The four common printing methods Super evolution of Won.Transfer printing!
Digital printing, screen printing, heat transfer printing, and sublimation printing, are common terms in the fashion design industry. For someone who has little printing knowledge, these printing methods can be confusing.
Traditional printing generally needs to go through such processes as color separation, draft tracing, plate making, screen making, color matching, slurry mixing, and more, which not only takes a long time, but is also not an economic option for manufacturing a small number of customized products. Furthermore, with increasing environmental awareness, many manufacturers have developed digital textile printing to meet the needs of environmental protection and customization.
▲ The traditional screen printing process is cumbersome. (Cr: Wix)
A general introduction to the 4 printing methods
The most commonly used methods for fabric printing include:
1. Screen printing
2. Heat transfer printing
3. Sublimation printing
4. Pigment printing
1. Screen printing
By scraping and pressing with a squeegee, this method prints on target objects by passing ink through the mesh of a screen mask. The printed ink layer is thick and colorful with a clear feeling of quantity. While screen printing has been widely applied to various kinds of materials, such as glass, metal, fabric, etc., it is not suitable for gradient printing. Another problem is that the same number of color plates need to be prepared according to the different colors, making it difficult to meet the needs of diversified, small-batch production.
2. Heat transfer
Transfer printing is the process of printing patterns on heat transfer paper with reactive dye ink or acid dye ink and transferring patterns under high temperature and high pressure. This process can be categorized as transfer on transfer paper or sublimation transfer based on the transfer consumables. The advantage of heat transfer printing is that the printed pattern has high-quality texture and corrosion resistance, but it also has the problems of a thick feeling and peeling off after multiple washes.
3. Sublimation printing
In this process, the dye will sublimate from a solid state to a gaseous state when the sublimation printing ink is heated to a specific temperature and then will return to a solid state when the temperature drops. The dye can penetrate the fabric and achieve a transfer printing effect. The finished product of sublimation printing has a smooth feeling, is soft to the touch, and provides excellent visual effect, but it is difficult to color natural fibers, so it cannot be applied to cotton fabrics.
4. Pigment printing
Pigment printing is a kind of penetration printing that uses a direct injection machine with textile special water-based pigment to directly inject the pigment into the fabric fiber and then sets the color through high-temperature ironing. The advantage of pigment printing is that it requires no plates and has quick strike-off, a photo-like effect, and fine and bright colors. However, during injection, small cracks and black spots may appear due to the fiber of the clothing, while other issues may include low acutance and color fastness and high cost of mass production.
Both traditional and digital printing methods require post-processing to obtain satisfactory quality. Related procedures include color fixation, washing, finishing and processing, etc., each of which requires various processing times. Can we shorten the process while still considering quality? This is among the biggest concerns of all brands. Won.House developed Won.Transfer to improve quality and solve problems.
▲ Won.Transfer waterless printing. (Cr/ won. House)
Re-evolution of Won.Transfer printing technology
1. Zero chemicals and no water
During the dyeing and printing processes, more than 8000 kinds of chemicals are used on the textile, causing great harm to the environment. Won.Transfer uses printing instead of dyeing, which uses no water or chemicals, nor does it require steaming, color development, washing, or the establishment of a sewage treatment plant.
2. Low-temperature printing provides a good feeling
The standard printing temperature is about 200 ~ 210 ℃, but Won.Transfer adopts low-temperature printing that controls the temperature at 170 ~ 180 ℃. Using a low temperature does not damage the fiber tissue and can retain the most original feeling. In addition, plastic film fabrics that needed to be post-processed in the past can now be printed after completing other procedures first, which can effectively solve traditional problems with inventory and wasted fabrics caused by over-processing.
▲ Even the thin and transparent 7-Danier nylon can be printed with good feeling and high chromaticity. (Cr/ won. House)
3. Good color fastness and stable quality
Won.Transfer replaces traditional printing and chemical dyeing. Furthermore, compared with sublimation printing technology, which can only attach pigments to the surface of the fabrics, Won.Transfer uses pulsed heat and kinetic energy to penetrate the pigment into the fabric, achieving deeper coloring.
4. The process can immediately shorten delivery time
The traditional printing process takes at least 60 ~ 90 days from color separation and printing to shipment, but with Won.Transfer, it takes only 7 days to complete color separation, printing, and garment making. Our centralized design and development process helps shorten the brand production cycle and reduce the development and transportation time.
With so many printing methods, brands care about environmental protection, quality, cost, and efficient production. Won.Transfer printing technology helps you achieve the goal of being diversified with stable quality for small amounts, while effectively reducing MOQ and other problems. Click here to learn more about our technology.