Fabric printing

Fabric printing is a textile processing technology that forms patterns on the surface of fabrics through printing techniques. It fixes colors or textures onto the fabric by various means to achieve batch decorative effects. This process is an important branch of the textile field, covering more than ten major printing methods such as coating, silk, and discharge dyeing.

Its core technology is applied differently based on the characteristics of the fibers and production demands. Direct printing with coatings uses color pastes for direct printing and is suitable for multi-fiber materials. Silk printing forms patterns by controlling the dyeing area with anti-dye agents. Discharge printing uses chemicals to destroy the base color to present the pattern. Special processes such as foam printing can create a three-dimensional touch effect, transfer printing achieves fine image restoration through the gas phase transfer of dyes, and emerging technologies like digital printing are gradually being promoted.

This technique originated from traditional block printing. In the early days, manual zinc plates or paper plates were used for operation. In the 20th century, screen printing replaced the original process and underwent a mechanical upgrade from semi-automatic to fully automatic, giving rise to industrial models such as flat screen and circular screen. Modern development has led to the emergence of environmentally friendly technologies such as waterless transfer printing, driving technological iteration in the field.

Basic Introduction

The methods of fabric printing and dyeing include: pattern printing, screen printing, rotary screen printing, transfer printing and multi-color lamination printing, etc. Among them, screen printing originated from pattern printing (including pattern paper plates and zinc plates), and gradually moved from manual operation to semi-automation and full automation. Later, it developed from flat screen to rotary screen.

Printing method

Direct printing of coatings

Direct printing with coating involves directly printing the prepared printing paste onto the fabric. This is the simplest and most commonly used process in printing techniques. The direct coating printing process generally refers to printing on white or light-colored fabrics. It is convenient for color matching, simple in process, and only requires baking treatment after printing. It is suitable for textiles made of various fibers. The direct printing process of coatings can be classified into Accarmin F-type adhesives based on the adhesives frequently used. Three direct printing processes: acrylate adhesive, styrene-butadiene emulsion and chitin adhesive.

Silk print

The main methods of silk printing include direct printing, discharge printing and anti-dyeing printing. The direct printing method has been introduced before. The discharge printing method, transfer printing method, penetration printing method, etc. will be introduced separately in the relevant sections later. Here, we mainly introduce the anti-dyeing printing method.

Printed knitted underwear

The printing of knitted underwear mainly adopts the direct coating printing process. After the fabric is printed, it can be dried by double drying or natural drying, avoiding the problems of easy deformation of knitted fabrics during wet treatment and the difficulty of wet treatment of agricultural sheets. The main printing method is flat screen printing, which can be further divided into two types: manual scraping printing and machine operation. This printing method can adapt to various patterns with different composition forms and organizational structures, and is suitable for the production needs of small batches and multiple colors.

Discharge printing

Discharge printing, also known as engraving printing, refers to a printing method that uses discharge agents to print on colored fabrics, destroying the pigments in the already dyed parts to obtain various patterns and designs. A discharge agent is a chemical that can fade the base color of a dye. For example: dimethyl chloride, stannous chloride, etc. This method can be divided into two types: those with white patterns (pulling out white) and those with colored patterns (pulling out printing). The latter dyeing method makes the fabric patterns fine, but the process is complex and the cost is relatively high.

Silk-screened rotten flowers

The “Lanhua” series utilizes a blend of two fibers with different acid resistance. After acidic Lanhua paste printing and chemical processing, the natural fiber parts that are not resistant to acid are torn off, exposing the acid-resistant chemical fiber parts. This results in a crystal-clear pattern, and its unique style gives Lanhua products a high-end and dazzling feel. The Lanhua products not only have a beautiful appearance but also excellent internal quality. They feature wear resistance, high strength, easy washing, quick drying and no need for ironing, and are well-received in both domestic and international markets. The research and application of the rotten flower technique are prevalent in the textile printing and dyeing industry.

Printing on woolen fabrics

Printed woolen fabrics are mainly thin plain weave or chiffon fabrics, and are mostly used to make women’s shirts, evening gowns, quilts and skirts. In addition to direct printing, woolen fabric printing also includes transfer printing, pad printing and transfer printing, etc. Wool blended fabric printing also accounts for a certain proportion, and embossed finishing of wool fabrics is quite popular, mainly used for coarse-spun sweaters.

Velvet print

Diamond printing takes advantage of the characteristics of screen printing to print on plain velvet, achieving a special glittering effect. Under sunlight, it can emit a natural diamond-like glow.

Foam printing

There are numerous types of special fabric printing, and foam printing is one of them. The characteristics of foam printing are: strong three-dimensional effect, similar to manual embroidery, soft to the touch, wear-resistant, washable, good fastness, elastic, and can be widely used in tablecloths, curtains, tea towels, handkerchiefs, pillowcases, clothing, tourist souvenirs and other aspects. It can not only be applied to natural fiber fabrics such as cotton, linen and silk, but also to artificial fiber fabrics.

Flocking print

Electrostatic flocking is a new technology that is emerging in the textile industry. It is a product that uses a high-voltage electrostatic field to plant short fibers on the surface of the fabric. Flocking products have a simple process, strong three-dimensional effect and low cost, so they are widely used in rubber, plastic, artificial leather and decorative products. Especially for small-batch tourism products, it shows its unparalleled superiority. Using flocked patterns for decoration on shoes, hats, children’s clothing, trademarks and clothing will make their appearance unique.

Transfer printing

Transfer printing is a printing process that achieves the coloring effect by relying on the sublimation of dyes and the diffusion and affinity of dye vapor on fibers. Transfer printing is a relatively practical dyeing and printing production method in waterless processing. In addition to not using water, another major feature is that the paper deformation is small, so it can be used to print fine multi-layered patterns and photographic pictures. Transfer the pattern pictures onto the fabric realistically. Its effect is sometimes better than that of general discharge and discharge printing.

In addition to the above ten common printing methods, there are also some special printing methods, such as: aluminum foil transfer printing, photoluminescence printing, fluorescent printing, gold and silver powder printing, coating foam printing, color-changing printing, fragrance printing, diamond printing and pearlescent printing, etc.