ink jet printing on textiles is explained for begginers and students who are new to this field

1. Ink Jet Printing of Textiles
What you needWhat you need
to know but wereto know but were
afraid to ask !afraid to ask !
January 2014 1Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

2. Language has changedLanguage has changed
LIFE WAS
MUCH EASIER
WHEN Apple
AND BlackBerry
WERE JUST
FRUITSOctober 2013 2Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

3. And (Terms you would use in IJP)And (Terms you would use in IJP)
• NIPNIP Sip of Liquor or pinchSip of Liquor or pinch
• RIPRIP Rest In PeaceRest In Peace
• DODDOD Ball on which no run is scoredBall on which no run is scored
• PZTPZT Brother of R2D2, K9 of Star warsBrother of R2D2, K9 of Star wars
• pLpL Privilege LeavePrivilege Leave
October 2013 3Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

4. The Digital AdvantageThe Digital Advantage
• Advantages
• No minimums
• On demand
manufacturing
• Efficient sampling
• No repeat size
• No limit on colors
• No color kitchen
• No screen engraving
• No screen warehousing
• No limit on design size
• Flexible design
possibilities
• Reduced waste
• Reduced manpower
• Environmentally Friendly
• Disappearing Disadvantages
• Speed
• Cost
• Replication of screen prints
January 2014 4Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

5. Historical TimelineHistorical Timeline
1749
First research on ink jet in FranceFirst research on ink jet in France
1878
Rayleigh-Mechanism of liquid stream in dropletsRayleigh-Mechanism of liquid stream in droplets
1930
Ink jet for e recording deviceInk jet for e recording device
1951
Siemens “Elema” first commercial ink jet m/cSiemens “Elema” first commercial ink jet m/c
1967
Stork produces high colour images by ink jetStork produces high colour images by ink jet
1970
Piezo and thermal DOD, Printing of carpets, Milliken/ZimmerPiezo and thermal DOD, Printing of carpets, Milliken/Zimmer
1991
first commercial system at ITMA Hanoverfirst commercial system at ITMA Hanover
2000 Cannon developed high resolution Printer
Encad Introduced Textile Printer/Iris
Modified Mimaki’s Introduced
Stork/Dupont /Yuhan Kimberly, Reggiani and Robustelli Machine
January 2014 5Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

6. The Essential ElementsThe Essential Elements
• Print headPrint head
• Fabric Feed System/ PrinterFabric Feed System/ Printer
• InkInk
• FabricFabric
•SoftwareSoftware
•Pre/post treatmentPre/post treatment
January 2014 6Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

7. Understanding the technology involvedUnderstanding the technology involved
Courtesy: Dr John Provost
January 2014 7Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

8. •Thermal Drop on Demand(DOD)
•Piezo Drop on Demand
•Binary Continuous inkjet heads
•Multi-deflection continuous heads
•Air jet deflection
Printhead TechnologyPrinthead Technology
January 2014 8Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

9. January 2014 9Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITLInk jet Technologies- A Summary
•Continuous (CIJ) = continuous flow of ink
–Method to produce drops
–Method to select drops
–Method to recover and control the ink
•High speed capability
•Typically low resolution, but high resolution capable
•Drop On Demand (DOD) = drop of ink only generated when
needed
–No drop selection or deflection required
–Each nozzle fires only as required – nozzles can be inactive
•Nozzle maintenance and good ink formulation required
–Actuation mechanism required with enough energy to generate drop
at required velocity to eject and reach substrate successfully
•Actuation methods – most common are thermal and piezo
–Piezo dominant technology in textile printers

10. • Most common is lead
zirconium titanate(PZT)
ceramic
• Electrical pulse causes the
material to
“Push” “Bend” “Shear”
•
Piezo Print headPiezo Print head
January 2014 10Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

11. January 2014 11Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
• Piezoelectric ceramic material
deforms when voltage is applied
•Distortion creates a pressure
pulse in the ink chamber
•Causes a drop to be ejected
from the nozzle
•Many different modes – shear,
bend, push, edge = different
configurations of the piezo
material and the nozzle
Piezo functioning

12. January 2014 12Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITLWhy Piezo drop on demand
•Robust technology for broad range of industrial
applications
–Proven in production
•Adaptable configurations to provide higher
speeds and print quality
•Consistent drop velocity and drop volume
•Wide range of ink capability
–Enables wide range of applications
•High accuracy jetting
•Long life printheads
–Capable of high duty production
–High reliability (subject to correct use)

13. January 2014 13Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
•Binary
–One drop size
–On or off
•Multi-pulse binary
–Special mode offered by some printheads
–Ability to create larger drops (all same
size)
•Greyscale
–Variable number of drops
•Drops coalesce in flight or at nozzle plate
–Directly vary drop volume
•Vary waveform according to drop size
required
•Apply different waveforms to each bank of
piezo

14. January 2014 14Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITLGreyscale Printing

15. January 2014 15Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITLResolution
In digital photography it is the
number of dots per
inch(pixels). Higher resolution
gives higher quality.
In digital printing, printhead
resolution is fixed value, given
by the number of nozzles per
inch. Higher number of
nozzles per inch gives higher
quality

16. January 2014 16Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
• Quality is driven by the printing head
native resolution (The higher ,the better)
• Quality depends on the drop-size (The
smaller the better.)
• Quality is strictly related to the landing
precision (Accuracy angle in landing)
Resolution and Quality

17. January 2014 17Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITLResolution and Firing Frequency
Frequency is the number of
drops ejected per second
A Firing frequency is 20.000 Hertz
means that each nozzle can jet
20,000 drops per second
Higher the space between drops in
the scan direction gives less ink per
inch, which means more speed.

18. January 2014 18Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITLInk Flow
• End shooter/single ended
•Ink flows into the channel and exits
only through the nozzle
•Recirculating/through flow
•Ink flows continuously through the
channel and exits the nozzle only
when required

19. •Output speed
•Fabric penetration, image resolution
•Ink Chemistry
•Replacement cost and ink costs
•Reliability and Consistency
Printhead Selection based onPrinthead Selection based on
January 2014 19Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

20. Printhead TechnologyPrinthead Technology
Kyocera KJ4 2656
nozzles
Epson DX 7 1440
nozzles
Konica Minolta 1024
Ricoh
Epson
Xaar
Kyocera
Spectra
Konica Minolta
Fuji Diamatix
HP Scitex
Sieco Printek
January 2014 20Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

21. January 2014 21Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
•The technology is breathtaking-The
drops and the nozzles are tiny!
A Kyocera KJ4B 30kHz printhead has
2,656 nozzles
–Each nozzle can jet up to 30,000
drops/sec
–That is potentially a total of
79,680,000 drops per second
–On a printer with 8 heads
(one per colour)
that’s 637,440,000 drops/sec
Taking care of your Printhead

22. January 2014 22Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
•Nozzle maintenance is essential – features built
into your printer as standard
–Manual/automatic maintenance cycles
–Spitting
–Purging
–Capping
–Wiping (dry and wet)
•Drop formation is very sensitive to ink properties
and nozzle condition
•Discuss maintenance with your system provider
–Comprehensive maintenance systems can have a
huge effect on printhead life and replacement
costs
Nozzle Maintenance

23. PrintersPrinters
Printer
Classification
Class 1
4-12 metres per hour
Class 2
18-90 metres per hour
Class 3
90-730 metres per hour
Class 4
65-75 metres per minute
Key FeaturesKey Features
Ability to transport
wide variety of
fabrics through
printer
Able to deliver variety
of textile ink
chemistries
through print head
Either open or closed
system for ink and
software
Mutoh
Zimmer
Mimaki
D-Gen
Roland
HP /Agfa
Konica Minolta
MS
La Meccanica
Reggiani
Digitex
Osiris
Ichinose
Kornit
January 2014 23Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

24. Print methodsPrint methods
January 2014 24Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

25. January 2014 25Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITLScannnig XY
•One pass printing
–High productivity
•Multipass printing
–Passing two or more times
over the same line of image
data
–Typically 2 different
nozzles print on the same
line
Global

26. January 2014 26Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
Fixed array of printheads
–High productivity
–Established in many other industrial
applications (ceramics, labelling etc)
–Emerging in textile
–Reliability critical
Single Pass Printing

27. Printing MachinesPrinting Machines
Reggiani
Ichinose
Digitex
January 2014 27Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

28. Printing MachinesPrinting Machines
MS-LARIO
Industrial print head
4-8 colors
Fixed array configuration
Sticky-Belt fabric transport
Print speeds up to 75 SM
per minute
January 2014 28Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
Regianni has now a machine at 120mt/min
KITL

29. Kornit Avalanche T shirt printingKornit Avalanche T shirt printing
300 T shirts per hour size XXL 60x90 cm, CMYKW
January 2014 29Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

30. Ink Color Gamut (CMYK)Ink Color Gamut (CMYK)
Black
• Lemon Yellow(Y)
• Golden Yellow
• Bright Orange
• Mid Red
• Neutral Magenta(M)
• Neutral cyan(C)
• Bright Reddish Blue
• Black(K)
January 2014 30Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

31. October 2013 31Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITLLimitations of Colour Space

32. InksInks
• Fabric dependent
inks
• Acid dye
• Reactive Dye
• Dispersed Dye
• Sublimation $
• Fabric independent
ink
• Pigment
• Eco-solvent
• Latex
• UV Cure
Huntsman
Dystar
Jaysynth
Fuji Sericol
DuPont
Solaris/ Jay Chemicals
Sawgrass
Nazdar
January 2014 32Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

33. • High Purity
• High Solubility
• Rheology properties of solution
• Particle size and distribution
• Conductivity
• Surface charge and polarity
• Foaming properties
• pH
Requirements of ColorantsRequirements of Colorants
January 2014 33Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

34. Typical Ink FormulationTypical Ink Formulation
• 3-6% dye
• 70-80% water
• 20-25% Humectant(DEG/2-Pyrrolidone)
• Surfactant (perflouro based)
• Penetrating agent (Hexane-1,6 diol)
• Preservative (methyl-isothiazolones)
• Corrosion Inhibitors (Benzothiazoles)
• Electrically conducting Lithium salts
Viscosity ~1-3 centipoise
Surface Tension ~ 35 dynes per cm
Januray 2014 34Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

35. January 2014 35Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
•Printhead analysis
–Materials compatibility
•Dye purification
•Formulation development
•Drop analysis
•Accelerated shelf life tests
Ink Development

36. January 2014 36Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
•Dye synthesis and purification
•Raw materials - high precision weight
scale
•Purified powder dye mixing in glove box
•Ink mixing – different batch volumes
•High precision filtering
•Degassing (cartridges)
Ink Production

37. Digital Textile Ink Characteristics
Ink Fabric Type Pre-treatment Post
Treatment
Acid Dye Nylon, Silk,
Wool
Yes Steam Heat
Reactive Dye Cotton, Rayon,
Silk
Yes Steam Heat
Dispersed Dye Polyester Yes (usually) Steam or Dry
Heat
Dispersed
Sublimation
Polyester No Dry Heat
Transfer
Pigment Most Types No (usually) Dry Heat
January 2014 37Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

38. FabricsFabrics
• Most fabrics can be
printed digitally with
proper pre-treatment and
fixation
Cotton
Polyester
Rayon
Nylon
Wool
Viscose
Linen
Acrylic
Nonwovens
January 2014 38Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

39. Raster Image Processor (RIP)Raster Image Processor (RIP)
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a
dot matrix data structure representing a generally rectangular grid
of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or
other display medium. Raster images are stored in image files
with varying formats
January 2014 39Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

40. Software -Software - All RIPS are not created equalAll RIPS are not created equal
• Features of a textile RIP
1. Color management
2. Workflow
3. Cost analysis
4. Optimum resolution
5. Drop size management
Wasatch
Ergosoft
DP innovations
Caldera
DGS
Inedit
Cheran Digital
January 2014 40Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

41. January 2014 41Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
• Takes the digital image and converting the
image data, to a sequence of codes that control
the printer firing the nozzles and moving the
head and media.
• Includes printer driver(s) technology which is
responsible for ensuring the correct code
sequence is sent to the printer.
• Requires color management technology. Color
management technology typically requires a
profile.
What exactly is RIP

42. January 2014 42Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
Basically a colour matching program
• Each piece of data is a printer ink formula
with a measured color value
•The printer ink formula is a percentage
mixture of the inks in the printer
•The RIP sends an image color value to a
color management engine, which uses the
profile, to obtain what printer ink formula
should be used to print that color
What is a Profiler

43. Overview of segmentsOverview of segments
Colorant Ink
Type
Ink Types Fibre
Market
Applications
Pre / Post
treatments
Reactive Aqueous Cellulose, wool, silk Apparel Fixation + wash
Acid Aqueous Wool,silk,nylon Apparel, swim
wear
Fixation + Wash
Disperse
Sublimation(L
S)
Dispersion Polyester Paper for Flag
banner, sports
wear, signage,
Heat Transfer
Disperse
Sublimation,
specific
types(MS)
Dispersion Polyester Signage Pre Treatment
and heat Fixation
Disperse
direct(HS)
Dispersion Polyester Apparel,
Automotive
Pre treatment,
heat Fixation,
wash
Pigment Dispersion Cellulosic+ all
possible
T shirts, Home
furnishing, bed
linen, flags,
drapes, banners,
children wear
Heat Fixation –
with DTG also
Pre Treatment
January 2014 43Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

44. • Constant dot size and formConstant dot size and form
• Better levelnessBetter levelness
• Good colour yieldGood colour yield
• Better image qualityBetter image quality
Pretreatment of textiles to ensure
January 2014 44Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

45. Typical Pretreatment recipe ReactiveTypical Pretreatment recipe Reactive
Pad (80-90% Expression) Sodium Alginate solution 100-150gm
Urea 50-100g
Oxidising Agent 10g
Sodium Bicarbonate 25g
Water 1000g
(For Viscose increase Urea to 200g)
Dry Temperature below 120deg.C
Inkjet print Reactive
Fixation Atmospheric steaming 8min at 102 deg.C
Bake Fixation 6-8min at130 deg.C
For heat fixation(not for viscose) use 25 g/kg sodium
carbonate
Was off Cold water rinse(overflow)
Rinse in boiling water.
Soap at boil,cold water rinse
Dry
January 2014 45Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

46. Typical Pretreatment recipe DisperseTypical Pretreatment recipe Disperse
Pad (80-90% Expression) Sodium Alginate solution 100-150g
Citric Acid 2g
Defoamer 0.2g
Water 1000g
Drying not to exceed 100 deg.C
Inkjet Print Inkjet print with disperse dye inkjet ink
Fixation(temp/duration depends on
disperse-dye inkjet used)
HT steam(180 deg. C for 6-8min)
Wash off Rinse with cold water, reduction clear,
hot soap, rinse hot water, cold water
rinse
Dry
January 2014 46Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

47. FinishingFinishing
• Finishing Characteristics
• Dry heat fixation for pigment, latex,
dispersed and sublimation
• Moist heat (steam) for acid and
reactive
• Atmospheric or pressurized steaming
• Washing after fixation
• Drying after washing
Practix
Setema
Kleverik
AIT
MS
Monti Antonio
January 2014 47Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

48. Heat Press – Steamer -- WashersHeat Press – Steamer -- Washers
What do these machines look like?
January 2014 48Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

49. January 2014 49Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITLProblems due to
•Bubbles
–Caused by leaks in ink supply system
–Inks not properly degassed
–Ingestion through the nozzle
–Can be averted by;
•Good degassing
•Ink supply that avoids bubble traps
•Jetting
–Satellites, microspray during jetting
–Drops with low velocity will move with airflow
–Jets can generate air currents
•No Jetting
–Idle (non-firing) nozzles can collect debris
•Vibration
–Can cause ink to weep onto nozzle plate

50. January 2014 50Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
• Low humidity reduces ink flow
performance.
• Low temperature(<15 deg. C) affects
stability of Acid inks.
• High temperature (>30 deg. C) supports
hydrolysis of Reactive inks.
• Dust and high temperature lead to print
head blockage
Issues related to Inks

51. January 2014 51Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
•Substrate
–Dust, fibres, debris
•Blocks nozzles
•Semi-blocking nozzles causing drop deviation
•Can cause scratches during maintenance and
so cause drop deviation
•Misplaced or missing jets
•Flooding
–Can be caused by dust on the nozzle plate, dried
ink and/or poor ink pressure
–Excess ink spreads sideways to neighboring nozzles
–Excessive ink causes drops to slow down
Issues related to Inks

52. January 2014 52Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

53. Analogue vs Ink Jet printingAnalogue vs Ink Jet printing
January 2014 53Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

54. Comparison of the Print ProcessComparison of the Print Process
January 2014 54Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

55. How Green is the processHow Green is the process
January 2014 55Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

56. Where is it used today ?Where is it used today ?
• Digital Signage decoration dominated
by sublimation onto polyester
• Industrial/ Architecture utilizes mainly
synthetic wovens and nonwovens
with some nylon and cotton. Carpets,
technical textiles, industrial graphics
(truck covers,hoardings)
• Flags utilizes nylon and polyester with
acid dyes or dispersed
• Apparel utilizes a wide range of
fabrics from nylon, wool and silk with
acid dyes to polyesters with
dispersed, to natural fibers with
reactive dyes and pigments
• Home Furnishing utilizes cotton ,
linen and polyester
Sales
Signage Industrial
Flag Apparel
Homefurnishing
January 2014 56Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

57. Printed Textile MarketPrinted Textile Market
Production
Current production of printed textiles in
range of 27B yards growing at
3%/year
Digital Production
Portion that is currently digitally printed
around 200M yards
Markets
Apparel accounts for 55% of total, Home
Furnishings about 25%, remaining
20% sold into markets such as
signage and industrial/architectural.
Adoption
Certain regions and markets have
adopted digital printing more
significantly such as Europe, Brazil,
and India.
Less than 1% is digital, but headed to 3%. By 2014 it is expected to be 14%
January 2014 57Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

58. Kothari Info Tech LimitedKothari Info Tech Limited
January 2014 58Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL
Since 2001, from Surat, India to provide Solutions for Digital Printing on various
substrates
Inks Division:Inks Division: Water based high density Charu™Charu™ inks and Disha™Disha™ pre-coatings for
Textile substrates(Cotton ,Viscose, Linen, Silk, Wool, Nylon and Polyester)
Textile Machinery Division:Textile Machinery Division: Sales and after sales service for “Ichinose”“Ichinose” printing
machines
““Rimslow”Rimslow” Loopager for Inkjet textile printing. “DTG Digital”“DTG Digital” for garment printing.
“DigiEye”“DigiEye” for non contact colour measurement and QC
Software:Software: Print Pro™,Print Pro™, world class software, for Colour Separation, Colour
Correction, Device calibration, Half-toning, Large image data handling, Digital
Imaging, Textile coloration, Image composing and Printing. These applications are
targeted towards , label printing as well as Wide/Large format digital printing for
graphic arts, photography, and Textiles(fabric and garments).

59. I hope I was able to address your fears
and make you
comfortable with Ink Jet Printing of Textiles?
January 2014 59Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITL

60. January 2014 60Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITLCotton Art-Transfer printing of Natural
fabrics- German Dutch

61. January 2014 61Dr. Sanjiv Kamat
KITLAcknowledgments for some of the visuals
Numerous web sources for diagrams and images like
www.wtin.com,www.pivotal.co.uk, www.imieurope.com
www.spgprints.com, www.imaging.org, www.fujifilm.com,
www.epson.co.jp, www.konicaminolta.com,
www.global.kyocera.com, www.rpsa.ricoh.com,
www.siiprintek.co.jp, www.msitaly.com, Ink Jet Forum India