Thermal transfer digital printing What are the characteristics

I. Overview of Development at Home and Abroad

Thermal transfer digital printing is the use of large-scale computer printers to print disperse dyes directly onto special paper, and transfer the pattern on the paper to fabric (or other media) by heating and pressing. We define digital printing as a kind of special transfer printing. Now, using reactive dyes or acid dyes for digital printing processes, there is no use of disperse dyes, because steaming and washing processes have to be added later.

The so-called transfer printing is divided into sublimation, migration, melting and stripping. The transfer printing here is sublimation transfer printing, also known as thermal transfer or gas phase transfer. Since the 1960s, gas phase transfer printing (hereinafter referred to as transfer printing) has been successfully applied to production practice. It selects disperse dyes with sublimation properties, adjusts color pastes and inks, preprints them on paper substrates, and then transfers the transfer printing papers to chemical fiber fabrics with obvious glass transition temperatures such as polyester, nylon, acrylic, triacetate fibers, etc. Adhesively face to face, under the effect of heat and pressure, the paper pattern transferred to the textile fabric.
Compared with the traditional roller printing, rotary screen printing and flat screen printing, transfer printing has: (1) simple and lightweight equipment, small footprint, low investment, simple process, and easy operation; (2) no need for fixing and washing after fabric printing, no waste water Pollution; (3) It can truly reproduce the patterns and colors on the transfer printing paper, with fine patterns, strong three-dimensional impression, and high fastness, and it can especially print rich and strict geometric arrangement patterns that can not be printed by traditional printing methods; (4) In particular, It is suitable for the printing of knitted fabrics with large shrinkage and synthetic fiber deformation fabrics; (5) The advantages that the finished product rate is much higher than that of traditional printing products, and it is favored by the majority of manufacturers.

Traditional transfer printing processes that can be formed since the 1960s can only be implemented on chemical fiber fabrics with significant glass transition temperatures, limiting the development of such printing methods. As a result, the search for transfer printing on natural fibers other than the above-mentioned chemical fiber fabrics such as silk, cotton, and hemp fabrics has become a great interest of many companies and research institutes at home and abroad, investing heavily in competing for development.

Second, thermal transfer digital printing problems:

Problems with digital transfer printing

Many scientific researchers hope to apply the process of disperse dye transfer to chemical fiber to natural fabrics such as cotton.

However, at present, the following problems exist:

1. The color is not bright enough, that is, the amount of color is not enough.

2. The fastness can not fully meet the requirement of taking washing.

Now, some researchers hope to solve the above problems by screening dyes and additives. However, another problem has emerged. Transfer printing paper manufacturers do not intentionally screen dyes to meet the natural fiber transfer printing process. After all, this is from a commercial perspective.

At present, foreign countries use reactive dyes or acid dyes for transfer printing, but they cannot save the subsequent fixing and washing processes, and the cost of production plants has greatly increased. Therefore, technologies such as "cotton-art" have not been promoted. This is also true in Europe.

Today's digital printing also has the above problems and adds a very slow production speed.
Therefore, if we can make a breakthrough in the processing of auxiliary agents, there is still more hope and market. Because, on the one hand, the advantages of the transfer printing process are preserved, and at the same time, no new problems will be added to the flower paper manufacturers and transfer printing manufacturers.

3. Therefore, the development of a variety of digital printing methods and processes will promote the popularity of digital printing.