The textile industry has taken a big leap in the digital printing sector, and one of the most promising developments in the textile industry is digital fabric printing. It has opened doors for numerous prospects to enhance quality and meet the growing demands of textile printing. Almost anything can be printed with ease and perfection on fabric using digital printing technology.
In simple terms, digital printing is the reproduction of digital images on a physical surface, which can be in various forms such as paper, cloth, plastic, film, and more. In digital textile printing, once the design is created, it can be directly printed on the fabric from a computer. This process eliminates the need for additional steps. Just as an image can be printed on paper, designs can be printed on fabric.
To print designs on fabric digitally, a dye-sublimation printer is used, which carries out the printing process by using heat to transfer the design onto the fabric. In digital printing, it's necessary to pre-treat the fabric to ensure it holds the ink well, and a variety of colors can be achieved through this pre-treatment process.
Digital textile printing is considered the 'next generation' printing, significantly different from conventional fabric printing methods. With fabric printing going digital, many textile entrepreneurs are investing in digital printing technology, as it's the most promising method of printing. In India, the textile industry is embracing digital printing technology by creating novel designs on saris and dress materials to meet the demands of both domestic and international markets.
The textile industry in India has made tremendous advancements in the last decade. According to industry sources, digital printing in India currently caters to 1% of the global demand for printed textiles. However, it's projected that this share will increase to 10% in the coming five years.
With digital printing gaining huge popularity and continuous technological improvements in ink, consumables, print heads, and printing machinery, the global production of printed textiles is estimated to reach 32 billion square meters by 2015, according to a global report released in the U.S.
Digital prints are for people who like to experiment with bold and innovative designs. The leaders of digital fabric printing like Alexander McQueen, Mary Katrantzou and Erdem Moralioglu have displayed a range of digital prints, varying from abstract prints to graphic paintings, which will stimulate one's artistic senses. Digital prints have become the hottest pick in the fashion world today.
The dyes used for digital textile printing are different from the dyes used in traditional printing. The most popular dyes for digital printing are acid dye, reactive dye and disperse dye. These dyes can be used for all commercial applications, and have properties like bright colors, low to medium salt content and high color fastness.
Various dyes are used depending on the fabric for digital printing, like acid inks are used on silk and nylon; disperse inks on polyesters and reactive inks are used on all cellulose based fabrics such as cotton, linen and rayon. Moreover, these dyes are compatible with low cost ink systems.
Advantages of Digital Textile Printing
The digital textile printing has many advantages compared to the conventional printing method. The best aspect of digital printing technology is that there is no limitation on the usage of colors or repeat size. Multiple color shades can be printed on the fabric at a time, which is not as the case of traditional printing techniques. The digital textile printing (DTP) system can supposedly produce 16 million colors and shades. Hence, the process is time saving and cost effective.
Digital printing has proved to be advantageous for designers, textile companies and retailers. It allows the user to print quickly and as little as required, and with high rate of accuracy. While in the case of traditional printing, a minimum quantity has to be printed. Thus the overall cost of producing a sample is considerably reduced. It does not even require color registration of plates or screens.
It can save the fashion designers from theft of their designs before it is released in the market. Further, it enables the designer to control and customize the design and printing process from any location. Any corrections or modifications can be made without additional cost. This promotes timely delivery, and reduces the need for inventory. In addition, digital printing can be easily done from files stored or transmitted from a computer.
Last but not the least, as pollution from textile industry has become a serious problem, digital printing technology is environment friendly and saves water compared to the conventional printing methods. It creates less pollution as there is no discharge of dyes and chemicals. However, digital textile printing system has few limitations.
These machines cannot print metallic colors. Also, with flat color printing, the machine needs to create a range of colors which it cannot accomplish. Besides, the maximum width to which the machine can print on fabric is 150cms. The rejection level of fabric printed is higher than other forms of printing.
Latest development in ink products and color management software has substantially helped to produce variety of colors with best printing quality. New technology can manage complex colors while printing. The new DTP system engages 'Drop on demand technology'. This technology enables quick production with variety of substrates.
The current market exhibits some new innovations in DTP technologies. Some of the developments are thermal inkjet, piezoelectric inkjet, continuous inkjet, thermal transfer, electrostatic and electrophotography, each having its own unique qualities, advantages and limitations. With the latest advancement in inkjet technology, digital printing can be done on most of the fabrics. The ITMA exhibition held in Paris displayed new digital textile products presented by the original equipment manufacturers from all over the world.
Digital printing has opened new doors for textile and clothing designers in the retail market. In the future, digital printing technology will not only replace the existing printing methods, but also offer new products, opportunities and markets.
References:
1. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com
2. Printtech.co.in
3. Foodcolorworld.com
4. Textileworld.com
5. Dyes-pigments.com
Comments