PRINTING TECHNOLOGY

Printing can be defined as the localised application of dyes or pigments in a thickened form to a
substrate in order to generate a pattern or design. The printing paste contains colourants or dyes,
thickening agents, and other addittives. The thickening agents are mainly used to improve the
adhesion between the ink and the substrate as well as prevent the ink from spreading away from the
target position.
Most classes of dyes adaptable for printing but the choice depends on the type of fabric or fibre, the
end use of the products and the costs involved.
Fr cotton and other cellulosic fibres, VAT dyes are used. Silk is printed with acid dyes. Wool is usually
treated first with chlorine to make it more receptive and is then printed with acid or chrome dyes.
Most synthetics are printed with cationic dyes and disperse dyes.
Textile materials can be printed in different forms such slubbings, vigorous printing of yarns, warp
printing, piece goods, and garments. Fabrics to be printed need to undergo preparation prior to
printing mainly to remove any impurities. Bleaching, scouring and singeing are some of the
preparatory process given to the fabric prior to printing. The fabric may also be dyed before printing
if a coloured background is required.
Dyeing v/s Printing
The fibre, yarn or fabric is impregnated with the dye stuff while in printing the pattern is generally
imprinted on the fabric surface.
Dyeing gives solid shades all over the fibre while Printing is application of colour on the surface of the
cloth on selected areas only.
During dyeing aqueous solution or dye- bath is used while during printing process a thick paste of the
dye with thickeners is used
With dyed fabrics the outline of the design is the same on both sides the fabric while for printed fabrics
the outline of the design is sharply defined on the right side.

Printing styles or techniques

Direct printing
This is the commonest method of printing and can be done on an already dyed fabric or a white fabric.
During printing each colour has a specific place on the fabric such that there is no overlapping of
colours. Successful printing is dependent on the skill of the printer and the viscosity and rheology of
the print paste used. The dyes are usually dissolved in a limited amount of water together with
thickening agents to get the desired viscosity.
Over printing
This is a techniques where one or more colours are printed wet-on-wet on top of another colour that
has just been printed to create a fall-on effect. The colourist must be aware of the effect of the colour
beneath on the over printed shade.
Discharge printing
Here, the fabric is dyed and dried prior to printing. It is then printed with print paste containing a
chemical which will destroy or discharge the colour of the dyed ground shade within the printed area.

Resist printing
Bleached goods are first printed with a resist paste which is normally a resinous substance such as wax
or starch that cannot be penetrated when the fabric is subsequently immersed in a dye solution. The
dye affects only the parts that are not covered by the resist paste. The paste is then removed by
washing or ironing with a hot flat iron.
PRINTING METHODS
BLOCK PRINTING
It is the oldest method of printing that uses blocks where the design to be printed is curved in the
block out in relief against the background surface. It is a slow, laborious process and is not suitable
for high volume commercial use. It is a method still practised in the oriental countries where markets
exist for the types of printed fabrics produced.
Procedure
The design to be printed is curved on the face of a wooden r metallic block. If there are more than one
colour in the design, colour separation is done and each colour is traced out individually on a separate
block.
The table on which printing is to be done is protected with polyethylene paper and then covered with
newspapers or printing pads.
The fabric to be printed is spread carefully on top f the table and held in position with thumb nails.
Measurements of the printing block are taken and used t demarcate repeat registration and bright
coloured thread is used to demarcate the printing area according to the size of the blocks.
The print paste is applied to the design surface on the block and the block then pressed against the
fabric. The process is repeated with different designs and colours until the pattern is complete.
STENCIL PRINTING
This printing method is restricted for small jobs such as writing of banners. Commercially it is of little
value because it is labour intensive and time wasting, and accuracy is not guaranteed.
Most of the stencils are normally cut out of the hardened papers, plywood, metal or plastic. If more
than one colour is required, colour separation is necessary and a stencil for each colour is prepared.
The procedure for stencil printing is similar to that of block printing except that here, the design is cut
out in the stencil. The stencil is placed on the fabric and paste is applied using a squeegee or sponge
or brush.
ROLLER PRINTING
In roller printing, the colour is transferred continuously onto the fabric by engraved rollers. The repeat
of the design is governed by the roller circumference. Each roller applies only one colour on the design
while the thickened dye paste is held in the engraved roller area. It is the oldest mechanized method
for continuous printing and started way back in the 18th century. It represents only about 16% of print
production today, and is declining. Roller printing is capable of producing very sharp outlines to the
printed pattern which is especially important for small patterns. The number of rollers depends on the
number of colour ways involved. Each revolution of the roller makes one repeat of the design.

The design is engraved onto copper rollers, a separate roller for each colour.

The rollers are mounted against the large main cylinder, around which the fabric travels together with
a resilient blanket to prevent sideways movement and a protective back grey. The printing paste is
located in a trough. A transfer roller or furnishing roller runs partly immersed in the paste and in
contact with the engraved roller. It picks colour from the trough and transfers it to the printing roller.
A colour doctor blade, scraps away all of the paste except for that contained in the engraving. A
cleaning lint doctor blade on the other side scraps away any lint picked up from the fabric.
In its passage around the cylinder, the pressure of the engraved roller against the fabric causes the
design to be transferred. Each roller applies its colour and part of the design. Any excess paste which
is squeezed through the fabric is taken up by the back grey. This protects the blanket and prevents the
design from being smeared on the blanket. After leaving the cylinder, the cloth is dried often by
passage through a hot air drier and then over steam heated cylinders to help in setting f the dye.

Advantages and disadvantages

Roller printing is especially suited for printing large batches. Speeds can amount to approximately 100
meters per minute. Moreover, roller printing can be used for very fine printing.
For small batches, however, the changing times between printings of the various batches are so
considerable in the complete production process, the efficiency (cost effectiveness) in machine
utilization can drop to 50%. The changing time is necessary for adjusting and preparing the machines
for a new series.
Another advantage is the crush effect. Applying several colours in one drawing is achieved by using
several printing rollers. Each printing roller applies one colour. During the printing process, each colour
will be crushed by the following rollers as many times as there are colours left to be applied.

Consequently, the colour will be pushed more and more through the fabric to be printed. Deep colours
are hard to obtain, which benefits screen printing. There may be a reduction in colour strength of up
to 50%.
However, in roller printing, it is essential to apply the light colours before the darker ones because
traces of the preceding colour can be carried forward in to the following colour.
Engraving the printing rollers is an expensive operation which raises the price of the roller printing
technique considerably.
The cloth width to be handles is limited by the length of the printing roller.
There are delays when changing patterns or colour wheels and reduced colour yields sue to printing
pressure employed
Roller printing faults
Faults commonly encountered are connected with the working properties of the colour paste and
their interactions with the doctor blade and the printing roller. They include;
Scratches and doctor streaks; Scratches are due to the surface of the printing roller getting scratched
by a hard practical in the paste while doctor streaks are caused by damage at the edge f the doctor
blade. Scratches are parallel to the selvedge while doctor streaks are zigzag due to the traversing
motion of the doctor blade.
These can be reduced by adding lubricants in the print paste and use of chromium plated print rollers.
Snaps and doctor lifts; these are caused by some foreign substances lifting the dpctor edge put of
contact with the surface of the roller. They appear as strong continuous double lines of colour running
up the fabric. The foreign substance which becomes trapped under the doctor may be a thread on the
cloth being printed or particle such as dry thickening from the print paste.
This can be avoided by washing up the doctor and the roller.
Scumming; Is due to inefficient cleaning of the surface of the printing roller so that finer unwanted
film of colour is actually being printed from plain parts of the roller. This an be a result of a rough
doctor blade, badly polished roller, defective paste which resists cleaning action of the doctor blades.
This is common in discharge printing. It can be reduced by pre washing r pre-pdding with dilute
solution of an oxidising agent
Application of varying pressure across the fabric width which results in variable colour depth.
SCREEN PRINTING
Hand screen printing
Screen printing is basically a form of stencil printing. It consists of a synthetic fabric or metal gauze
stretched taut over the frame. Part of the gauze has holes blocked off (non-printing area) and the
printing paste is forced through the open printing areas by a rubber or metal squeegee onto the fabric.
Each screen is required for each colour.
Procedures
The fabric is placed on a firm table covered with printing pad and newspapers.
Screens are moved along the print surface with the paste. A squeegee is employed in driving across
the screen unidirectional and the number of strokes may vary according to the individual preference.

After printing the fabric is left to dry.

The method has low production costs and suitable for short runs particularly order oriented. It is
labour intensive but cheap printing method. Since printing is done by hand, there are pressure
variations such that the repeat registrations are never perfect and it is not easy to obtain sharp images.

Screen preparation
Design selection
The design and fabric quality must be demand driven so as to command a market share. The designs
should suit end use for example small motifs are made for shirts while larger motiffs are made for
furnishings.
Repeat sketches
The individual design units must fit together perfectly in order to eliminate the introduction of
discontinuities. The croquis (the artists original design) is redrawn too give a modified version known
as a repeat sketch. During the preparation of a repeat sketch, the boundary of the repeat is usually
disguised as much as possible.
Colour separation
This is done by reproducing the design areas of each colour separately on a clear transluscent
dimensionally stable film.
The colour separations (dipositives) usually consist of positives painted by hand using opaque ink or
paint. Of recent, programmed photoelectric scanners are used. Automated colour separations has so
far been successful from most designs.
The photo chemical process
Some polymers crosslink when exposed to UV light and become insoluble in solvents. The most
commonly used polymers are geratine and polyvinyl acetate. Both are sensitized with a dichromate
or diazole compound.
Procedure
A screen is coated with a light sensitive polymer, by standing it against a wall and applying the layer
of the viscous polymer solution. The polymer solution is applied using a smooth, straight aged trough.
The trough is tilted and moved from bottom to top of the screen applying the polymer.
The coated screen is dried in a dark cardboard ideally on horizontal shelves with a drought of cool dust
free air to shorten the drying time

Once the coated screen is dry, it is sensitive to light so photographic dark room conditions with safe
light are required during exposure and developing stages.
A dipositve is placed on top of the coated screen upside down and held in place with a 1mm thick
glass. For flat screens, the inside of the screen is supported with blocks which can fit properly. The
glass is covered using an opaque material and proceed to the area of light or under direct sunlight.
The time of exposure depends on the distance from the light source. After exposure the screen and
dipositvie is taken bark to the dark room.
Everything is removed from the screen and it is then immersed fully in water to allow development of
the design. Now the design is apparently seen on the screen, the design lines are open using highly
pressurised jets of water.
After opening, pinholes that are not opened are checked for on the screen before it is left to dry in
the dark room or dried immediately using hot air.

Rotary Screen Printing

Rotary screen printing uses CAD and roller squeegees. One roller is used for each colour. This is a very
fast process used in the continuous printing of furnishing and clothing fabrics.

The machine uses seamless cylindrical screens which are composed of a nickel mesh with end rings
stack at one end to tension the cylinder and prevent collapse. Each rotary screen is positioned across
the fabric and is independently driven at one end. As the screen rotates, it is fed internally with print
paste which is forced through the open mesh area by a stationery squeegee at the base of the screen
and onto the fabric being carried by a continuous moving conveyor. The fabric is then dried by passing
through a hot air drier.
The following are achievable on a rotary screen printer.
The squeegee blade is flexible to accommodate any variations in pressure required to force the paste
evenly through the mesh of the screen across the width of the fabric. In some models the squeegee is
replaced by a metal rod held in position by a magnetic field. This is more suited to heavier fabrics,
since the mechanism imposes a higher limit on the minimum amount of paste that can be delivered.
In general the rotary-screen printing machine requires a lower pressure between roller and fabric than
is used with engraved rollers.
Continuous rotation of cylindrical screens while in contact with the fabric leading to continuous
printing. The print paste is fed into the inside of the screen and during printing is forced out through
the design areas by a stationary squeegee.
Blanket washing and drying is effected from underneath during the return passage.
Provision for the use of adhesive with a curved heating plate to heat the fabric before it is placed into
the blanket. It is generally shorter for a given number of colours because cylindrical screens can be
much closer together than is possible with flat screen.
The fabric drier must be longer to enable the printed fabric to be adequately dried at faster running
speeds.
Speeds of 30-50m/min are used depending on the design and fabric quality. It is possible to run the
machines faster but limitations often being the length of the cloth and blanket driers. The difficulty of
observing printing faults at high speeds renders the movement of the cloth to be at a lower speed.
As with all screen printing, some control of paste delivery can be obtained through variation in the
mesh size, a large mesh being appropriate for fabrics made from coarser fibres or areas of solid colour,
whilst a finer mesh is better for producing fine detail or for fabrics made from fine fibres.

The advantages of rotary-screen printing machines include; faster production rates, greater ease of
setting up and a lower dependence on experience for successful operation. Computer aided design
techniques for printing screens are now increasingly widely used. Rotary screen machines are more
compact than flat screen machines for the same number of colours in the pattern. Therefore, they use
less plant floor space
The principle disadvantage of rotary screen printing is the high fixed cost of the equipment. The
machines are generally not profitable for short yardages of widely varying patterns, because of the
clean-up and machine down time when changing patterns. However, rotary machines are used for
carpet and other types of pile fabrics.
Most knit fabric is printed by the rotary screen method, because it does not stress (pull or stretch) the
fabric during the process. Flat screen printing is much more suitable for high pile fabrics, because only
one squeegee pass is available with rotary screen.

Flat Bed Screen Printing

In flat bed screen printing, this process is an automated version of the older hand operated silk screen
printing. For each colour in the print design, a separate screen must be constructed or engraved.

If the design has four colours, then four separate screens must be engraved. The modern flat-bed
screen-printing machine consists of an in-feed device, a glue trough, a rotating continuous flat rubber
blanket, flat-bed print table harnesses to lift and lower the flat screens, and a double-blade squeegee

trough. The in-feed device allows for precise straight feeding of the textile fabric onto the rubber
blanket.
As the cloth is fed to the machine, it is lightly glued to the blanket to prevent any shifting of fabric or
distortion during the printing process. The blanket carries the fabric under the screens, which are in
the raised position. Once under the screens, the fabric stops, the screens are lowered, and an
automatic squeegee trough moves across each screen, pushing print paste through the design or open
areas of the screens. The screens are raised, the blanket precisely moves the fabric to the next colour,
and the process is repeated. Once each colour has been applied, the fabric is removed from the
blanket and then processed through the required fixation process. The rubber blanket is continuously
washed, dried, and rotated back to the fabric in-feed area. The flat-bed screen process is a semicontinuous, start-stop operation. Flat screen machines are used today mostly in printing terry towels.
Many factors such as composition, size and form, angle, pressure, and speed of the blade (squeegee)
determine the quality of the impression made by the squeegee. At one time most blades were made
from rubber which, however, is prone to wear and edge nicks and has a tendency to warp and distort.
While blades continue to be made from rubbers such as neoprene, most are now made from
polyurethane which can produce as many as 25,000 impressions without significant degradation of
the image.
There are two types of squeegees; Conventional squeegee which is driven forward and backwards
across the screen by a motor. The other is a small diameter roller bar which is attracted and rolled
over the screen by a powerful electromagnet moving beneath the printing blanket.
Control of paste
The amount of paste passing through the screens in both hand and flatbed screen printing can be
controlled in the following ways
The mesh (thread/cm of the screen); generally a coarse mesh allows a predetermined amount of paste
to pass through compared to an open mesh. The fraction of the open area in the fabric depends not
only on the mesh but on the yarn diameter.
The hardness and cross section of the squeegee blade; A harder rubber squeegee with a sharp cross
section is suitable for outlines where a soft rounded blade applies more paste and is suitable for big
blotches or motifs.
Print paste Viscosity; the viscosity can be varied where thinner pastes passing through through the
screens pours more readily than thicker paste
The number of squeegee strokes; 2 to 4 strokes are applied for a better amount of paste to be applied.
The squeegee angle and pressure; the recommended angle is 65 to avoid slapping. The pressure must
be appropriate because too much pressure implies too much paste on the fabric.
Advantages and disadvantages of the method
From a productivity standpoint, the process is slow with production speeds in the range of 15-25 yards
per minute. Additionally, the method has obvious design limits. The design repeat size is limited to the
width and length dimensions of the flat screen. Also, no continuous patterns such as linear stripes are
possible with this method.
However, this method offers a number of advantages. Very wide machines can be constructed to
accommodate fabrics such as sheets, blankets, bedspreads, carpets, or upholstery. Also, this

technique allows for multiple passes or strokes of the squeegee so that large amounts of print paste
can be applied to penetrate pile fabrics such as blankets or towels. Currently, approximately 15-18%
of printed fabric production worldwide is done on flat-bed screen machines.
Screen printing faults
Most printing faults are registration faults i.e. misfitting of colours in the design r it may be associated
with screen frames falling n wet areas of the printed fabric.
Registration faults; accurate movement of the blanket on screen repeat distance each time it is
advanced. In adequate adhesion of the fabric to the blanket will cause local misfitting. Screen
distribution due to excessive drag by the squeegee especially rubber squeegees may lead to poor
paste application and poor registration
Frame marks; when printing consecutive screen pints, the screen frame inevitably falls on part of the
area most recently printed and may leave an impression. It is also common in hand screen printing
when moving the screen back to fill in a gap left in the previously printed motiff.
The technique used to counteract this problem is contact printing where the screen frame is lowered
to a print above the blanket, such that the gap is small. During passage of the squeegee, the screen is
stretched and makes contact with the fabric.
Splashing; this is the falling back of the print paste beneath the screen back into the cloth on lifting
the screen. It is reduced by lifting the screen first on one side and then the other.
TRANSFER PRINTING
Transfer printing is the term used to describe textile and related printing processes in which the design
is first printed on to a flexible non textile substrate and later transferred by a separate process to a
textile. It may be asked why this devious route should be chosen instead of directly printing the fabric.
The reasons are largely commercial but, on occasion, technical as well and are based on the following
considerations.
1. Designs may be printed and stored on a relatively cheap and non-bulky substrate such as paper,
and printed on to the more expensive textile with rapid response to sales demand.
2. The production of short-run repeat orders is much easier by transfer processes than it is by direct
printing.
3. The design may be applied to the textile with relatively low skill input and low reject rates.
4. Stock volume and storage costs are lower when designs are held on paper rather than on printed
textiles.
5. Certain designs and effects can be produced only by the use of transfers (particularly on garments
or garment panels).
6. Many complex designs can be produced more easily and accurately on paper than on textiles.
7. Most transfer-printing processes enable textile printing to be carried out using simple, relatively
inexpensive equipment with modest space requirements, without effluent production or any need for
washing-off.

Against these advantages, may be set the relative lack of flexibility inherent in transfer printing: no
single transfer-printing method is universally applicable to a wide range of textile fibres. While a
printer with a conventional rotary-screen printing set-up can proceed to print cotton, polyester,
blends and so forth without doing a great deal beyond changing the printing ink used, the transfer
printer hoping to have the same flexibility would need to have available a range of equipment suited
to the variety of systems that have to be used for different dyes and substrates using transfer
technology.
Many methods of producing textile transfer prints have been described in the literature. Many of them
exist only in patent specifications but several have been developed to production potential. They may
be summarised most conveniently as below.
Vacuum Vapour Transfer
This method depends on the use of a volatile dye in the printed design. When the paper is heated the
dye is preferentially adsorbed from the vapour phase by the textile material with which the heated
paper is held in contact. This is commercially the most important of the transfer-printing methods. It
depends on controlled temperature, pressure and time.
Procedure
The transfer printing is accompanied by passing a transfer paper and fabric between hot oil heated
cylinders reaching a temperature of about 180C. As the paper and fabric pass the cylinder, a partial
vacuum is created by sucking air through perforations. The heated dye sublimates or vaporises in
partial vacuum and diffuses into the fabric. This method is restricted to synthetic fibres and highly
volatile dyes which has limited its use.

Wet Transfer Printing Process:

In this method, water soluble dyes printed on paper migrate to fabric having fixing chemicals. The
principle behind wet transfer processes is the use of water as the medium through which dye diffuses
in passing from the paper to the fabric. Thus it resembles vapour transfer printing in that it is a
diffusion-controlled system, but since water is used instead of vapour it is not restricted to the use of
dyes that can sublime. There are two methods involved. The fastran process and the dew print transfer
process. A wet transfer printing process for fabrics is known which comprises the following three
stages.
1. Printing the required design on a selected grade of paper, using specially chosen dyes
dispersed in a suitable paper printing medium.
2. Impregnating the fabric (nylon, wool, acrylic or the like) with an aqueous solution which may,
for example, contain a dye fixation catalyst and a thickener, the latter to act as a dye migration
controller and film-stabiliser.
3. Bringing the printed paper and the impregnated fabric into close conformity, by applying
pressure, and maintaining this conformity under pressure for a period which may vary from a
few seconds to several minutes, while maintaining the paper and fabric in a moist condition
at a temperature of at least 100 on the printed paper are almost completely transferred to
the fabric and, provided sufficient contact time is allowed, are fixed in the same operation.
Fastran method
This involves padding wool garments with an aqueous bath containing fastran powder, the powder
contains a low cast gum derivative that holds a moisture film over the material during the transfer as
well as a surface derivative that facilitates high dye absorption. The pre-wet garment is brought
into contact with a transfer paper and is placed over a silicon rubber sheet.
The composite is then heated in a press for several minutes during which time the dye migrates to
the fabric and becomes attached in the usual manner. This may be followed by an after wash.
The method is not highly productive but is quite suited for the printing of high-value articles such as
knitted woollen garments and cottons especially when novel design effects are obtained at the same
time. The dyes mostly used are acid and reactive dyes.
Dew print method
The DewPrint machine introduced in the late 1970s offered an ingenious solution to the problems
posed. It is well suited for nylon, spandex, and acrylics.
The major difficulty to be overcome in a system of this kind is how to maintain the contact pressure
holding the paper to the fabric continuously at the required level over a period of time. This cannot
be achieved simply by using a stretched blanket as in sublimation transfer. Consequently the DewPrint
machine was fitted with a series of pressure rollers around the heated transfer cylinder, which exert
a steadily increasing pressure up to but not exceeding the pressure of the mangle used initially to
impregnate the fabric.
The material is padded with a preparatory emulsion which aids dye transfer from paper to fabric. It is
passed along the printed transfer paper over a cylinder heated at lower temperatures. The fabric is
the washed to remove the emulsion assistant. The major drawback of this solution to the problems
was the capital cost involved, which seriously affected the adoption of the approach.
Continuous wet transfer continues to be of interest, and new equipment has been recently introduced

by Ksters in association with the Cotton Art process developed by Dansk Tranfertryk for transfer
printing of reactive dyes using their specially developed transfer paper
Melt Transfer
This method has been used since the 19th century to transfer embroidery designs to fabric. The design
is printed on paper using a waxy ink, and a hot iron applied to its reverse face, presses the paper
against the fabric. The ink melts on to the fabric in contact with it. This was the basis of the first
commercially successful transfer process, known as Star printing, developed in Italy in the late 1940s.
It is used in the so-called hot-split transfer papers extensively used today in garment decoration.
Dry heat transfer
This is a popular method for synthetics especially polyesters using disperse dyes. However the method
had some limitations of penetration and fastness on other synthetic fibres. It is divided into two
techniques
Conventional heat transfer printing: This utilises electrically heated cylinders that press against
transfer printed paper on a heat resistant blanket held under tension. The dry heat causes the dye to
sublime in pattern form directly from paper to fabric.
Infra-red heat vacuum transfer printing: This method operates at lower temperatures and pressure.
The transfer paper and fabric are passed between infrared heaters and a perforated cylinder which
are protected from excessive heat by a shield. It is best suited for certain fibres which are heat
sensitive such as acrylics and spandex. The system is also quite effective for dye penetration of pile
fabric e.g coduroys and velours.
Film Release
This method is similar to melt transfer with the difference that the design is held in an ink layer which
is transferred completely to the textile from a release paper using heat and pressure. Adhesion forces
are developed between the film and the textile which are stronger than those between the film and
the paper. The method has been developed for the printing of both continuous web and garment
panel units, but is used almost exclusively for the latter purpose. In commercial importance it is
comparable with vapour transfer printing.
DUPLEX PRINTING
Duplex printing simulates a woven pattern by printing the fabric on both sides. The fabric may be
passed through the roller printing machine in two separate operations or through a duplex printing
machine in a single operation. Duplex printing produces an equally clear outline on both sides of the
fabric. The difference can be detected only by raveling out the yarns out of the fabric.
BOLTCH PRINTING
This is a continuous technique for randomly dropping or sprinkling dye liquor on a fabric to produce
multi-coloured patterns. Streams f dye run from a trough into individual channels. The doctor blade
oscillates, breaking up the streams of dye into droplets and scattering them over the fabric. The fabric
is continuously moving in pen width by means of a conveyor, the fabric is then padded to force the
dye into it. It is later taken for drying. The process is not only versatile but can also be used in place of
some more expensive techniques at a minimal costs.
ELECTROSTATIC PRINTING

The dye resin mixture that has dielectric properties is spread on a screen bearing the design. The fabric
is passed through an electrostatic field which is held about 12mm above the cloth. The resin mixture
is pulled by the electrostatic field through the pattern by the electrostatic material. The dye is then
initially fixed by infrared heat then, fixation is subsequently reinforced with whatever process most
suitable with the kind of dye used.
PHOTO PRINTING
The fabric is coated with the chemical that is sensitive to light. Then any photo may be printed on a
fabric under dark room, conditions.
DIGITAL/INKJET PRINTING
Digital or inkjet printing is a non-contact printing technology. The key characteristics of digital printing
technologies include:

Variable data. The input data is not constrained by size, nor does it need to repeat. Because
the data is drawn from a computer file that is, in principle, unrestricted in size.
Non-contact with substrate. The ink is dropped onto the substrate, making it possible to print
on flat or curved, smooth or rough, delicate or hard substrates.
Versatile. In most cases, inks can be developed that are compatible with any chosen surface.
Multicolour, Based on the cyan-magenta-yellow-black colour gamut, thousands of colours can
be printed without the requirement for a colour kitchen.
High speed. The printing rates are of course, dependent on resolution, the type of printing
required, the head technologies, etc.
No moving parts. Printer motions are limited to oscillators within heads and a system to move
the heads in relation to the substrate. It is the ink that moves during printing, not a mechanical
device. Consequently, ink jet printers are inherently reliable.

The principle of digitising the printing process can be grasped by observing a dripping tap, as in Fig. (a)
below. Each drip allows a drop of water to fall onto the surface below. If the position and movement
of the faucet is controlled, the drops of water can be made to wet a substrate in a controlled way. If
further controls are introduced so that for each position of the faucet, the drop can either fall or not
fall, then the system mirrors the digital printing process reasonably well.

Historical Developments
The first application of digital printing technologies was with carpets: a patented technology exclusive
to Milliken. This was launched in the 1970s and made use of a pulsed air jet to carry ink to the carpet
substrate, Using carpet squares, large scale patterns could be produced that were customised for

particular customers and specific rooms. Both hardware and software have been enhanced
continuously since then. Subsequently, in the period 1991-2000, developments with textile substrates
were limited to sampling (for photoshoots), the printing of flags and banners, and some other niche
products (such as silk ties). The past 5 years, however, have seen major breakthroughs in the use of
digital printing of textiles. There are many more commercial machines, many improvements in inks,
and significant developments affecting software systems. The range of applications is now very
extensive, and mass-customisation is a realisable goal.

Inkjet mechanisms

Dot on Demand (DOD) or Impulse Print Heads

This broad category of technologies provides mechanisms for delivering a drop of ink when there is a
demand. The demand is generated by the printing software: for each pixel, the instruction is either to
fire a drop or not to fire. The drop of ink then falls to the substrate under the influence of gravity and
appears as a dot on the surface. Drop sizes are measured in picolitres (the prefix pico means a
trillionth, so one picolitre is 1012 of a litre). Typically, drop sizes are 2030 pl, but there is a significant
trend for heads to produce drop sizes below 10 pl and one head has been released recently that can
achieve 1 pl.
Thermal Ink Jet Heads
A very localised volume of ink is heated in the head and this causes a bubble to form and burst. The
heating pulse has a timescale of 210 s and during this time the fluid in the immediate vicinity of the
heater vaporises and expands explosively. The bubble expansion causes a pressure wave within the
fluid and, as a result, some of the ink is ejected from the nozzle. This ink forms a drop and falls onto
the fabric. As soon as the heating pulse finishes, the bubble collapses and ink is drawn in from the

supply channel. The ink jet heads do have a limited life, but as they are cheap to produce it is normal
practice to work with disposable cartridges.
Piezo Ink Jet Heads
A piezo material experiences distortion under the influence of an electric field (or conversely, it
generates an electric field when deformed). The word piezo is Greek for push, drawing attention to
its mechanical behaviour. The ink chamber is partly constructed from a piezo-electric material, so the
volume of the chamber is changed when an electric field is applied. Just as for thermal ink jet heads,
the effects operate Drop on demand concept. (A drop is produced when the signal to fire the nozzle
is given) When the chamber volume reduces, a drop of ink is forced out of the nozzle. When the
electric field is turned off, the chamber shape snaps back to normal and this draws ink in from the
supply channel.
Piezo heads give more control over drop production than thermal heads (for example, making it
possible to have drops of different size), and they can operate at higher production rates. Since the
ink is not heated to form a bubble, there are fewer constraints to affect ink formulation. Piezo heads
tend to last longer than thermal heads. For all these reasons, piezo heads are the most popular for
textile digital printing.
Electrostatic Ink Jet Heads
These heads use slight pressure to form a meniscus of an ink drop at each nozzle. There is no chamber
firing mechanism, however. Instead, an electrostatic attraction force from the substrate is used to
eject selected droplets to form the desired pattern. These printers are faster but have lower resolution
and are less versatile.
Continuous Ink Jet (CIJ) Heads
The continuous ink jet concept a jet of any fluid is unstable and tends to break up into small droplets.
This means that a continuous jet of ink emerging from a nozzle becomes a stream of droplets in a very
short time. CIJ technologies manage the movements of these drops electrostatically: the drops are
given an electrostatic charge and are steered, using an electric field, either to the substrate or to a
recirculation system. The earliest work on textile ink-jet printing made use of CIJ technologies, but
commercial
exploitation
has
been
slower
than
the
DOD
route.

Pulsed Ink Jet Heads

This concept is a hybrid between DOD and continuous jetting. The head produces a jet that quickly
becomes a stream of drops. However, instead of the jet being continuous, it is pulsed, depending on
the design of the print. There is therefore no need to put a charge on the drops, nor to steer them
electrostatically. With this delivery system, the option of using CMYK colour is not available, so each
head has its own solid or spot colour ink. As with the screen printing process, colour separation of
graphic images is needed and inks are prepared accordingly. This technology is used in the Chromojet
(for carpet printing) and the Chromotex Flatjet (for artificial furs, blankets and other high-pile fabrics)

Inks for printing textiles

Inks are comprised of a colourant, a carrier base and various additives. The carrier base (or vehicle)
may be water, solvent, oil, phase change fluid (hot melt), or UV curable fluid. However, to date, nearly
all the inks for textile printing are water based because they are designed for heads that require waterbased inks. The usefulness of the carrier base is over once the ink is deposited on the substrate. Water
is ideal in that it can evaporate relatively easily and is non-toxic. Other carrier fluids may need to be
evaporated in a controlled way and fumes exhausted or reprocessed to ensure a safe working
environment. The carrier base may constitute 80% of the ink.
Colorants for textile substrates have to be fast for washing, light and rubbing. Functionality issues are
just as important as putting colour on the textile. There are four main categories of colorant: (i)
Reactive dyes (for cellulosic fibres) (ii) Disperse dyes (for polyester) (iii) Acid dyes (for protein fibres
and nylon) (iv) Pigments (for all substrates) These materials have been developed for more traditional
dyeing and printing routes, and adapted for use in digital printing.
Pigments inks (Water, Oil or Solvent Carrier)
Pigment inks have fine particles of insoluble colourant in suspension. They are used to obtain print
qualities of durability, lightfastness and UV-resistance. The particles, which are typically less than 0.1
micron in diameter, are bound to the substrate by the cross-linking (polymerisation) of a resin
component in the ink during a post-printing heat treatment. In the past, pigments have had a
reputation for a limited colour gamut, because the inks have carried a large proportion of monomer
resin and it has not been possible to get enough colourant onto the substrate. However,
improvements in ink technology have reduced this problem substantially. Recent developments have
focused on solvents, which reduce the tendency for pigments to settle and provide a good carrier for
monomers, but are less versatile regarding substrates.
UV-curable Inks
UV-curable inks are made up of liquids (monomers, oligomers and photoinitiators) that are converted
100% to solid under the influence of UV light, plus colourants (normally pigments) and additives
(surfactants to promote wetting and inhibitors to reduce low light cure). The technology has been
developed around acrylate monomers. In the presence of free radicals, these monomers undergo
rapid polymerisation. The mechanism involves a photoinitiator absorbing UV energy and decomposing
to produce free radicals. These, in turn, react with monomers to trigger a free radical chain reaction.
The result is a 3D polymer structure, binding with itself, with the pigments and with the substrate. The
oligomers can be acrylated epoxies, acrylated polyesters, acrylated urethanes, etc. These provide
desirable characteristics to the polymerised material.
Selected advantages are summarised below:

Instant drying by curing

No drying of ink in the jets (greatly reduced clogging)

Reduced problems of the inks ageing in storage
Minimal level of VOC (volatile organic compoundssolvents) and pollution
Good quality gloss, satin and matt finishes
Offer many options for adhesion chemistry with different substrates
Produces durable prints that are resistant to many chemicals
Compact curing equipment

On-going development of inks Drawbacks include:

Higher cost than water-based inks

Higher machinery costs
Requires controlled handling procedures
Ink film is thicker than produced by aqueous inks
Shrinkage occurs that can adversely affect adhesion
With fabrics, the polymer film will affect handle
Health & Safety issues relate to the materials causing skin irritation

General requirements for inks used in textile digital printing:

Purity (to avoid blockages of nozzles, so they are filtered to less than 0.2 microns)
Particle size (for disperse and pigment inks)
Viscosity
Surface tension
Conductivity (for continuous flow application)
Stability
pH value
foaming properties

In addition, the inks must be appropriate for the substrate and must satisfy the end use requirements
as; Substrate orientation, Production and end user fastness properties, Washing properties, Handle
Compatibility with conventional textile printing Ink developers must consider the textile substrate, the
pre-treatments given to the substrate, the selected print head technology, the post-treatment and
performance in use. The analysis necessarily varies with each case.
Applications for inkjet printing
Although the technique is already well established, it is still used mainly for special and short run
printing purposes). It is also being used for printing a variety of smart sensing materials on textile
fabrics for a range of biological and electronic applications, mass-customisation and interior textiles,
customised Products such as ties, scarves, etc, carpets, flags and banners.