Fabric printing transfer VS direct

This month, we’ll focus on the overview of the market and technologies for fabric or textile printing. Mainly introduce two approaches to fabric printing: transfer-based dye-sublimation and direct-to-fabric. The latter involves both dye-sublimation as well as other types of dye and pigment inks.

Let’s sort it all out.

The printed images on a special transfer paper that has a coating designed to hold and then later release the printed image. After printing, the paper is brought into contact with the fabric in a heat press, Under exposure to the appropriate combination of temperature, pressure, and time, the link embedded in the paper is converted to a gas and penetrates directly into the fibers of the substrate. For chemical reasons, polyester fabrics are required for transfer dye-sub printing, although you can use dye-sublimation on other types of natural fabrics like cotton, the results will vary.

A fast-growing variant of dye-sublimation printing is direct-to-fabric printing, which eliminates the need for transfer paper. However, this form of dye-sub still requires the output to be run through a heat press after printing to fix the dye on the fabric, and it also requires pretreated polyester fabrics. Historically, pretreated fabrics have been expensive and of lesser quality than fabrics used for transfer-based dye-sub, but both the quality and the cost are getting better.

Making a choice between transfer-based and direct-to-fabric dye-sub isn’t as easy as it may seem. It may sound desirable to be able to eliminate the expense and waste of having to use transfer paper, but there are other tradeoffs in going direct-to-fabric. A big one is a resultant image.

With direct-to-fabric dye-sublimation printing, the inks penetrate deeper into the fabric than those used in transfer printing – which only makes sense, since you’re jetting the ink directly onto the fabric rather than let a gas permeate into the polyester fibers. The result is often less vibrant color and “softer” text and images, plus more show-through on the reverse side of the fabric. As a result, the top application for direct-to-fabric right now is flags and other types of outdoor display graphics.

“The criteria that I use to help prospects analyze whether to go with transfer or direct-to-fabric is the end-user application and the type of fabric that is required based on the application,” says Tommy Martin, product manager, Textile & Apparel Business Development and Marketing, Mimaki USA.

At present, says Martin, popular direct-to-fabric applications are outdoor advertising like flags and banners; automotive and boating upholstery and seat covers; home furnishings and interior design such as bedding, drapes, upholstery, and outdoor seat covers; and technical textiles for hospitality, construction, and healthcare/medical markets. “All of these markets and applications require heavy density, high fastness, and durability and certain direct-to-fabric applications are best,” he says.

A lot of development is going into direct-to-fabric dye-sublimation and new ink sets and machines will whittle away many of its limitations. This is one of those areas where the landscape will likely look very different in a year’s time, if not sooner.

As digital textile printing continues to be a hot growth area, new machines, new fabrics, and new inks are removing many of the limitations of any given printing technology, especially in the direct-to-fabric category. Transfer-based dye-sub is still the go-to technology for the bulk of fabric printing – and its advantage is that it can print on substrates other than fabrics, such as coffee mugs and other 3D objects – but direct-to-fabric printing is developing rapidly. Stay tuned.

Successful client story :

-Client from Ghana
We want to share a success story with you. One of our client Appiah who has an advertising company in Ghana. He found our eco-solvent printer from Made in China website. He often comes to China do business, so he chooses a time to visit our company in August. He was very interested when he first saw this machine. He decided to buy it immediately. So he pays cash to us in our company.

Only two months later, he received the printer. After our guidance and training, he has already operated this machine very skilled. And he tested it on several printing materials, he thinks machine works perfectly. He decided to buy a large machine to expand his business.