Sublimation Heat transfer printing machine

When we talk about direct-to-fabric printing, the lines can get a little blurred, since dye-sublimation is not the only ink technology that we run across. There are a number of other dye-based inks that are compatible with different kinds of fabrics. As textile printing gets more mainstream, these inks are beginning to appear in more commercial machines where once they were strictly the purview of high-end industrial textile printing equipment, An emerging trend is that one machine can handle all of these different ink sets, although not interchangeable.

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Reactive dye inks: Also known as “fiber-reactive dye inks,” these inks become physically part of natural cellulose fibers like cotton.
Acid dye inks: These inks react with the fibers in natural or synthetic polyamides like silk, wool, and nylon.
Pigment inks: Here is where a lot of the action in textile printing is starting to happen, certainly at the industrial end of the spectrum, and sooner rather than later at the commercial end. Generally, pigment inks can print on virtually any fabric, and cure via heat or UV radiation (these are not to be confused with the class of inks we usually refer to as “UV inks” found in flatbed printers). One hitch with pigment inks is that they require a bonding agent. Another is that, for a given quantity of ink, the more color (aka pigment) it contains, the less bonding agent, and thus the less wash-fast the print is. On the other hand, the more bonding agent, the more wash-fast, but the less vibrant or colorful. It’s a careful balance that needs to be struck.
An alternative to a bonding agent is a pretreatment. “Mimaki recommends pre-treatment because it will produce the maximum color gamut possible,” says Martin. “Mimaki textile pigment inks include a nano-pigment agent, but we still recommend pre-treating to control the process.”

These non-dye-sublimation inks also require some kind of post-processing step, depending upon the fabric being used. “Reactive dye and acid dye inks require steam to set the inks,” says Martin. “Depending on the fabric, some will require washing and drying. Some – again, dependent on the fabric – require a drying method that steps down the temperature so that the fabric doesn’t stretch.”