5 Things to Know Before Buying Digital Textile Printing Ink

Purchasing a new textile printing system may be a turning point for some businesses, such as switching from silk-screen printing to digital printing. It marks the beginning of new business or the expansion or maturing of our current business, enabling us to better adapt to the needs and expectations of our target audience, in order to provide them with better solutions and experiences.

Please visit our website for more information on this topic.

However, with a variety of machines to choose from, finding one that satisfies us might be challenging. Therefore, we may need a specific checklist.

To help you choose the right product and achieve better results, we have provided four simple and straightforward questions for you to consider before you take action.

Question 1: Is the product flexible?

Flexibility is synonymous with business expansion, as it allows companies to undertake a broader range of work. The ability to expand the business and serve different types of customers is crucial. This question opens up meaningful exploration. That's why many fashion companies have begun significant transformation processes in recent years to increase flexibility.

But why do we need flexibility in textile printing?

As times change and people have more choices, we must understand what the new needs of shoppers and brands may be. Assessing market demand lets us know how many features our new machine system will include or add to our menu. Some brands may want small-scale, fast, short-term production, while others need rapid large-scale production. The printable designs and different fabric types are another factor in deciding flexibility. Finally, the ability to produce all products on demand is the ultimate feature of flexibility, as it gives us the opportunity to serve customers immediately and avoids the hassle of costly inventory management.

Question 2: Is it cost-effective?

Another factor influencing our business expansion is cost-effectiveness. Maximizing opportunities to drive our business can only be achieved by understanding the cost to each customer and focusing on reducing those costs without sacrificing market demand. We understand that, in today's economic environment, fashion and retail companies are striving to reduce costs.

What factors affect our costs when purchasing a new fabric printing machine?

First, there's the installation and training. The longer we spend training existing staff, or hiring and teaching new employees to use the new machine, the later we can profit. Labor issues continue to affect cost when assessing the number of operators needed to complete the job.

Second, there's machine maintenance. Once the machine stops working, our production line is affected. Timely diagnosis of faults and prevention of problems through advanced control interfaces and preventative maintenance becomes crucial.

Next, rework is an area we need to explore. We should adopt automated processes to reduce human errors and ensure accuracy. A machine capable of producing high-quality prints helps avoid costly rework, which can lead to production delays.

Finally, understanding how and if the new machine can save space, materials, and costs is also essential. For example, printing multiple fabrics with one machine can save space; on-demand production helps reduce waste of expensive materials; choosing energy-efficient machines effectively lowers energy expenses.

Question 3: What are the effects of the ink used and on the environment?

Although digital printing has brought convenience, the environmental issues it causes remain an ongoing research subject. Digital printing typically uses dye-sublimation inks, acid dyes, and pigment inks. Different machines produce various effects and impacts. Dye-sublimation printers can create bright, clear, wash-resistant, and fade-resistant patterns without excess ink or wastewater, making them more eco-friendly. Direct printing machines can print on various fabric types and allow more personalized customization and design, but require a lot of water and chemicals to treat and fix patterns, thus impacting the environment. When choosing a new machine, we should not only consider whether it wastes more resources but also whether it is certified for sustainable development and meets national standards.

Question 4: Does it offer additional service value?

After purchasing a machine, is there comprehensive after-sales service? If problems and needs arise, can support be obtained?

Most of MT's services are not physical, but we can still support the entire printing process from a holistic perspective. Our customer service is online 24/7 without time zone issues, and we also provide overseas offline guidance. We offer free sampling services, and we can promptly fulfill any fabric sample requests.

MT products can provide you with the production data of the machine, test each step of the machine's printing, and provide comprehensive solutions to enhance cost-effectiveness. Our machines will continue to evolve and update, moving into the future with you.

To choose the machine that best fits your business needs, you need to consult and research these topics. We also suggest seeking professional advice to determine which machine meets your goals. For example, if you want to enter the home textiles market, Belt-iPlus is an ideal choice.

And now for the technical details of each ink-set……

Dye-Sub Ink-Set

Sublimation is a scientific term which describes the process by which a solid transforms into a gas without an intermediate liquid phase. This process allows colour to be fixed onto Polyester fabrics with a great degree of accuracy and impact, owing to a vivid colour gamut. Uncoated fabrics can be used with Dye-Sub Ink-sets.

For more information, please visit SAVEN.

Process:

In Dye-Sub printing the process is for the pattern to be printed using a standard inkjet printer onto a high release transfer paper. The next stage of the process is to place the paper next to the  textile to be transferred in a high temperature heat press.

When this happens, the ink sublimates and transfers from the paper to the textile producing vivid colours in near perfect resolution on the textile.

Pigment Ink-Set:

Pigment inks are inks where the colorant is a fine particle dissolved and suspended in a carrier fluid.  The process deposits the ink on the fabric which , when the fluid dries, allows the particles of the colour to physically bond to the fabric in much the same way as a gravy stain occurs.

In recent technical developments the range, performance and clarity of colours has expanded significantly, resulting in the general suitability of Pigment Ink-Sets for all types of fabrics and fibres.

Process:

In Pigment printing the ink and carrier fluid are printed together directly onto the fabric using an inkjet printer. The fabric is dried as it is printed, and fixation takes place, at approximately 150°C  in a baker or thermo-fixation device.

Fabrics for Pigment printing have to be pre-coated before use.

Reactive Ink-Set:

Reactive Ink-Sets  are organic compounds whereby through a covalent bond the dyes become a chemical part of the fibre component of the fabric being printed through a reaction between the liquid of the dyestuff  and the fabric itself.

The chemical bond is very strong and produces vivid colours on Cottons, Linens and other cellulosic fabrics with excellent fastness properties.

Process:

The printing process for Reactive Ink-Sets however is complicated. First the fabric is directly printed in an inkjet printer, and the inks are dried during the printing process. Then the fabric is processed slowly through a High Temperature Steamer to fix the colours to the fabric.

Finally, the fabric is washed and dried to remove any surplus colour, so that no fading occurs during subsequent washing.

Fabrics for Reactive printing have to be pre-coated before use.

Acid Ink-Set:

Acid Ink-Sets are usually sodium salts of sulfonic acids,  whereby the dyestuff, benefitting from an  increased solubility in water in an acidic solution, creates an ionic bond with the fibres of the fabric being printed.

Generally this Ink-Set is only used to print Wool, Cashmere, Angora,  Nylon and Silk fabrics,  where its performance in terms of clarity, fastness and Intensity is exemplary.

Process:

The printing process for Acid Ink-Sets, as with Reactive Ink-Sets is complicated. Firstly the fabric is directly printed in an inkjet printer, and the inks are dried during the printing process. Then the fabric is processed very slowly through a High Temperature Steamer to fix the colours to the fabric.

Finally, the fabric is washed and dried to remove any surplus colour, so that no fading occurs during subsequent washing.

Fabrics for Acid printing have to be pre-coated before use.

Disperse Ink-Set

The Disperse Ink-Set is a low soluble dyestuff effectively dispersed in water by powerful dispersing agents, which allow the dyestuff to be adsorbed into the interstices of the fibre which expands under temperature to allow the dyestuff to be encased within the fibre at a molecular level.

This ink-set is widely used, it is applicable to Automotive and other Hard-Wearing fabrics comprising Polyester or Acetate Fibres where extremely high fastness properties are demanded.

Process:

The printing process for Disperse Ink-Sets, as with Reactive Ink-Sets, is complicated. Firstly the fabric is directly printed in an inkjet printer, and the inks are dried during the printing process. Then the fabric is processed very slowly through a High Temperature Steamer to fix the colours to the fabric.

Finally, the fabric is washed and dried to remove any surplus colour, so that no fading occurs during subsequent washing.

Fabrics for Disperse printing have to be pre-coated before use.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Digital Textile Printing Ink(ar,ru,fr).