DIGITAL PRINTING TECHNOLOGY
Digital Printing Technology
The technology used in digital printing on Fabric is the one which we used already known as inkjet printing technology.
The inkjet printing technology utilized in digital printing on Fabric was initial patented in 1968.
In the Nineties, inkjet printers became widely accessible for paper printing applications – you would possibly even have one on your table right at this moment!!
The technology has been continuing to develop and there are now specialized wide-format printers which may handle a range of substrates – everything from paper to vinyl to canvas, and of course, fabric.
Some of the most recent advances in digital printing on fabric are within the area of head technology and ink development.
This method is comparable to the PC controlled paper printers used for workplace applications however on a sophisticated scale where various variables are managed to offer you the most effective possible outcome on fabric.
There are many types of digital printing methods. Digital printing on cotton fabric and digital printing on silk fabric may be different from digital printing on polyester fabric.
A number of the variables required for coordination of booming digital printing on fabric are files and color management, printer and RIP technology, fabric pre and post treatment processes, inks/dyes, and shopper expectations.
Digital printing on fabric is not an on the spot science and there will be slight lot-to-lot variations for samples and yardage.
Most commercially offered fabric is rotary screen printed; every print run is often many thousand meters.
The high minimums are because of the price and time needed to arrange a singular set of screens, with every color in a design requiring a separate screen.
The main advantage of digital printing on fabric is the ability to do very tiny runs of every design (even less than one meter) because there are no screens to arrange.
The inks utilized in digital printing on fabric are developed specifically for every kind of fiber (polyester, silk, nylon, cotton, etc).
Throughout the digital printing, the fabric is fed through the printer using rollers and ink is applied to the surface in the form of thousands of small droplets.
The fabric is then finished using heat and/or steam to cure the ink (some inks also need washing and drying).
Digitally printed fabric can wash and wear the same as any other fabric, though with some varieties of ink you will see some initial fading even after the very first wash.
Digital printing on fabric is more environmentally friendly than alternative traditional screen-printing methods because you are printing the precise quantity of ink required to print directly on the fabric through the direction of RIP/printer settings.
There is least to no waste cleanup, which suggests each drop is printed on demand from the precise quantity of yardage and coverage required.
Digital fabric printing saves water and therefore the environment.