Can you really solve these three digital printing technical problems?
Digital printing has been increasingly expanded in the printing market due to its many technical advantages, and is also favored by more and more manufacturing companies. In a market environment that adapts to the needs of fast fashion and personalization, digital printing has become the first choice for manufacturing companies that are dominated by small batch production. Especially for the silk industry, rich patterns and bright colors are what silk products are looking for. Compared with traditional printing, the more expensive processing fees of digital printing are completely affordable given the fabric value of silk itself. Moreover, with the rapid development of digital technology, its processing fees have dropped significantly.
Simple process
Drop-on-demand inkjet energy saving and emission reduction
Short production cycle, small batches
Quick response to meet individual needs
Green
Looking back on 2017, the digital printing industry has both opportunities and challenges. The industry's CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is still strong at over 20% and has good prospects in the future.
Under such a background environment, how should companies involved in digital printing deal with the following issues when applying digital printing technology?
How to choose a digital printing machine?
1. Fabric shape?
Rolls, cut pieces, sweaters, ready-made garments, etc. all refer to the form of fabrics. Enterprises can choose digital textile printing machines according to the form of fabrics they make. Selection of printing accuracy: Generally speaking, finer fabrics such as silk and chiffon have higher accuracy requirements, while fabrics with rougher fibers have lower accuracy requirements. We must also consider the customer's requirements and whether the selected textile printing machine can meet the customer's accuracy requirements. At the same time, the higher the accuracy, the slower the efficiency. While pursuing high precision, don't forget whether the printing speed can meet the standard.
2. Printing process?
Digital printing mainly includes two printing processes: direct injection printing and thermal transfer printing. The direct injection process has a wide range of fabrics and can be used on linen, silk, wool, cotton, polyester, nylon, and modal, but it requires sizing, steaming, washing, etc. The process requires a relatively large investment. The fastest direct-injection textile printing machine is the Kyocera nozzle (one nozzle is about more than 40,000 yuan), followed by the Starlight 1024 (more than 20,000 yuan) nozzle, which is a high-speed nozzle and a medium-speed nozzle. Common print heads include: Ricoh G5, Seiko, Konica 1024i, etc. Thermal transfer printing has high precision, low investment, and does not require pre- and post-processing. However, it is not suitable for many fabrics. It is mainly used in chemical fiber fabrics. Epson nozzles are generally used, and the speed is very slow, suitable for printing samples. Selection of printing machine nozzles: The nozzles of textile printing machines play a decisive role in printing accuracy, inkjet volume, printing speed, and production cost. They are the most important components of textile printing machines. Currently, the mainstream textile printing machine nozzles in China include : Starlight, Kyocera. As a consumable material, nozzles need to be replaced every few years, so the durability and replacement cost of the nozzles must also be considered.
3. What is the strength of the manufacturer?
Without considering other factors, choosing a large-scale manufacturer is the first choice. Large-scale manufacturers have relatively complete R&D technology and after-sales technology. The R&D strength of the manufacturer determines whether the products produced with its equipment are market competitive. Powerful, powerful after-sales support can solve your worries.
4. Domestic and imported?
my country's technological manufacturing level is becoming more and more mature, and the gap with imported machines has become smaller and smaller. Whether enterprises choose imported textile printing machines or domestic textile printing machines, they can consider the following factors: First, cost factors. Imported machines have higher costs in terms of freight and taxes. When choosing a textile printing machine, imported machines are often more expensive than domestic machines. Second, key technologies. The most important core technology of textile printing machines is nozzles. Domestic textile printing machines also use imported nozzles. Most of the accessories used by some manufacturers are imported from abroad. In terms of equipment technology, domestic imports are almost the same. Third, after-sales service. Good after-sales service support is one of the keys. Good after-sales service means that when there is a problem, you can come to your door to solve the problem in time and effectively solve the problem.
5. Other factors?
Site selection: Equipment footprint and required environmental conditions. Environmental conditions are mainly reflected in: temperature and humidity. Cost of printing: factory rent, labor costs, water and electricity costs, equipment purchase costs, ink consumption, and nozzle loss. Conditions for equipment operation: Understand the specific requirements such as power, air pressure, and voltage of the equipment. There is no best machine, only the best machine for you, and the one that suits you is the most important. When choosing a textile printing machine, you should choose it based on your actual situation and needs. Don't choose the expensive one, just choose the right one.
2
How to choose ink?
1. Select the number of ink colors according to printing needs. You can choose four-color, six-color, eight-color ink, etc. The greater the number of inks, the better the saturation of the printed color.
2. Choose ink according to the material of the fabric. Different fabrics use different inks. Correct use of ink will have a good performance in the color fastness and color of the fabric. Digital printing inks can be divided into dye-based inks and pigment-based inks (paints). Their characteristics are shown in the table:
type
Be applicable
scope
Coloring
principle
Features
Dye type
selective
Dyeing fiber
Long process flow and good color fastness
Pigment type
not selective
Use resin as an adhesive to attach to the fabric
The process is simple and the color fastness is poor, especially when wet rubbing
3. Select the ink according to the brand of the textile printing machine nozzle. Choosing the ink developed for the nozzle is more conducive to production.
4. Some companies encounter some ink problems during the actual production process, so they simply cooperate with ink manufacturers to develop digital printing inks suitable for their own products. The main considerations are the compatibility of the ink and the nozzle, the compatibility of the ink and the fabric, and the color management system of the ink.
3
How to choose additives?
The selection of digital printing additives is mainly considered from four aspects: color yield, permeability, hand feel, and color fastness.
The main types of additives that have an impact include: paste, thickener, alkali, urea, etc. Among them, the choice of paste is particularly important. It affects printing performance to a great extent, including pattern fineness, color and feel.
Enterprises should reasonably choose the paste type according to the requirements of their own products. For example, industrial seaweed has good permeability, good hand feel, and low cost, but its fineness and color yield are relatively poor. Although some synthetic pastes have high fineness and high color yield, their permeability and hand feel are poor, and some have poor rheology. Especially high-value silk fabrics have very high requirements for pattern fineness, color yield, hand feel, etc. This requires companies to constantly measure them in small and pilot tests to select the preferred additive supplier. , choose the appropriate paste.