Digital Printing

The idea of digital printing on textiles has been around for some time. Carpet inkjet printing

machines have been used since the early 1970s. Digital inkjet printing of continuous rolls of

textile fabrics was shown at ITMA in 1995. Again at ITMA in 2003, several industrial inkjet

printers were introduced to the marketplace which made digital printing on textiles the new

industry standard. These new generation machines had much higher outputs, higher resolution

printing heads, and more sophisticated textile material handling systems allowing a wide variety

of fabrics to be printed.

One reason for the comparatively slow growth of digital printing on textiles may be related to the

extreme demands of the textile applications. Although ink-jet printing onto fabric works in

fundamentally the same way as any office type ink-jet prints onto paper, the fabric has always

been inherently more difficult to print due to its flexible nature. The level of flexibility varies

from warp to weft and with each degree around the bias, so guiding the fabric under digital

printer heads has proven to be very challenging. Other challenges:

  There are many types of synthetic and natural fibres, each with its ink compatibility

characteristics;

 in addition to dealing with a fabric that is stretchable and flexible, it is often a highly

porous and textured surface;

 use requirements include light fastness, water fastness (sweat, too) through finishing

operations and often outdoor use, heavy wear, abrasion, and cleaning;

 the fabric not only has to look good but to feel good too;

 the fabric has much greater absorbency, requiring many times the ink volume compared

with printing on papers.

Before any printing is carried out, the designs need to be developed in a digital format that can

be read by the printers. Thus, all development has to be based on co-operation between the

design software companies, the ink manufacturers and the printing machine developers.

In the face of such odds, digital textile printing is happening. And how! Digital inkjet printing

has become one of the most important textile production printing technologies and is

transforming the industry. It has been influencing new workflows, business plans and creative

processes. The opportunities for high-value digital printer applications are so large that many

hardware and chemistry vendors are investing heavily in textile and textile-related products and

systems. Between 2000 and 2005 digitally printed textile output rose by 300% to 70m square

metres. This is still less than 1% of the global market for printed textiles, but Gherzi Research,

in a 2008 report, suggests the growth of digital printing on fabrics to be more than 20% per year.

This growth is largely driven by the display/signage sector of the market; it is only recently that

interior designers, seeking unique solutions for their clients, have been turning to digital printing.
Digital processes have become so advanced that it is becoming very hard to tell digitally printed

fabric apart from fabric printed the traditional way – although for my money, they’ll never

replicate the artisanal handcrafted quality of hand-screened or hand-blocked prints, where the

human touch is so delightfully evident. The lower energy, water and materials consumption

means that more printers are switching to digital as it becomes competitive for shorter runs.

Although there are many advantages already to digital printing, the few downsides, such as

lower production speeds compared to rotary screen printing and high ink costs are both changing

rapidly.

As with traditional screen printing technologies, the variables in digital technologies are as

varied as in screen printing, with the additional complexity of computer-aided technologies

requiring changes from the design stage onward. The digital textile printing output is a

reflection of the design and colour management software (such as Raster Image Processing or

RIP) that provides the interface between the design software and the printer, the printer itself, the

printing environment, the ink, the fabric, the pre-treatment, the post-treatment and last, but not

least, the operator.

This print method is being heavily touted as the “greenest” option. Let’s find out why they make

these claims.

In theory, inkjet technology is simple – a printhead ejects a pattern of tiny drops of ink onto a

substrate without touching it. Dots using different coloured inks are combined to create photo-

quality images. There are no screens, no cleanup of print paste, little or no wastage.

In practice, however, it’s a different story. Successful implementation of technology is very

complex. The dots that are ejected are typically sub-micron size, which is much smaller than the
diameter of a human hair (70 microns); one square meter of print contains over 20 billion

droplets! They need to be positioned very precisely to achieve resolutions as fine as 1440 x 1440

dots per inch (dpi). Since the inks used must be very fluid to not clog the printheads,

nanotechnology is a huge part of the ink development. In fact, according to Xennia, a world

leader in digital printing inks, “microfluidic deposition systems are a key enabler for

nanotechnology”. This precision requires multi-disciplinary skills – a combination of careful

design, implementation and operation across physics, fluid mechanics, chemistry and

engineering.

There are two general designs of inkjet printers:

1. continuous inkjet (CIJ) and

2. drop-on-demand (DOD).

As the names imply, these designs differ in the frequency of generation of droplets.

In continuous inkjet printers, droplets are generated continually with an electric charge imparted

to them. As shown schematically in Figure 1, the charged droplets are ejected from a nozzle.

Depending upon the nature of the imposed electric field, the charged droplets are either directed

to the media for printing, or they are diverted to a recirculation system. Thus, while the droplets

are generated continuously, they are directed to the media only when/where a dot is desired.

Historically, continuous inkjet printing has enjoyed an advantage over other inkjet technologies

in its ability to use inks based on volatile solvents, allowing for rapid drying and aiding adhesion

on many substrates. The disadvantages of the technology include relatively low print resolution,

very high maintenance requirements and a perception that CIJ is a dirty and environmentally

unfriendly technology due to the use of large volumes of volatile solvent-based fluids.
Additionally, the requirement that the printed fluid be electrically chargeable limits the

applicability of the technique.

FIGURE 1.Continuous inkjet (schematic). Charged droplets leaving the nozzle are directed

either toward a substrate or toward an ink recirculation system, depending upon the imposed

electric field.

In DOD inkjet printers, droplets are generated only when they are needed. There are two

subcategories in DOD jet printers:

 The droplets can be generated by heating the ink to boil off a droplet, called thermal inkjet.

Thermal inkjet technology (TIJ) is most used in consumer desktop printers but is also making

some inroads into industrial inkjet applications. In this technology, drops are formed by rapidly

heating a resistive element in a small chamber containing the ink. The temperature of the

resistive element rises to 350-400ºC, causing a thin film of ink above the heater to vaporise into a

rapidly expanding bubble, causing a pressure pulse that forces a drop of ink through the nozzle.

Ejection of the drop leaves a void in the chamber, which is then filled by replacement fluid in

preparation for the creation of the next drop. The advantages of thermal inkjet technology

include the potential for very small drop sizes and high nozzle density. High nozzle density leads

to compact devices, lower printhead costs and the potential for high native print resolution. The

disadvantages of technology are primarily related to limitations of the fluids which can be used.

Not only does the fluid have to contain a material that can be vaporised (usually meaning an

aqueous or part-aqueous solution) but must withstand the effects of ultra-high temperatures.

With a poorly designed fluid, these high temperatures can cause a hard coating to form on the

resistive element (location) which then reduces its efficiency and ultimately the life of the

printhead. Also, the high temperature can damage the functionality of the fluid due to the high

temperatures reached (as is the case with certain biological fluids and polymers).

o Alternatively, the droplets can be ejected mechanically through the application of electric

stimulation of a piezoelectric crystal (usually lead zirconium titanate) to elicit a deformation.

This distortion is used to create a pressure pulse in the ink chamber, which causes a drop to be

ejected from the nozzle. This method is shown in Figure 2. Piezo drop-on-demand inkjet

technology is currently used for most existing and emerging industrial inkjet applications. In this

technology, a piezoelectric crystal (usually lead zirconium titanate) undergoes distortion when an
 electric field is applied. This distortion is used to create a pressure pulse in the ink chamber,

which causes a drop to be ejected from the nozzle. There are many variations of piezo inkjet

architectures including tube, edge, face, moving wall and piston, which use different

configurations of the piezo crystal and the nozzle. The advantages of piezo inkjet technology

include the ability to jet a very wide variety of fluids in a highly controllable manner and the

good reliability and long life of the printheads. The main disadvantage is the relatively high cost

for the printheads, which limits the applicability of this technology in low-cost applications.

FIGURE 2.Piezoelectric drop-on-demand inkjet (schematic). In a DOD inkjet printer, upon

application of a mechanical pulse, the ink chamber is deformed. This results in the ejection of a

droplet toward the substrate.

As with screen printing, there are steps other than printing which are often overlooked: the first

step in digital printing is the pretreatment of the fabric. Because many chemicals and/or
auxiliaries cannot be incorporated into the printing ink, they must be applied to the fabric during

the pretreatment. The entire process has to be designed to control bleeding, but also to achieve

the hand, colour, and fastness required in the finished textile. For basic fabric pretreatment, the

elements of this solution can include:

 Anti-migrants – To prevent migration of ink and prevent “bleeding.”

 Acids/Alkalis – To support reactions of acid and reactive inks, respectively.

 Urea/Glycols – To increase the moisture content of the fabric, giving high, even fixation

of the inks.

 “Effects” Chemicals – Vary widely in purpose. Although there are too many effects to

mention here, they can include chemicals to improve the brightness of the prints, water

and stain repellants, UV absorbers to improve the fabric’s resistance to sunlight, fabric

softeners/stiffeners, even antimicrobials to provide resistance to mildew and germs.

Many patented and proprietary formulations for-treatment exist, ranging from simple

formulations of soda ash, alginate and urea to more sophisticated combinations of cationic

agents, softeners, polymers and inorganic particulates such as fumed silica. Many of these have

been aimed at fashion fabrics such as cotton, silk, nylon and wool. The processing of the fabric

during pretreatment is also an important factor in producing a superior finished printed fabric.

Fabrics must be crease-free and even in width. Some producers provide fabrics that are backed

with removable paper to allow companies with graphic printers that have been retrofitted with

textile inks to print fabrics. This paper, and the adhesive that holds it to the fabric, must be

properly applied so that the paper can be removed easily from the fabric.
Inks used in digital printing are thinner than those used for traditional printing, so the fabric also

needs to be prepared by soaking it in a thickening agent. This agent reacts to moisture by

swelling. As soon as a drop of dye touches the pre-treated fabric, the thickener will swell up,

keeping the dye in its place. Without this agent, the dye would run and bleed on the fabric.

Inkjet inks must be formulated with precise viscosities, consistent surface tension, specific

electrical conductivity and temperature response characteristics, and long shelf life without

settling or mould-growth. The inks made u of pigments or dyestuffs of high purity, must be

milled to very fine particle size and distributed evenly in solution. Also, further properties such

as adequate wash-, light- and rub-fastness are necessary.

Inkjet inks contain dyes or pigments but like screen printing inks they contain other things

too:

 Surfactants

 Liquid carriers (water or other solvents)

 Binders

 Rheology modifiers

 Functional materials

 Adhesion promoters

 Other additives

 Colourants (dyes or pigments)

The inks used in digital printing today have comparable colour performance and fastness as

compared to traditional screen printing inks. They fall into four general categories:
1. Water-based – can contain glycol plus pigments or dyes. These inks are designed to run

specifically in printers with thermal and piezo-electric print-heads. Dyes used include:

Reactive dyes, particularly suited to cotton, viscose and other cellulosic material

Acid dyes, used for wool, silk and nylon.

Disperse dyes are used for synthetics like polyester and nylon.

1. Pigments (as well as disperse dyes) present a more difficult set of problems for ink makers.

Both exist in water as a dispersion of small particles. These inks must be prepared with a

high degree of expertise so that the particles will not settle or agglomerate (flocculate) and

clog the printheads. The particle size must have an average of 0.5 micrometres and the

particle size distribution must be very narrow with more than 99% of the particles smaller

than 1 micrometre to avoid clogging of the nozzles. The major outstanding problem with the

use of pigments in inkjet systems is how best to formulate and apply the resins which are

required to bond the pigment particles to the fabric surface. Several different approaches,

from coating pigment particles with advanced surfactants to spraying resin through a

separate jet head to screen printing binder over an inkjet-printed colour, have been

suggested.

2. Solvent-based – Solvent-based inks are relatively inexpensive and have the advantage of

being able to produce good vivid colours. However, their main ingredients are volatile

organic compounds (VOCs) which produce harmful emissions. These inks need to be

employed in machines which have ducting to extract the solvents to the atmosphere. It is

possible to remove the VOC’s using activated carbon filters without ducting to outside the
 building however you still have to dispose of the solvent laden graphite. Fabrics produced

using solvent-based inks have a strong odour. The higher the level of the solvent, the greater

the keying, or bonding, with the material’s surface to give a durable finish. Types of solvent

range from eco-solvent, low and mild solvent through to hard or full solvent. The term eco-

solvent does not necessarily mean less environmentally damaging than conventional solvent,

as discussed in the post entitled “Textile Printing and the Environment”.

3. Oil-based – requires the use of a printer which is compatible; otherwise similar to water and

solvent-based inks. Oil-based inks are less commonly use but offer very reliable jetting

since the ink does not evaporate.

4. UV curable – generally made of synthetic resins which have coloured pigments mixed in.

Curing is a chemical reaction that includes polymerization and absorption by the fabric. UV

inks consist of oligomers, pigments, various additives and photoinitiators (which transfer the

liquid oligomers and monomers into solid polymers).

5. Phase change – ink begins as a solid and is heated to convert it to a liquid state. While it is

in a liquid state, the ink drops are propelled onto the substrate from the impulses of a

piezoelectric crystal. Once the ink droplets reach the substrate, another phase change occurs

as the ink is cooled and returns to a solid form instantly.

Once you have digitally printed the fabric, you must perform some process to fix the ink. What

process this depends on the type of ink you used. Each dye type needs a specific finishing agent.

Finally, the fabric needs to be washed to remove the excess dye and thickening agents. Fabrics

are washed in several wash cycles at different temperatures to make the print wash fast.
So at the end of this process, you can see that there is no real difference in the amount – or kinds

– of chemicals used, except perhaps those lost through wastage. So what exactly are the green

claims based on?

The traditional printing industry produces large amounts of waste – both dyes/pastes and water,

and it has high energy usage. There are also large space requirements to operate presses, which

produce a lot of noise. In a project sponsored by the European Union’s LIFE program, an Italian

printing company, Stamperia di Lipomo, transferred from conventional printing to digital. They

found that these new digital presses lowered water, energy and materials consumption

significantly.

The following reductions were achieved:

 Production space required by 60%

 Noise by 60%

 Thermal energy usage by 80%

 Wastewater by 60%

 Electricity consumption by 30%

 By-production of waste dyes = eliminated entirely

Digital printing has other advantages, which include:

 Minimal set up costs – short runs and samples are economical – so traditional mill

minimums can be avoided. Costs per print are the same for 1 or 1000000.

 There is no downtime for set up – the printer is always printing – so there is also

increased productivity.
  Faster turnaround time – and very fast design changes. Turnaround time for samples can

be reduced from 6 to 8 weeks to a few days.

 Print-on-demand, dramatically reducing time to market.

 Just-in-time customization or personalization

 Theoretically no limit on the number of colours.

 Decreases industrial waste and print loss.

The disadvantages most often cited, that of the high cost of inks and shorter printing

speeds, are quickly being overcome by the manufacturers.

Video Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CadmC84yLbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKSAYRKmXDY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GctFIxIjM7Q