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Textiles and Design

Home > Textiles and Design > Properties and Performance of Textiles > Emerging textile technologies: Digital printing

Answers for activity

1. What are the main advantages of digital textile printing? Select Advantages of digital print.
   
   The main advantages of digital textile printing are:
   • it enables rapid prototyping without the need for the sampling process
   • there is no need for colour separations
   • it is ideal for low volume, high value products.
   • printing can occur on demand, hence reducing the cost of carrying stock.
   • no start up costs.
     
     
2. Fabrics made from what fibres can be used for digital textile printing? Select Direct digital print.
   
   Digital textile printing can be carried out on any natural woven fabric ( cotton, wool, silk, linen, viscose) and more recently polyester.
   
   
3. What type of printing technology is used in digital printing?
   
   Ink jet technology is used in digital printing.
   
   
4. What types of dyes are used for digital printing on a) natural fibres, b) polyester? Select Direct digital print.
   
   Reactive dyes are used for natural fibres, disperse dyes for polyester.
   
   
5. Artwork needs to be provided at how many dots per inch (dpi)? Select Technical inquiries.
   
   Artwork needs to be at 254 dpi.
   
   
6. Describe the pre-treatment and processing for:
   1. printing with reactive dyes
      
      The steps for pre-treating and processing with reactive dyes include:
      • the fabric is coated with a carrier paste to help fix the dyes
      • the fabric is steamed to open the fibres and allow the dye molecules to penetrate the fibre
      • the fabric is washed to remove the coating and any excess dye
      • the fabric is then pressed to finish.
        
        
   2. printing with disperse dyes
      
      The steps for pre-treating and processing with disperse dyes include either:
      1. Where the dyes are printed onto transfer paper, then pressed to sublimate (extract) the dyes onto the fabric where they are fixed during the pressing process and the colour develops.
         
         
      2. The fabric can also be steamed in a similar process to fixing reactive dyes.

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