Textile Processing II

Document on various types of printing machines and finishing machine used in industry to process
polyester/ viscose, Polyester cotton blends

Submitted to: Mr. Manish Bhargava

Submitted by: Meghna Khatri
TD-5
BD/19/327
Types of printing machines
In the industrial set up of the economy, the printing machines are growing in large numbers.
Different printing techniques and processes are used by every industry for effective communication.
Any machine used in printing ink on the substrate (printing medium) which can be cloth, paper or
plastic, is referred to as the printing machinery. By applying pressure to the substrate, the printing
machinery transfers the ink on the printing medium resting on an inked platform composed of
movable type. The development of industrial printing machines changed a lot of things in the world.
It would make transfer and preservation of historical records, scientific findings, and knowledge easy
and possible. There's a great advancement in the printing machinery introduced in the market today
given the improvement in science and technology.

There's a competition in the industry, as many companies are now making printing press. As every
company is introducing better features and making an effort to overcome the other competitors, this
has led to the introduction of many enhanced features in printing machinery. With the introduction
of various features in these types of machinery, printing is now easier to be done than it was in earlier
days.
Today, printing machinery is available in many sizes to suit different needs. Bigger sizes of printing
machinery are available for heavy-duty printing or big-time printing businesses. You can get small
and medium sizes too for small and medium printing businesses. The machinery size determines the
volume of printing that will be done in a day, to a greater extent. When compared with small-sized
printing machinery, the heavy industrial printing machines can print a lot of things per hour or
regularly. There are different types of printing machines for printing on a different medium since
different printing machines make use of different printing technology. Each of the below-mentioned
printing machinery is meant to serve a particular purpose. You must consider your printing needs or
the type of printing that you are doing before you want to buy or order for your printing machine.
Several factors such as the size, the type of printing done, the seller, the brand, and others determine
the cost.earlier days.
Types of printing machines

● Screen printing
● Digital printing
● DTG printing (direct to garment)
● Roll-to-roll – printing fabric in bolts
● Fabric printing using pigment inks
● Dye-sublimation printing
Digital Printers
The digital printing machines have gained immense popularity for short to medium run jobs requiring high
clarity, quality, and fine printing. A vibrant quality image is delivered with these types of printers. By providing
cost-effective and fine printing solutions, these affordable and high-performance machines are
revolutionizing the printing industry. Because of the on-demand services, digital printing equipment ensures
fast turnaround time. Digital printers are ideally suited to publish a small print run of posters and books. They
have many advantages over traditional methods. Some include -

● Desktop printing
● Commercial
● Variable data printing
● Fine art
● Print on demand
● Advertising
● Photos
● Architectural design
● Sleeking
Digital Printers Advantages and Disadvantages
Digital printing has four advantages over traditional proofing.

1、Quick reaction

With its fast proofing, digital printing machine can enhance the response speed of the enterprise to the order, step by step in the
shopping mall, enhance the competition of printing enterprises, reduce the processing price and reduce the profit space.

2、Cost reduction

The use of digital printing machine can replace some of the original work that must be done on the circular and flat screen
printing machines without taking up the time of the machine.

3、The effect is good and the customer's approval rate is high

Digital printing and traditional printing belong to different systems. Many professional and technical personnel are worried that
the effect of proofing with digital printing machine is too good.

4、Wide range of application

The ink that can be used for proofing has active ink, acid ink, dispersed ink (transfer printing), and the use of dispersed ink is used
to find the right ink. In the customer's sample, if it's paper manuscript or electronic manuscript, it can be directly printed with
digital printing machine after color separation.
Digital Printers Advantages and Disadvantages
Digital printing technology needs to be improved, the disadvantages of digital printing technology, mainly in four
aspects:

(1) the speed of printing is slow.

Efficiency is money, the speed of printing is to a large extent the benefit of the enterprise.

(2) the ink cost is high.

Although digital ink-jet printing without making screen, a small amount of production total cost than traditional printing, dye and
pigment ink which is cheaper than traditional printing is much higher, so more than a certain length after printing, digital printing
ink prices will boost the cost of making more than traditional printing.

(3) the problem of the combination of new and old technology.

Digital printing technology continues to improve, the speed of printing is also accelerating, but to catch up with the speed of the
traditional printing machine still has a long way to go.

（4）Color accuracy

Compared with the traditional printing of spot color printing, namely, each set of colors individually adjust the color paste,
through the computer color matching system, we can achieve high color accuracy, even if a color paste deviate, it only affects one
color.
DTG printing (direct to garment)
In free translation, DTG means “directly on clothing”.

It is a printing method that involves the application of

patterns and colours directly to the base, which in this case is
a finished clothing product. The sewing of the product takes
place before the printing process and the components are
ready for use the moment they are removed from the printer.

DTG is perfect if you want to print on finished products such

as:

● t-shirts
● polo shirts
● sweatshirts
● bags
Roll-to-roll – printing fabric in bolts
Application: Printing of material in rolls (bolts)

In practice, this means more or less the fact that a powerful

printer (like a home digital printer, but on a much larger scale)
is fitted with a bolt of clean, unprinted fabric. Then, the
printheads apply dyes to the fabric surface in the printing
process.

Digital printing on fabric is recommended, especially, if you do

not want to be restricted by the already existing form on which
you print (t-shirt, bag, etc.). It provides you with the broad
possibility of sewing from the fabric that is printed over the
entire width of the bolt, printing in running metres and cutting
out the sewing patterns from fabric only after printing. Thus,
you are not limited in shape – you can sew anything you can
from fabric – from shirts to curtains, accessories or home
decor items.
When printing on fabric using the DTG method, there is no need to prepare printing plates or screens, which
directly affects and reduces the cost of small volume production (no initial, “start” cost). DTG printing method
gives the possibility of personalisation even at small amounts. When printing with the DTG method, however,
we have a limited print area (depending on the machine used, but we will usually not achieve a surface larger
than 50x70 cm).

The minimal amount of the printout starts with one piece (however, the higher the volume, the lower the unit
price). The price is influenced by the quantity of the printouts, the size of the print and the colour of the
fabric on which the pattern is printed. If the final product on which you want to print is of a colour other than
white., then a white surface is always printed underneath the pattern, which significantly alters the price.

As you can see, the DTG print carries a certain number of limitations. If you are not satisfied with the
restricted form of printing on specific cotton clothing, we recommend you to consider printing on fabrics
using the roll-to-roll method.
The method of printing (DTG vs roll-to-roll) is not the only choice you will face. Another way to divide
methods of printing on fabrics is to distinguish between methods considering the type of dye used for
printing.

Regarding the type of dye used, printing on fabric can be divided into:

● Fabric printing using pigment inks

● Fabric printing using reactive dyes
● Fabric printing using acid dyes
● Dye-sublimation printing
Screen Printers
These are one of the versatile printing machines that are compatible to work on many surfaces including ceramics,
textiles, wood, paper, metal, glass, and plastic. The screen printers can print on substrates of any shape, size, and
thickness. They are capable of providing exciting effects that cannot be possible with other printing methods. The
reason behind this is the presence of the broad range of dyes and inks which are five in types such as - solvent,
water, solvent plastisol, UV curable, and water plastisol. Sharp-edged images are created by making use of stencils.
The screen printers are an ideal choice and an economical way of printing when you need to produce nameplates,
labels, signs, t-shirts, shirts, and other articles in large volumes.

Moreover, to create large batches of graphics as

posters or display stands, the graphics screen
printing is used. You can also create full-color
prints. The screen printing is also known as
serigraphy or silk-screening. It can also be used to
print images on DVDs, CDs.
Screen Printers Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages

1、Better Quality That Lasts-One of the main advantages to screen printing is the vivid results it creates. The
overall print quality of screen printing is generally considered higher than other types of printing.

2. Varying Price Range-Several factors affect the price of screen printing, and you should consider each
aspect beforehand.

3. Difficult to Reproduce Photos Screen printing can be a time-consuming project that allows for only one
color to be printed at a time.

4. Less Overall Physical Size: Inkjet printers are most compact than laser printers, and modern inkjet printers
provide the A3 printing with acquiring less space.
Fabric printing using pigment inks
Application: all types of fibres, including cotton.

Often referred to as the “future of digital printing”, It is

suitable for printing on any type of fibre, though, in
practice, it is most often used to print on cotton.
Moreover, this method develops dynamically and
quickly, responding to the needs of recipients. Although
it is not perfect, at CottonBee, we are charmed by it,
and we make every effort to ensure that printing on
fabric is widely available and characterised by the
highest quality – this is where printing with pigment
inks comes in.

For printing on materials, specific dyes are used – in our

case, these are Japanese pigment inks.
The second important factor is the preparation of the fabric for printing, i.e. finishing. In order to provide the
right characteristics (vivid colours, resistance to washing out), the fabric has to be prepared adequately
before printing. The unprinted fabric is soaked in a substance that makes the pigment “stick” to the surface,
which in turn makes the fabric retain its original appearance for a longer time.

After the process of digital fabric printing using pigment inks is finished, the printed pattern is fixed with
temperature, without the use of chemicals, but above all – without the use of water. Very eco! For this
purpose, we use calenders and special furnaces. As a result, most digitally printed fabrics can be machine
washed, despite digital printing with pigment inks being surface printing – the pigment remains stuck on the
surface of the textile and thus colours it.

The process of finishing (preparing the material for printing) and heating (fixing the colour on the surface)
considerably increases the ease of use of the fabrics printed with pigment. Printed with pigment ink and
properly treated cotton (washed in a washing machine on a delicate program, with a cleaner that does not
contain strong detergents or only chemically, without the use of water) guarantees the longer lifetime of
beautifully printed cotton fabrics and knitwear.
Dye-sublimation printing
Application: Used primarily for printing on synthetic fibres (polyester) and blends (which are mostly
composed of polyester). Additionally, it is unsuitable for prints on cotton.

Sublimation is a process in which matter moves from a solid state to a gaseous state (bypassing the liquid
state). When printing using sublimation inks, this process occurs during the heating phase, i.e. fixing the
print using a temperature of up to 200 degrees Celsius. The dyes then sublimate, merging with the material.

The process of printing using sublimation inks can be carried out in two ways:

Direct sublimation

Intermediate sublimation
As far as direct sublimation is concerned, sublimation inks are applied to the material directly using a digital
printer. In the case of indirect sublimation, we are dealing with transfer printing. The pattern is printed on
transfer paper and then using a calender or a flat press, where it is exposed to high temperature (dry or
steam), it is transferred to the base material. During this process, sublimation is accountable for transferring
the print to the fabric.

When should you not choose to print on fabric using the sublimation method? Primarily, you do not want to
opt for it when you want to print on, for example, cotton, silk, viscose. That is because only polyester and its
blends (where the polyester significantly predominates in the composition) are suitable for the
dye-sublimation printing.
Digital printing using reactive dyes
Digital printing with reactive or acid dyes is nothing more than the use of dyes that are absorbed by the
material and react with the fabric in digital print. This method, much more invasive than printing with
pigment inks, guarantees a good “grip” of the overprinted material and its high durability – the chemical dye,
having been absorbed by the fabric, will be more resistant to washing out than pigment ink print.

Printing using reactive dyes will be perfect for people who want to print over large amounts of material at
the same time, though, this is a viable option only for those of you who are not in a hurry as the waiting time
for orders using this method, in most of the printing houses, is often several months.

What is more, one of the main advantages of printing using reactive dyes is the amazing colour saturation
that can be achieved – dyes reacting with the material colour it thoroughly. Additionally, it gives you the
option of printing on fabrics that, for some reason, are not fit to be printed on digitally, for example, viscose.
Digital reactive printing, however, is characterized by a much more complex process than digital printing
using pigment inks. As a result, this directly affects the price – reactive printing is, therefore, much more
expensive. Printing with reactive dyes is also less eco-friendly – the dyes themselves contain invasive
chemicals and “bite into” the material, permanently modifying it. Moreover, reactive printing is unprofitable
at a lower volume of production as you often have to order entire rolls of fabric in the printing house several
months in advance.

When to print using reactive dyes? When you have to print a large or medium amount of fabric (i.e. at least a
few bolts), and you do not worry about how fast the order will be completed. If you are able to pay more
than it costs to print with pigment inks, place a large order and wait a minimum of a few weeks for a
complex project that is both full of saturated colours and durable – then digital printing with reactive dyes is
a good choice.
General finishes
Calendaring
In this Finishing operation, fabric is
compressed between two heavy rolls to
provide flattened, smooth appearance of
fabric by the action of heat and pressure.
Surface of the roller can be either smooth
or engraved. These rollers are generally
made of hardened chromium plated or
elastic thermoplastic materials.
Swissing or Normal Gloss
This is a cold calendar process which produces a smooth and Àat fabric –the steel bowl of the
calendar is heated thus produces lustrous fabric. If a 7-bowl calendaring is used then the result is
smooth fabric with surface gloss on both sides of the fabric

Chintz or Glazing or Friction Calendering

This type of calendaring gives highly polished surface like Glazed Chintz Cotton fabric. If a very high
gloss is required, then fabric is pre impregnated with a wax emulsion and calendaring is carried out. If
the fabric is pre-treated with resin then this is a semi-durable type of Finish.

Cire Calendaring
This is a Three-bowl calendaring where top bowl rotates with much greater than friction calendaring
(400 rpm). The resultant fabric becomes highly lustrous. Fabrics of cotton, rayon, polyester, nylon and
blends may be given cire finish. The fabrics are pre-treated with wax or resin, to get highly polished
effect. When synthetics are cire finished, the fabrics become moderately water-repellent due to
Àattening or partially fusing of fabric
Embossed Calendering
It produces three-dimensional design on fabric. Embossing calendar consists of heated hollow metallic roller
engraved with the embossing design and solid paper roller, twice the size of engraved roller. Fabric is drawn
between the two rollers and designs are embossed on the fabric surfaces. If Celluloses fabrics are used for
embossing purpose then effect will be temporary finish, however, Celluloses pre treated with resin will
provide Semi durable embossing effect. Permanent embossing can be achieved on the Synthetic fabrics

Moiré Calendaring
Produces wood grain design on the face side of the fabric. There are two ways to achieve this result
Rib fabric (Faille / Taffeta) and balanced plain weave fabric are placed face to face. Both the fabrics are
fed into smooth heated metal rolls for calendaring keeping the speed of the rib fabric greater than that of
the plain woven fabric. The pressure on the calendar rolls is maintained at about 8 – 10 tons The result is
undefined watermark or moire effect is formed on rib woven fabric
Schrenier Calendaring
This type of calendaring produces low, soft, smooth and luster on the fabric. 3-bowl calendaring is used to
produce this effect, in this type of calendaring top metal roller are engraved with 200-300 ¿ne diagonal lines
per inch. This finish scatters light rays and produces a deep-seated luster rather shines. It can upgrade low
Quality cotton fabric. Also produces a softer hand and improved fabric cover. If Celluloses fabrics is used for
embossing then temporary effects are achieved. However, Celluloses or it’s blends, when pre treated with
resin will give semi durable finish. Permanent embossing effect can be obtained on the Synthetic fabrics.
Napping / Brushing
This is Mechanical Finish used for woven or
knitted fabrics. To provide napping, fabric
should be made from medium twist warp, and
low twist weft yarn. In this finish, fabrics are
passed against rotating bristled wire covered
rollers. Thereby distorting the weave of the
fabric and raising the fibers from fabric
surface. Example: Cotton, Woolen, Rayon,
Melton, Wool Fleece Àannels etc (Plain weave).
This provides softer hand and better insulation
to the fabric; such finishes is widely used in
blankets, sleep wear and winter clothing. The
main drawback of Napped fabrics is that, these
fabrics are more prone to pilling in particularly
sleeve ends, coat fronts, buttonholes, elbows
and other rubbing areas
Emerizing, Sueding, Sanding or Peach Finish
This is a mechanical type of finish which produces soft and smooth / silky feel to the fabric. The
fabric moves at a speed of 15–20 meters / minute under two or more rollers with one emery
paper on first roller to more abrasive paper in each successive roller.

This process abrades the surface causing ¿brils to split from the ¿bres. High abrasion and coarse
abrasive sheet causes damage to fabric strength. Abrasion generate heat may cause harshness
on synthetic fabric. Strength of the fabric are generally decreases the by 60 in this process.

Dry cleaning is preferred for this fabric. Emerizing can be applied to Polyester/Cotton,
Polyester/Nylon blends, and 100 Polyester, Nylon and Micro denier synthetics. This finish is
generally given to sportswear
Parchmentising or “Organdy”

This is the process in which cellulosic fabric are treated (one count light weight) with
concentrated Sulfuric acid which produces beautiful transparent and stiffer fabric. The
action of Sulfuric acid produces different effects depending on its strength of the Acid
and duration of treatment. The degree of luster and interesting surface effect can be
obtained depending on pre-treatment of bleaching and mercerization of cotton fabric.
Fancy and novel effect is obtained by well bleached and mercerized fabric. Embossed
calendared cotton when treated with Sulfuric acid provides damask effect.
Functional Finishes

Functional Finishes or special purpose Finishes are applied to textile materials to

enhance their performance properties in a speci¿c area. Although these finishes do not
changes the appearance of textiles they do address some consumer problem or make the
textile substrate suitable for a specific purpose. Functional finishes generally govern the
surface properties of the textile ¿bers such as adhesion property and optical appearance
of the substrate.
Poly Cotton
Poly cotton, originally, referred to combining two or more different poly materials to make a separate
material. In the world of fabrics, however, it is much more commonly used to refer to the blending of polyester
fibres and natural ones. This method creates a textile which is a blend of both polyester and natural fibres. The
more popular examples of these would be poly-cotton, linen blends or terrycot.

A poly-blend would still fall under the category of man-made or synthetic material, unlike viscose which is
actually a hybrid between the two.Blending two different types of fabric can be done at various stages
throughout the process. Most commonly, as the threads are spun to make the yarn. By blending together
threads of each of the materials, and spinning them together to make a yarn that then consists of both the
poly and the natural material.

Some fabrics are made from blending the yarns once they have already been made. This is exceptionally
common when a blended fabric has, for example, a natural face, with the reverse being a poly material or
vice-versa.
A poly-blend fabric has a myriad of uses. One of the
main reasons that we would blend two fabrics is to
gain certain characteristics. Whether that be in the
case of poly-elastane, that we want to make our
textile stretchier, or a poly-cotton where we want to
make the cotton softer, or less prone to wrinkling.

These fabrics give us the best of two or three different

fabrics by combining those together. It can also make
materials much more cost-effective. By creating a
poly-blend you can combine a less expensive fabric
with a more luxurious one and find a happy medium.
Poly-blend fabrics are used in clothing as well as
bedsheets and other soft furnishings too.
 Advantages
● Poly-blends tend to be stronger than their natural alternatives
● Often softer than their natural counterparts
● The addition of poly tends to add strength to the fabric
● Less expensive than entirely natural textiles
● Cotton makes up a high percentage of arable land, poly fabrics save that farming being as necessary on a
larger scale

Disadvantages
● Less popular in high fashion applications
● Fully synthetic materials tend to be cheaper
● The natural fabrics tend to be more breathable
● Polyester fabrics tend to be less suitable for those with sensitive skin
● Polyester does contain plastic fibres
Printing on Poly cotton Fabrics

Printing on poly cotton fabrics gives stunning results. Natural fabrics tend to have muted colours and
are not as vibrant. Introducing poly fibres makes colour reproduction much more accurate. It is worth
checking what the ratio of each fabric is. For best print results, you want at least 75-80% polyester in
your blend. Why not create a few test prints, and check out how beautifully you can print your designs
onto a poly-blend fabric.