According to the way of printing, there are two types of digital printing: direct and transfer, and there are four types of digital printing according to process: thermal transfer, pigmentl printing, active printing, acidic printing. The core equipment is sublimation printer, different printing process use different inks, and the targeted fabric is different.
1. Distinguish by printing method
Direct printing is print ink on the fabric directly, such as pigmentl printing, reactive printing, acidic printing, etc., all belong to the category of direct printing. At present, the most common direct printing machine is T-shirt printing . Transfer printing is what we often call thermal transfer printing. First, ink is printed on the transfer paper, and the use calandar to heat transfer patterns to fabrics through high temperature.
2. Distinguish according to printing process
If distinguished by the printing process, there are four ways of digital printing, namely thermal transfer, pigmentl printing, active printing, acidic printing
①Thermal transfer is mainly used to print chemical fiber fabrics, such as jerseys, curtains, etc., using dispersed ink.
②Pigment printing is mainly used to print cotton fabrics, such as cotton T-shirts, sweaters, denim clothes, ready-to-wear, cut pieces, and cloth. It uses paint ink, which is environmentally friendly and pollution-free.
③Reactive printing is mainly used for printing on cotton cloth, using reactive ink. Large quantities of cotton cloth printing are used more, but because of its large pollution and environmental protection, it will be gradually replaced by digital coating printing.
④Acid printing is mainly used for printing wool, silk, nylon and other fabrics, but also has the characteristics of pollution, but there is no other good alternative process.