As we all know, there are five main types of inks used for digital printing of textiles. Reactive, acidic, direct dispersion, sublimation and pigment inks. Each ink has its associated printing, curing and fixing methods. Except for pigments, all the above substances are fixed by chemical bonding with fabric fibers.
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The purpose of this article is to understand how digital textile pigment inks are used with fabrics, and to understand the impact of all variables on the process. Before we start, let’s start with the quality standards of printed fabrics.
The performance of printed fabrics (by any means) is evaluated by several important criteria, such as color fastness, washing fastness, wet and dry rubbing fastness, perspiration fastness, hand feel and safety related to colorants and ink formulations. Let’s learn about the performance of digital textile pigment ink in these aspects. These inks have excellent color fastness to fading due to the use of pigments that are highly resistant to fading. The latest development of ink formulation provides highly reliable performance for washing fastness and dry and wet rubbing fastness. Pigment inks also provide excellent fastness to perspiration. The only drawback of pigment printed fabrics is that they have a slight touch or feel in the printed area.
Fix the pigment ink by bonding the pigment to the fabric. Pigment inks contain binders, usually polymer based compounds. In the fixation process, the polymer is heated to a certain temperature, plasticized (converted to semi-solid), and then formed a bond between the fabric fiber and the pigment particles in the ink. This creates a physical bond between the pigment particles and the fabric to some extent. This adhesive plays a key role in the performance of pigment inks. From ink stability, nozzle spray performance, preventing print head blockage to ensuring ink fastness on the fabric, with a minimum touch, it depends on the adhesive. Managing all this is a daunting challenge, which is why it is difficult to find a good pigment ink.
Interestingly, this combination process gives pigment inks some unique advantages. Most importantly, the curing process can be accomplished by heating the printed fabric. The right temperature for enough time is all you need to fix the ink to the fabric. This saves a lot of water for other printing technologies. In addition, even with mixed ingredients, you can use pigment ink to print on various fabrics. This opens up the possibility of printing blends digitally. In addition, pigment inks are widely used in some applications that do not want to treat fabrics after printing.
From the perspective of printing process, PFP fabric needs to be started. “PFP” or “prepared for print” fabrics are usually treated to remove various oils, waxes, sizing agents, etc. used in various stages of manufacturing. These chemicals interact and prevent the correct fixation of the ink. A large part of the industry precoats fabrics before printing. This is what the ideal printing process looks like.
The digital textile pigment ink should be able to print directly on the fabric without any pretreatment. This is an absolute fact, but it does not really explain the printed results. It would be interesting to understand the role of preconditioning. As you know, pigment inks are mainly used for printing on natural fiber fabrics. When printed directly on the fabric, the pigment particles are absorbed by the porous fibers of the fabric. Therefore, although the results look good when printing, they will fade once the printing is cured. This is the function of pretreatment.
Pretreatment chemicals depend on the chemical basis and perform various functions. They mainly help to keep the ink on the surface of the fabric. This prevents ink from being absorbed into the fibers. Keeping more ink on the fibers helps the ink produce bright colors. Some pretreatments go further, helping to improve the fixation of the ink on the fabric. So as to improve the ink washing, wet friction and dry running fastness. In addition, if the fabric is precoated, you can use less ink and print fewer times. This helps increase productivity and reduce ink costs.
I hope this article can clarify the working principle of digital textile pigment ink. If you are interested in learning more about our series of digital textile pigment inks, please feel free to contact Sublicool.
Pigment ink printing, despite its still low popularity, has already permanently entered the textile industry, becoming an integral part of it. The share of this particular method of dyeing and printing fabrics currently amounts to around 3% on the textile market, but this does not diminish the advantages of pigment printing. What are the strengths of this printing process?
Pigment ink printing is one of the four digital textile printing methods. Digital printing is divided according to the type of dye used, and this group includes pigment ink printing, dye-sublimation printing as well as acid dye printing and reactive dye printing.
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A wide range of applications spanning from textile dyeing to pattern printing makes the pigment ink process more and more popular on the market. One of the reasons for its success is that it removes many of the existing printing constraints. For example, it enables printing on both printed t-shirts and fabric bolts with a pattern – original or selected from a catalogue.
Although it still accounts for a small share of fabric dyeing and printing methods used today, using pigment inks is in many cases the most desirable way to print on textiles. It enables us to create unique patterns on a wide assortment of fabrics, made of various fibres, although, of course, it has its limitations. In practice, printing on cotton textiles is predominant, though this does not exclude the use of fabrics made from polyester or cellulose fibres such as lyocell or Tencel. On the other hand, waterproof fabrics or eco-leather are not suitable for pigment ink printing.
Printing on fabrics made from cellulose requires a complex finishing process for such textiles to preserve their colouring effect. This procedure requires both water and chemicals. It also involves increased production costs, resource consumption and environmental pollution, so not every digital fabric printing house offers to print on, for example, viscose. For the present, printing using reactive dyes remains the best method of printing on cellulose fibres.
Digital fabric printing allows, above all, retail customers to display their talents. It is not just large clothing companies that can produce unique sewing textiles now. Thanks to digital fabric printing houses, anyone can do it. You can design your pattern from a drawing or a photo or choose a ready-made design from a catalogue. There are many options and even more ways to use such fabrics. From the perspective of small entrepreneurs, it is also an appealing alternative to having to order entire bolts of fabric and storing them in warehouses. Nothing stands in the way of creating a short line of patterns to create limited pieces for the collection. Even the creation of sample textiles does not have to involve ordering at least a few running metres of fabrics.
For the amateurs of textile printing, the main advantage of pigment ink printing will certainly be its low cost. Digital pigment ink printing eliminates the need for expensive printing plates, as in the case of screen printing, so that the sole cost of the printing process is not enormously high. Besides, the customer is not limited by the minimum order size. In the case of digital pigment ink printing, it is possible to create even a few centimetres of printed fabric.
At CottonBee you can order a sample print in size 20 cm x 20 cm or a 48 cm x 48 cm size.
No need for printing plates also affects the order fulfilment time. Fabric printing houses that use dye-sublimation or reactive dye printing processes only accept large projects, usually several months in advance. In such a case, the order fulfilment time may be significantly prolonged. As far as using the services of an Internet textile printing house, you can have a ready order at home in up to 5 working days. You are also not obliged to place orders for several or several dozen running meters of fabric.
Digital pigment ink printing process allows only the surface colouring of the fabric. Therefore, the colourful pattern is on top of the fabric, while the underneath remains in its natural, usually white, colour. The inks do not seep into the fibres, as in the case of reactive dye printing. This is also connected to the longevity of such colouring, which is shorter compared to the dye-sublimation or reactive dye printing processes. As a surface printing method, pigment ink prints are vulnerable to more rapid washing out. After many washes, the patterns may lose some of their intensity. Pigmented fabrics do not tolerate rubbing very well, especially when wet.
Digital pigment ink printing allows printing from a very wide range of colours and provides excellent tonal transitions. Nevertheless, it has some constraints in terms of colour reproduction. Bright colours are very difficult to achieve using this method, while special colours such as metallic or fluorescent are not achievable at all. Also, it is a technology that favours bright, pastel prints. Although recreating deep black is not a problem, pigment ink printing will not be the best choice for printing predominantly black patterns with white elements.
See also: Digital fabric printing: what awaits in the future?