This quick overview of digital textile printing explains how it differs from sublimation processes and why advances are occurring so rapidly.

1. What Is Digital Textile Printing?
Digital textile printing is a specialized form of roll-to-roll wide-format inkjet printing. Printers built
exclusively to feed rolls of fabrics are replacing some rotary and flat-screen printing equipment
traditionally used for industrial textile printing.
Unlike the textile dye sublimation process, which is limited to polyester and poly/blend fabrics, digital
textile printers eject tiny droplets of ink directly onto many types of non-stretch natural and synthetic
textiles. The types of inks, pre-treatments, and post-treatment processes used to depend on the specific
type of fabric being decorated and how it will be used.
Manufacturers of apparel and decor fabrics regard digital textile printing as a promising way to reduce
the water and energy consumption, waste, and water pollution associated with traditional textile dyeing
and printing. Some experts estimate that digital fabric printing can reduce water use by up to 90% and
electrical usage by up to 30%.
Types of Printers
Unlike “direct-to-garment” printers that decorate pre-sewn apparel products, digital textile printing
equipment prints on rolls of fabrics that will be cut and sewn into a variety of products.
Depending on the type of fabric, a single roll of printed fabric could be used to make different types and
sizes of shirts, dresses, slacks, shorts and fashion accessories or home textiles such as pillowcases,
sheets, tablecloths, duvets, upholstery, or drapes.
Multi-pass industrial direct-to-textile printers use clusters of moving (“scanning”) printheads that travel
back and forth across the width of the substrate Makers of multi-pass direct-to-textile printers include
Durst, EFI, Epson, Mimaki, Mutoh, SGPrints, DGI, and Kornit Digital.

2. Epson has actively promoted the benefits of digital textile printing to the fashion industry. This video
demonstrates features of their Monna Lisa Tre series of direct-to-textile printers. (​Video: Epson Monna
Lisa Tre​)
Single-pass industrial textile printers use stationery arrays of printheads that span the width of the
substrate. All ink is applied in a single pass as the substrate travels beneath the fixed printheads. On a
single-pass printer, fabrics can be printed at speeds of up to 295 linear feet per minute.

3. This video shows how fast fabrics move through the EFI Reggiani Bolt single-pass textile printer. ​(Video:
EFI Reggiani BOLT at at glance)
EFI’s Reggiani Bolt, the MS LaRio, SGPrints’ PIKE and Konica Minolta Nassenger SP-1 are single-pass
inkjet printers for high-speed, high-volume production of printed textiles (e.g. up to 20 million linear
meters a year).
Types of Inks
Different combinations of inks, pretreatments, and fixation processes are used with different types of
synthetic and natural fabrics. The pretreatments, ink formulations, and post-treatment processes help
the ink colors penetrate the fabric and resist fading, dirt, and repeated wash cycles.
Direct-Disperse Inks are used to printing directly onto polyester and polyester blends. These inks
actually
dye the fibers of the fabric and become part of the textile. A post-print heat process is required.
Acid dyes are used on pretreated nylon and silk fabrics. The printed textiles then must be steamed to set
the inks and washed to remove any residue. Post-print heat processing is used to permanently set the
dye.
Reactive inks ​for linen, rayon, nylon create a chemical bond with the cellulose fibers in these fabrics.
The printed textiles must be steamed to fix the inks and washed to remove any residues.
Textile pigment inks include binders that enable the pigments to adhere to the surface of cotton and
other natural fabrics. A rotary heat calendar is used to fix the pigments to the fabric.

4. Advances in pigment inks are enabling textile printers are enabling apparel manufacturers to skip the
post-print steaming and washing processes to reduce water and energy consumption.
The Kornit Allegro printer was the first direct-to-textile printer that used pigment inks to eliminate the
need for steaming and washing. (Video: ​Kornit Introduces Allegro & Cut​)
Most printers can use up to 7 or 8 colors of inks.to maximize the range of colors that can be reproduced.
Pre-Treatments and Post-Treatments
Before printing, fabrics must be cleaned and pre-treated. The pre-treatments help fix the dye in the ink
to the fibers in the textile, control the spread of ink droplets, optimize the intensity of the colors, and
support ink absorption for faster dry times.
After the fabric absorbs the ink, it must be dried and/or coated to keep the inks from rubbing or washing
off. Some printed fabrics must be washed to remove any residues from the ink.
Companies such as EFI, Durst, and Kornit have developed in-line systems for handling all of the
pre-treatment and post-treatment steps a fabric might require without having to unload the printed
rolls of fabric and take it to another finishing station.

5. The Durst Alpha Series of textile printers has an integrated washing system and inline treatment and
drying units. ​(Video: Durst Alpha Series - Innovation for Digital Textile Printing)
Substrates
With the right combination of inks and pretreatments, a wide variety of off-the-shelf natural and
synthetic fabrics can be digitally printed. The pretreatment is applied to the cleaned fabric immediately
before the fabric is printed.
Printing fabrics for human use is different than printing fabric banners. Fabrics for use in apparel or
home furnishings must meet specific standards for durability and safety. For example, fabrics used to
make pillowcases shouldn’t contain any chemicals that would cause harm if inhaled by a sleeper.
Chemicals that can cause skin reactions must also be avoided.
Oeko-Tex testing certifies that finished fabrics are free from harmful chemicals and safe for human use.
GOTS (the Global Organic Textile Standard) defines how organic fibers should be processed into finished
textiles to meet ecological and social criteria.
Prepress
The ability to make and sell garments on-demand has attracted a number of aspiring fashion designers.
So software developers have made it easier for them to design textiles, specify colors, and view how the
printed pattern would look on a sewn garment.

6. EFI’s Optitex software includes 2D and 3D visualization tools that enable designers to see how their
designs will appear positioned on the pieces to be sewn into the finished garment. (​Video: EFI Textile
Ecosystem​ )
Adobe has introduced a Textile Designer plug into Photoshop. Many designers already use Photoshop
when starting fabric designs. Adobe Textile Designer enables designers to build and preview repeating
patterns, defining separations, work with colorways and keep every element editable in Photoshop until
the design is ready to print.
Adobe Textile Designer can be used in conjunction with a Datacolor ColorReader PRO device to help
designers measure color inspiration in the real world and transfer the color specification data wirelessly
to Photoshop.
X-Rite has also developed more advanced color-management tools to reduce the amount of fabric
wasted by printing inconsistent or inaccurate colors.
Advances in Technology
Manufacturers of digital textile printers have developed apparel “micro-factories” that enable brands
and fashion start-up companies to consolidate and streamline the process of designing and converting
printed textiles into ready-to-sell garments.

7. This video shows how the EFI Textile Printing Ecosystem enables apparel manufacturers to build a
start-to-finish system of making small batches of garments as needed. (​Video: EFI Textile Ecosystem​)
On-demand or just-in-time garment and textile production are revolutionizing the apparel industry
because it reduces the risk that clothing manufacturers will be stuck with excess inventory that must be
shipped to a landfill. When on-demand garment production occurs in micro-factories close to the
location where the garments will be used, it significantly reduces the environmental impact of shipping
garments from mass-production textile factories in Asia and Europe.
To quickly gain a better understanding of the requirements of the fashion and textile industry, some
printer manufacturers of direct-to-textile printing systems have acquired European companies that have
made textile inks, printing, steaming, and washing equipment for years.
EFI acquired the Reggiani textile equipment manufacturer and Optitex, a leading supplier of design and
pattern-making software. Epson acquired the Fratelli Robustelli company that manufactured textile
printing equipment and the For. Tex company that specialized in formulating pretreatments and selling
textile inks.
SGPrints, a manufacturer of rotary screen-printing presses, has used their long-time knowledge of the
textile industry to develop their own line of direct-to-textile inkjet printing systems.
At the 2019 ITMA textile technology show, dozens of innovations were announced to further improve
the efficiency and sustainability of textile design and printing.
For example, Kornit Digital introduced the Presto, a direct-to-fabric printer that uses new NeoPigment
Robusto pigment inks to eliminate the need for pre- and post-treatment of fabric and allows for
high-quality printing on a broad variety of fabric types.

8. Follow Us on Social Media
This post is part of a series we are publishing to help you understand the many types of analog and
digital printing processes now in use.
Follow Ordant on LinkedIn​, Facebook​, or Twitter to learn when the next post in this series has been
published. Our next post will discuss direct-to-garment printing.
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