White Paper on Sublimation Technologies Rel
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ATPCOLOR White paper on sublimation technologies Rel. 1.7 Different technologies for thesame purpose, whichis the best? 1) So called “traditional procedure” 2) Direct printing on fabric and sublimation subsequent on separate calender 3) Direct printing on fabric and sublimation subsequent in integrated system using hot air 4) Direct printing on fabric and sublimation subsequent in integrated system with contact calender Index Sublimation 3 Inks, Need to know 1 Washing 3 Inks, Need to know 2 Sublimation/Disperse 4 Inks, Need to know 2 temperature and humidity 5 Traditional Procedure 5 Advantages 5 Disadvantages 6 Risks during the printing phase/fixation 6 Direct printing on fabric, sublimation in separate calender 7 Advantages 7 Disadvantages 7 Risks during the printing phase/fixation 8 Direct printing on fabric and sublimation with hot air 8 Advantages 8 Disadvantages 9 Risks during the printing phase/fixation 9 Direct printing on fabric and sublimation, with contact calender 10 Advantages 10 Disadvantages 10 Risks during the printing phase/fixation 11 R.1.7 S E I ECHNOLOG T ON TI MA Sublimation I UBL Phase Transition S wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublimation ER ON P A P Using so-called “sublimatic inks”, inks that once The process requires a high chemical affinity E deposited on media (in most o cases paper), if between dye and polyester fiber and vice versa IT taken at high temperatures (200° C) because otherwise there would be a lack of pe- WH “sublimate” pass from solid to gaseous state netration, this explains why you can’t use without passing through the intermediate li- sublimatic inks for printing on other textile fi- quid state. A good analogy might describe this bers, like cotton wool or silk. behavior as “an explosion of the ink”. The procedure of transferring ink from the paper to the final media (polyester) requires use of a calender or a press, with the objective of bringing the average polyester to a temperature where the polyester fibers be- come soft and supple allowing the ink (transfor- med into gas) to penetrate, thanks to the pressu- re of the press. When the fiber cools down the pigment of dye is incorporated within the fiber. In practice, instead of simply coloring the surface of polyester fiber (as in case when using solvent or UV inks) it gets the color inside the media. Inks Need to know 1 Washing The sublimation process works because the- te” 200 people but not more, the excess will be re is an high chemical affinity between the in “overbooking” that in our technology means polyester media and the ink but it could be that that it will be not fixed on the media and it will there is a limit on the amount of ink that can be stay “on-the-air”, it will be stick on the protective “accepted” by the media. paper, it can stay on the media or it will stick In this perspective the sublimation process it is on various part of the printer/calender. like an airplane with 200 seats, you can “alloca- This is a chemical/physical limitation, it cannot White paper on sublimation technologies Rel. 1.7 © 2020 - ATP Color Srl Via Mascagni 42, 20030 Senago (MI) Italy www.atpcolor.it 3 be overcome in any way. All the direct printed fabric with whatever tech- nology it has been printed:, screenprint, rotary, R.1.7 S E digitally, should be washed if the final use can I create problems of bleeding because you can never been sure that all the inks on the media has been fixed, that’s why a washing it is always advisable, it is possibile to reduce the risk at a ECHNOLOG minimum if strong controlling it is apply to: T 1) Profile with less ink as possibile to increase ON the chance that the most of it is fixed; TI 2) Good fixation at the highest temperature that MA the media can handle and probably we have I the best system in this market as for fixation UBL power (can you image the amount of ink that If you are printing curtains that will be in contact S you with other polyester curtains, even without any can fix with simply hot air); water, there will be the chance that the ink mi- ER ON P 3) A media with a coating that help the fixation, grate from the colored curtains to the white one, A some manufacture has a media that they as a consequence… you need to wash; P E claim that it does not need any wash; If you are printing chairs you can have the risk IT If you are printing textile for kids bed you need that if someone will sit on (what the chair has to wash because even if the inks are EcoTex you been invented for), even without WH have the risk that the kid is putting the textile in water, there will be high chance that the ink can mouth and sucking it, as a consequence.. you make dirty the other textile, as a consequence … need to wash; you need to wash. Inks Need to know 2 Sublimation/Disperse Chemically Sublimation Ink is a “variation” of e) The sublimation process and related Inks is/ the disperse ink, the “variation” is related to the was a patent of Sawgrass; dimension of the molecule. Sublimation ink f) No Wash needed molecules are very small in order for it to sublimate (explode) turning into gas. Property of Disperse Inks: (High Energy Sublimation Inks are the most common in the di- Disperse Dye): gital printing, very few manufacturers are a) Strong color fastness, light, rubbing; producing “real disperse ink”. b) Color less brilliant compare to sublimation; c) Not common inks; Property of the Sublimation Inks (Low Energy d) Printability is not easy particularly on Epson Disperse dye):1 based printers, Mutoh, Roland, Mimaki, a) Common product, most ink manufacturers Epson; have them in catalogue e) In most of the cases washing is needed b) Brilliant color; c) Weak color fastness, light, rubbing d) Easy Also see: printability en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_textile_printing White paper on sublimation technologies Rel. 1.7 © 2020 - ATP Color Srl Via Mascagni 42, 20030 Senago (MI) Italy www.atpcolor.it 4 Inks Need to know 3 R.1.7 S E Temperature and humidity I Water based inks are quite sensitive to the tem- In you will print in condition different from the perature and humidity of the room in which the one mentioned above you can experience mis- printer it is installed and printing. sing printing jets and other defects in the prin- ECHNOLOG As a general rule the temperature should be in ting quality. T the range of 20-25°c and the relative humidity This is the theory of the sublimation process, if ON should be above 45%. we move from theory to practice we will find 4 TI different “processes” for implementing it: MA 1) So called “traditional procedure”; I 2) Direct printing on fabric and sublimation UBL subsequent on separate calender; S 3) Direct printing on fabric and sublimation subsequent in integrated system using hot air; ER ON P 4) Direct printing on fabric and sublimation A subsequent in integrated system with contact P E calender; IT We will examine each one of these systems in WH the following pages. Traditional Procedure Printing on transfer paper (do not forget that you 4) A single big calender can generally handle have to print in mirror mode), transfer on polye- more plotters, calenders of good quality ster using calender or heat-press, the tempera- can transfer at high speeds (depends on the ture must be set around 200° C, the time from time of contact, which is usually between 30 30 to 60 seconds. and 60 seconds) even 100 or 200 meters per hour. It is evident that if you use plotter Advantages printing at 30 sqm/h a single calender can 1) Printing on paper - you can virtually use support 3 plotters allowing the investment of any commercially available plotters that can calender to be shared across several plotters. print with sublimation inks (water-based This rule is valid only when using a plotter inks). You must be particularly careful before with “slow” print speeds. When printing at rewinding because the paper and inks 70/80/100 sqm/h this speed is very close to must be perfectly dry to prevent marking the that of the calender; and replication. When printing at high print 5) This technology is used primarily for the speeds, it is difficult to achieve perfect sportswear market. After printing, it is much drying before rewinding because, with easier to cut the printer paper than to cut the more speed, you have less time to dry. In a fabric on the printer. Direct printing can offer production plant dedicated to sublimation better penetration of ink in the media but the it is quite common to see lots of fans in front benefit cannot overcome the difficulties of of the rewinding paper to speed the drying the subsequent cutting; process; 6) You do not need to wash the final output (if it 2) With careful management of profiles you can has been properly fixed); get details very sharp and very “dry” lines; 3) Generally, standard polyester can be used Disadvantages without having to buy fabric that has been 1) It is necessary to buy a press or a separate specially treated for direct digital printing; calender; White paper on sublimation technologies Rel. 1.7 © 2020 - ATP Color Srl Via Mascagni 42, 20030 Senago (MI) Italy www.atpcolor.it 5 2) When printing on sublimation paper or any shrinkage; directly on fabric and then fixing on an 9) The transfer paper itself, in large format external calender, the workflow is quite (particularly the 3,2mt and the 5mt), is much R.1.7 S E long, and.....the first job you will print will be more expensive than the transfer paper for a I the last one out from your printing system, small format.