine will stop automatically, the ink will
agglomerate, and the print head will be destroyed.

MARKET OF DIGITAL PRINTING

There is little doubt that the global pandemic has contributed to the economic downturn,
but it has also created numerous new commercial prospects in the textile industry. Despite the
global COVID-19 issue and the economic slowdown, the digital textile printing market will
increase to 7.7 billion square metres by 2027, at a CAGR of 3.6% from 2021 to 2027, according
to an article published by the Federation of European Screen Printers Associations (FESPA).
In another research, according to Allied Market Research, the global digital textile printing
market value was $2.2 billion in 2019, and is expected to grow to $8.8 billion by 2027, at a
CAGR of 19.1% from 2020 to 2027. The increased need for digital textile printing technology
and sustainable printing in the garment and advertising industries is predicted to boost
production demand.
CONCLUSION

Digital textile printing technology has facilitated creativity by promoting photographic

replication, intricate design, and experimentation with novel uses. The rapid growth of the
printed t-shirt business has been facilitated by the evolution of Direct-to-Garment (DTG)
technology. The current market exhibits several new advancements in digital textile printing
such as continuous inkjet, electrophotography, thermal inkjet, and others, each with its own set
of characteristics, benefits, and limitations. Since the digital textile printing market is expected
to grow rapidly, we must work harder with these new technologies and developments in order
to create better opportunities for us.

REFRENCES:

1. https://study.com/academy/lesson/digital-textile-printing-machine-process.html
2. https://www.southerntailors.com/blog/3-digital-fabric-printing-techniques-
advantages-and-disadvantages/
3. https://gotxfabricprinter.com/eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2014/10/How-Digital-
Print-Works_10.14.pdf
4. https://www.onlineclothingstudy.com/2011/06/digital-textile-printing.html
5. https://www.fespa.com/en/news-media/features/market-trends-the-vibrant-future-for-
digital-textile-pinting