Two processes of digital printing and factors affecting digital printing
Digital printing mainly includes direct printing and thermal transfer printing.
Direct printing process fabrics have a wide range of applications and can be applied to linen, silk, wool, cotton, polyester, nylon, and modal, but require sizing, steaming, washing and other processes, and the investment is relatively large. In terms of speed, the fastest direct-injection textile printing machine is the Kyocera nozzle (about 40,000 people per nozzle), followed by the Starlight 1024 nozzle (more than 20,000 people), which is a high-speed nozzle. Common medium-speed nozzles are: Ricoh G5, Seiko, Konica 1024i, etc.
Thermal transfer printing has high precision, low investment, and no need for pre- and post-processing, but there are not many applicable fabrics, mainly used for chemical fiber fabrics. Generally use Epson nozzle, the speed is very slow, suitable for printing samples. Selection of thermal transfer printing machine nozzles: printing machine nozzles play a decisive role in printing accuracy, inkjet volume, printing speed and production cost, and are the most important components of textile printing machines. At present, the main nozzles of textile printing machines in China are: Starlight and Kyocera. Since the consumables need to be replaced every few years, the durability and replacement cost of the printheads should also be considered.
As the basic material of digital printing, fabric is of great significance to the effect of digital printing, including not only the fiber material used for fabric weaving, but also the structure of the fabric. For example, in the paperless digital printing process, since most of the dyes used for printing are hydrophobic disperse dyes, and most natural fiber textile fabrics are hydrophilic, it is difficult to directly digitally print dyes and fabrics during the printing process . The national "Eleventh Five-Year" 863 plan funded the development of non-toxic and degradable bridging agents to improve the printing disadvantages of pure cotton and silk in this respect, but there are still some shortcomings.
In addition to the fiber materials used for fabric weaving, the structure of the fabric will also have a greater impact on digital printing. For example, the longer the floating line of the fabric, the easier it is for the slurry to enter the internal space of the fabric during the printing process, thereby improving the digital printing effect of the fabric.