Digital Printing
The biggest difference between digital printing and traditional printing is that there is no need to make a plate, through the computer output directly. Digital printing technology is with the continuous development of computer technology and the gradual formation of a set of machinery, computer electronic information technology as one of the high-tech products, it first appeared in the mid-1990s, the emergence of this technology and continuous improvement, to the textile printing and dyeing industry has brought a new concept, its advanced production principles and means, to the textile printing and dyeing industry has brought an unprecedented development opportunity for the textile printing and dyeing industry. In recent years, China’s textile printing and dyeing industry has developed at a high speed, and the printing output In recent years, China’s textile printing and dyeing industry has been developing rapidly, and the output of printing has also grown simultaneously. At the same time, the fashion cycle of garments is getting shorter and shorter, and the pattern changes faster and faster. shorter and shorter, the pattern changes more and more quickly, the production requirements are higher and higher, the order batch is getting smaller and smaller, and pattern piracy is rampant. Although printing enterprises have introduced printing traditional printing method, they have introduced printing CAD system, laser machine, flat screen, round screen inkjet, wax spray screen machine and other digital means to improve the process, but the concept of printing and dyeing factory is a pollution factory seems to However, the concept of printing and dyeing factory is pollution factory seems to have created a deep impression. At the same time, in the international arena, the export of our printing and dyeing exports are also increasingly hampered by “non-trade barriers” including environmental barriers”. As far as the current technology is concerned, digital printing is the best solution to the digital printing is the best way to solve many problems in the printing field.
Traditional printing regardless of the use of flat screen, round mesh are inseparable from the net, however, the cost and time consumed by the plate, it is difficult to meet the modern printing trend of small batch, multi-species, so the development of no plate, no pressure digital printing. The basic principle is the same as inkjet printers.
In the 1990s computer technology gradually popularized, continuous digital jet printing machine appeared, and
By 1995 there were mature applications on textiles with bold patterns such as carpets and wall hangings. The Austrian company ZIMMER was the first to exhibit a digital jet printing prototype for carpets, with a resolution of 9~18 dpi, using valve spray technology, without using the usual sense of nozzle; its production speed was fast, up to 16m/min, but due to the large jet droplets, the resolution was very low and could not be applied in clothing fabrics.
In 1995, on-demand inkjet digital jet printing machine appeared, then mainly using hot bubble type nozzle, resolution 300dpi, and later gradually developed 600dpi, 4 colors mainly, completely can be applied in fabric. 1999~2000 digital jet printing machine using piezoelectric nozzle has more countries exhibited, including the Netherlands, the Japan, Switzerland, USA, Italy, China China, the resolution can reach 360dpi, at that time due to piezoelectric printheads were very expensive and maintenance troublesome, so in the process of customer use encountered The technical bottleneck was very big!
After more than ten years of development, various new digital inkjet printing machines have emerged, mainly using thermal foaming nozzles and piezoelectric nozzles, with increasingly mature application techniques and gradually improved control software functions. Undoubtedly, the emergence and successful application of digital printing technology is undoubtedly a heavy technical revolution in the textile industry, which has a milestone significance. The economic and social benefits brought by digital printing The economic and social benefits brought by digital printing will have a profound impact on the world, especially on China, a major textile printing country. The economic and social benefits brought by digital printing will have a profound impact on the world, especially on China, a major textile printing country. As with like all the industrial upgrades and changes, digital printing technology is both a challenge and an opportunity, and Chinese textile Chinese textile companies must seize the opportunity in the coming changes.
Digital printing from the ink type “dispersion ink (thermal transfer printing), reactive ink (direct spray gas steam), acid ink (direct spray), paint ink (direct spray), pigment ink (dark T-shirt direct spray),” etc., of which the use of “disperse ink” thermal transfer technology should be The most widely used, its simple operation, bright colors after printing, color fastness High color fastness and other advantages to become the technology of choice for customers, but because of the sublimation process principle makes the transfer ink can only be used on polyester, chemical fiber and other fabrics. Use. With the gradual maturation of natural fiber transfer coating such as silk, cotton, wool and cashmere, thermal transfer ink can only be used on polyester and chemical fiber fabrics.
With the gradual maturity of the coating, the application of thermal transfer technology will become more widespread.
The production process of digital printing is simply the production of digital prints through various digital
digital means such as scanning, digital photo, image or computer
The digital pattern is inputted into the computer through various digital means such as scanning, digital photo, image or computer processing, and then processed by the computer
After processing by computer color separation printing system, the professional RIP software will be
printing system will be a variety of special dyes (reactive, disperse, acidic main coating
directly to various fabrics or other media, and then after
processing, so that a variety of textile fabrics to obtain high-precision colorful
It has the following advantages compared with traditional printing and dyeing process
Several advantages.
1. The production process of digital printing makes the original process route is greatly shortened, the speed of receiving orders, proofing costs greatly reduced. greatly reduce. As the production of digital printing process is free from the traditional printing in the production process of color tracing, production, net making process, thus greatly shortening the production time. Acceptance The way of receiving the pattern can be edited by various electronic electronic files for editing, the general proofing time less than one business day, compared to traditional proofing cycle time is generally around one week. In addition, the the process is simplified, the cost of proofing is also greatly The cost of proofing is also greatly reduced due to the simplification of the process. The shortening of the proofing cycle and the reduction of the proofing cost This high efficiency undoubtedly gives enterprises The shortening of the proofing cycle and the reduction of the proofing cost will undoubtedly bring more market opportunities to the enterprises.
2. The principle of digital printing technology makes its products break the traditional production
set of colors and flower back to the length of the limit, can make the textile fabric realize the high-grade printing printing effect. Because digital printing technology can digital printing technology can use digital pattern, after the computer for color measurement, color matching, and The digital printing technology can use digital pattern, through the computer for color measurement, color matching and printing, so that the color of digital printing products can theoretically reach The digital printing technology can adopt digital pattern, through computer color measurement, color matching and printing, so that the color of digital printing products can theoretically reach 16.7 million kinds, breaking through the traditional textile printing pattern Especially in the printing of high-precision patterns such as color gradient and cloud pattern, digital printing is technically superior to the traditional textile printing patterns. digital printing has incomparable advantages in technology advantage. In addition, the traditional printing pattern is often subject to “flower back” length of traditional printing, while the process of digital printing can not exist in the “flower back” concept, which greatly expands the space of textile pattern design This greatly expands the space of textile pattern design and enhances the grade of products.
3. Digital printing production really realizes the small batch, fast response
production process, the production batch is not subject to any restrictions. As digital printing
production process all realize computerized digital production, so that the production flexibility greatly improved, some products can even achieve the same day delivery
goods, immediately available. In addition, due to the application of computer technology, printing
series of patterns with different shades of the same pattern, as well as in the production process
In the production process, the designer’s continuous modification of the pattern and color has become a digital printing
production is different from the traditional printing production of a major technical advantage.
4. High-precision printing process makes the printing process without water and without
color paste. The use of dyestuff in the printing process is “distributed according to demand” by the computer.
This makes the printing process without the waste of dyeing and chemical materials and without waste water.
The computer-controlled printing process produces no noise, no pollution, and realizes green production.
The computer-controlled printing process produces no noise, no pollution, and realizes a green production process, thus making the production of textile printing
This makes the production of textile printing free from the production process of high energy consumption, high pollution and high noise in the past.
process and realize the low energy consumption and pollution-free production process, which brings a technical revolution to the production of textile printing and dyeing.
The production of textile printing and dyeing has brought a technical revolution. Digital printing machine proofing has been inWestern printing industry has become the mainstream production method. At present, the European printing industry has More than 90% of the enterprises use digital printing machine proofing, these enterprises
generally believe that the digital printing machine proofing response speed, proofing cost is low, the effect consistency, digital printing machine has become a European printing industry
Digital printing machine has become an indispensable tool for the European printing industry.
At present in China, there are also more and more enterprises committed to digital printing machine overall solutions, and has achieved good results in the use of Digital printing technology and traditional printing technology is a completely different printing Two kinds of printing mechanism, so the use of digital printing machine proofing needs and customerCustomers have a break-in period. From the point of view of the process link, the enterprise internal proofing sample, production system also need to have a break-in period. If possible, it is best to Develop a set of process standards, so that the enterprise quickly into the digital printing proofing system and be recognized by customers.
How to understand digital printing and widely promote digital printing technology and equipment It is a mandatory course for us as technical and sales personnel. First The first thing to learn is how to distinguish the texture of fabrics, fabrics are divided into: natural Fiber (cotton, hemp, silk), animal protein fiber (wool, cashmere, cowhide, sheepskin), natural man-made fibers (rayon, cotton, modal, modal). Modal, Modal), chemical fiber artificial fiber (polyester, satin, chiffon chiffon, peach skin velvet, memory cloth, etc.), how to identify these materials How to identify these materials? Only with fire and hand touch, this is the rule of thumb. In the knowledge of After the various fabrics, we need to understand the processing of clothing, there are After the printing of the cloth cut pieces of sewing (hereinafter referred to as cloth printing), there are also cut After the piece of printing (hereinafter referred to as cutting piece printing), there is a garment fixed position printing (hereinafter referred to as positioning printing). We have to choose the corresponding digital printing by different fabrics and garment process to choose the corresponding digital printing process.
1. Natural fiber pique printing is generally used digital active Direct spraying, commonly known as the tape machine spray printing, the process is: first the fabric Do pulp treatment, the purpose is to prevent the fabric in the spray printing warp and weft bleeding phenomenon, the first is done on the fabric paper coating; then will do The treated fabric is dried and leveled on the belt guide machine for spray printing; after spray printing then put the fabric into the steamer with saturated steam (105℃) for 20 minutes After the printing, put the fabric into the steamer with saturated steam (105℃) for 20 minutes to fix the color, and then wash it with water to wash off the floating color and pulp. After washing, we will do soft treatment, and then we can pack and deliver. Natural Fiber The process of natural fiber cutting printing and positioning printing is the same. The process is the same, using ordinary digital printing machine to print active ink on imported paper base, with high The printed pattern will be embossed on the light-colored fabric without treatment at the corresponding temperature and time using a high pressure stamping machine. No treatment of light-colored fabrics, and then air steam 40 minutes, wash Drying and ironing to get the finished product, this process is the latest technology This process is the latest technology, generally applied to the medium and high-end wool, cashmere, cotton women’s clothing This process is the latest technology, generally used in the high-end wool, cashmere, cotton women’s clothing garment printing, cutting piece printing.
2. Animal protein fiber in wool, cashmere knitted fabric printing
The printing process generally adopts active direct spraying or acid direct spraying, both with pre-treatment and post-treatment.
treatment and post-treatment; cowhide, sheepskin generally use paint direct spraying or UV
Direct spraying.
3. The printing process of natural man-made fiber fabrics generally use active direct spray, with pre-treatment, post-treatment process.
4. Chemical artificial fiber fabric printing are generally used thermal transfer process, the application of this process in the digital printing industry is the most widespread and familiar, because there is no pre-treatment and post-treatment, simple operation, can print a wide range of fabric choices, get the market long-term affirmation. However, due to the low-cost machines, consumables come out in layers endless, manufacturers play price war, making the thermal transfer market profit margin Very small, many small factories face the danger of being squeezed out of the big factories opportunity, which is also the most unwilling to see any industry products flooded into disaster phenomenon. Therefore, the author believes that the most important need for textile digital printing solution is how to improve the process application and product quality, rather than the The pursuit of speed and precision is not the only thing.
Exploring new processes and expanding new ideas is the first task of the digital printing industry.
the first task of digital printing industry. Foreign countries have advanced equipment equipment and accessories, then we to develop popular digital machine, improve The number of complete machines in the industry, break through the guide fabric limitation of tape machine and sublimation transfer limited, and develop the The output concept of binary design concept, so that each garment’s printing layout and pattern positioning points of each garment are basically consistent, so as to enhance the printing garment grade, while the price is controlled at medium level, so that we can make us in digital printing industry in an invincible The use of the existing mature guide belt direct spray, chemical fiber dispersion sublimation and other processing technology to do low price, active sheet printing technology to do wool, cashmere real The use of cotton, polyester and cotton dispersion transfer process to do medium and high prices, so that our products can be sold in the market. price, so that our whole processing product line can cover all cotton, linen, silk, wool, cashmere, polyester-cotton, human cotton, cotton ammonia, cotton silk, chemical fiber, polyester, modal, non-woven, denim, luggage and shoe materials. denim, luggage and shoe materials” and other fabrics.
In the face of cotton dispersion transfer technology application promotion, Shanghai Yi Ltd. has developed cotton transfer single-sided or double-sided blank transfer T-shirts, giving full play to the potential of the existing thermal transfer market, to The company has developed cotton transfer single-sided or double-sided blank transfer T-shirt, giving full play to the existing market potential of heat transfer printing, replacing a part of the market share of chemical fiber advertising The use of electric engraving, Heidelberg printing technology, reduce printing costs, breakthrough printing T-shirt, advertising T-shirt fabric limitations, the first – Yizhou cotton thermal transfer T-shirt (blank or printed). To do a good job in the promotion of textile digital printing process both digital machine and related equipment model parameters and the use of familiar, but also to know the design science, color science, clothing technology and other knowledge. Ink and consumables determine the machine The application and process of the model – consumables are the “soul” of the digital machine; and design is the overall “soul” of digital printing, which determines the digital printing The embodiment and grade of the product. The final embodiment of digital printing is made of pattern design, color performance, garment technology, so, to be engaged in the digital printing digital printing industry, people must To know the design software – PS AI Jinchang at2000, etc.; color science to understand the three primary colors RGB and pigment
relationship and conversion of the three primary colors CMY+K conversion difference; clothing technology to know how to play board, put the code, arrange the material, style chart, etc. knowledge.
Digital inkjet direct printing and traditional printing has many advantages advantages, and the equipment has been developed to the 4th generation, however, its industrialization and promotion progress slowly, in addition to the printing speed the limitation of printing speed, the main reason is the matching process and technology research lagging behind, specifically in the following The following aspects.
(1) ink problems. At this stage paragraph, compared with traditional powder dyes, digital inkjet printing ink still exists There are high prices, the ink manufacturers of the ink mutual versatility Poor, poor ink storage stability and other problems. This leads to the current digital inkjet printing cost is high, and at the same time, to a certain extent, it affects the quality of digital inkjet printing products. The quality of digital inkjet printing products is affected to some extent.
(2) Color mixing problem. Color mixing is an important part of digital inkjet printing. Digital inkjet printing through the computer to control the output color, but the color reflected on the computer display and the color mode of the print is not the same (the display color is RGB mode, while the print color is CMYK mode), thus requiring a color mixing process. The color mixing process must set different process parameters according to the characteristics of the dye, printing accuracy, fabric categories, etc. Poorly set parameters will make a big difference in the color of the print. In addition, because digital inkjet printing uses the principle of four color separation, any small change in any one parameter will cause a color very big change. Especially the need for four colors mixed gray, coffee color system, any change in the parameters will have an effect on the printing color effect. Color mixing cannot be done directly on the computer. You need to rely on the set parameters to gradually adjust to achieve. Therefore, color mixing The research of color mixing technology is crucial.
(3) the sizing problem. Digital inkjet printing before printing must be must be sizing to prevent the bleeding of ink. Sizing on the quality of printing have a great impact, if the sizing “weft slant”, “wrinkle printing”, “uneven”, “not flat” and other problems, when printing will produce “seepage open”, “escape cloth”, “uneven color” and other phenomenon, resulting in the high rate of defective inkjet printing. Therefore, the use of what and equipment for sizing are two major problems. At present, most of the Most of the enterprises apply reactive dye ink printing, using sodium alginate as The main auxiliary for sizing. Since sodium alginate is particularly easy to absorb the moisture in the air, the fabric will be stained with sodium alginate when it is printed. moisture in the air, so the fabric in the spray printing of the weather changes, dry humidity, it will cause different moisture content of the fabric after sizing consistent, resulting in digital inkjet printing of color and light changes greatly. If If the humidity in the air is very large, the pattern after printing will produce bleeding If the humidity in the air is high, the pattern will bleed after printing, making the print outline unclear. Special equipment for digital inkjet printing The special equipment for digital inkjet printing needs to be further developed.
(4) Color bleeding problem. Digital inkjet printing using paper printing The principle of four color separation, through the four colors in the three-dimensional space of the cross-reflection reflections, the performance of a variety of natural light colors. But in actual production, there are Some digital inkjet printing after the fabric is often not good enough vividness, especially The more colors are mixed, the higher the grayness, the surface of the fabric looks Covered with a layer of mist, mainly because the ink sprayed out of the mutual bleeding color.
(5) The problem of positive and negative colors. Digital inkjet printing is on-demand ink, due to the amount of ink sprayed on the fabric is very little, the ink can only stay on the surface of the fabric, resulting in a large color difference between the front and back, which brings two problems, one is to do penetration printing products can not meet the requirements; the second is more lax fabric, after friction or sewing, the opposite side of the silk without color to the front of the problem, commonly known as “anti-filament “, which affects the appearance of the fabric, and even can not be accepted by consumers. If you increase the amount of ink to improve the reverse side of the penetration, although the “anti-filament” situation has improved, but will affect the clarity of the printed pattern.
(6) equipment versatility and openness of the ink problem. Digital inkjet printing equipment has developed relatively quickly in recent years, and has now developed to the 4th generation. But many devices are not open to the public its ink indicators, do not accept the compatibility of ink. In addition, the same manufacturer of different models of digital inkjet printing equipment can not be common, proofing equipment and production equipment must be the same generation of products. These problems are factors that limit the promotion and application of digital inkjet printing.
In general, digital inkjet printing also has process, technology and consumables, etc. By continuously overcoming these shortcomings and limitations, digital inkjet printing By continuously overcoming these shortcomings and limitations, digital inkjet printing will move towards industrialization, scale, and digital The rapid development of digital inkjet printing equipment together with digital inkjet printing.
Digital inkjet printing will co-exist with traditional printing process for a long time
Exist and complement each other’s advantages
The emergence and continuous improvement of digital inkjet printing technology has brought a brand new concept to the textile printing and dyeing industry, and its advanced production principle and means have brought unprecedented development opportunities to the textile printing and dyeing industry. The promotion and application of digital inkjet printing technology is conducive to promoting the change of production mode and business model of enterprises, meeting people’s personalized needs, improving people’s quality of life and meeting environmental protection requirements, which will have a significant impact on the development of China’s textile printing and dyeing industry. With the continuous maturity of digital inkjet printing technology and the improvement of product quality, as well as the improvement of localization supporting capacity, digital inkjet printing in the printing speed and ink and other consumables prices will be reduced in progress, production costs will have a substantial reduction, digital inkjet printing technology will really achieve industrialized production, the popularity will be higher and higher.
Traditional printing due to plate making, color performance and other technical limitations, can not produce digital inkjet printing requirements of high-quality products and personalized products. Digital inkjet printing market is a new market of personalization, and its products and market prices are determined by the concept of personalization. Digital inkjet printing products and its technology is the development and extension of traditional printing, the two markets coexist and complement each other, but also independent, forming different market prices and consumer groups.
Digital inkjet printing makes up for the defects and gaps of traditional printing in technology, and adapts to the international trend of personalized printing market. Compared with the current printing market, the digital inkjet printing market has a lot of room for growth, and the proportion of digital inkjet printing in the printing market will continue to increase in the next few years, and the domestic digital inkjet printing industry will have a big development. In the next few years or even longer, digital inkjet printing will not replace the traditional printing process on a large scale, but will co-exist with the traditional printing process for a long time, with complementary advantages. It is expected that during the “12th Five-Year Plan” period, the proportion of digital inkjet printing products to the output of printed fabric in China will The proportion of digital inkjet printing products in China will reach about 4%.
Digital inkjet printing market forecast
From 2008 to 2011, China’s digital inkjet printing volume statistics of enterprises above the scale, the entire textile digital inkjet printing production compound growth rate of more than 40%. With the rapid development of multi-species, small batch orders as the market consumption trend, digital inkjet printing technology innovation and the rapid decline in costs, China’s digital inkjet printing industry is expected to maintain a compound growth rate of more than 40%, to 2011, China’s textile digital inkjet printing machine market holdings of about 700 units, digital inkjet printing machine holdings and production capacity is significantly lower than developed countries. It is expected that by 2015, the output of textile digital inkjet printing will exceed 500 million meters. With this market demand estimate, China’s digital inkjet printing machine ownership will exceed 2500 units.
Promote the development of digital inkjet printing industry focus point
Due to the availability of technology and market conditions, digital inkjet printing is currently currently entering a favorable period of upward development, but a large number of promotion has a process. The next step to promote the industrialization of digital inkjet printing application The next step to promote the industrialization of digital inkjet printing application is to focus on the following aspects.
Specialization of printing equipment and supporting equipment
Different products, different markets, different industries on digital inkjet printing Different products, different markets, different industries have different requirements for the precision of digital inkjet printing equipment, that is, the precision of digital inkjet printing equipment The degree of digital inkjet printing equipment needs to be specialized, sizing, steaming, washing and other supporting equipment should also be Specialization. Therefore, for different products such as silk, cotton, chemical fiber, wool, etc. products, should design the most optimal digital inkjet printing and supporting equipment, and Considering that it is conducive to the future transformation and upgrading.
Standardization of process technical parameters
For silk, cotton, chemical fiber, wool and other types of products design corresponding software to standardize the technical parameters of the process.
Research and development of cost-effective ink
Ink in terms of quality, price, compatibility and other aspects have great potential The need for further research and development or screening of cost-effective ink.
Open up different markets
At present, digital inkjet printing machine has been successfully applied to silk fabrics mass production, as well as cotton, linen, cashmere and other fabric proofing and The next step should be to actively explore the market in woven printing and dyeing fabric, needle woven printing and dyeing fabric, home textile printing and dyeing fabric and other products in batch production. Each industry establish a typical enterprise, through the typical enterprise drive the whole industry the development of the industry.
