There are many types of heat transfer printing on clothing, and there are two main categories of common heat transfer printing methods:
(1) Sublimation thermal transfer printing
(2) Heat transfer printing
Sublimation thermal transfer printing simply means that disperse dyes (or Sublimation Ink) are pre-printed (or printed) on a specific paper by a machine, and then through this paper, using high temperature and high pressure, the pattern on the paper is transferred to the object that needs to be printed. The fabric is put on to complete the entire heat transfer printing process.
However, with the development of science and technology, the industry has made some refinements, allowing transfer printing methods to emerge in an endless stream. The most prominent thing is that paper is also used as a transfer printing carrier, but the printing method is to use gravure printing machines to print disperse dyes as the mainstream.
In terms of transfer printing market demand, the most commonly used printing methods are:
(1) The gravure printing machine prints disperse dyes. The advantages are: low cost of printing paper, delicate pattern expression, strong layering, and full pattern. Suitable for mass transfer printing production. The disadvantages are: high plate making costs and insufficient competitiveness for small batches of personalized products.
(2) Use an offset printing machine to print Offset Sublimation Ink. Use a printer to print the sublimation ink. After it dries naturally, use this decal paper to transfer it to the fabric that needs to be printed. Advantages: Because it uses ps printing, the printing fee is low, and the printing fee cost is also low, which is suitable for small batch product printing. Disadvantages: The color depth after printing is difficult to control well. If you want to do heat transfer printing on clothing, you have to think about it, because any piece of clothing is made of at least two pieces of cloth. Just imagine: the front and back pieces of clothing How can I sell and wear this piece of clothing when the colors are quite different?
(3) Digital thermal transfer printing, advantages: the pattern expression is more delicate than any other transfer printing, the layering is very strong, the pattern is extremely full, and because of the plateless printing, the color registration inaccuracies caused by other printing methods are completely eliminated. Or the shortcomings of plug version. Disadvantages: Although there is no printing fee, the cost of printing ink and paper is high. As of 2000, it was only suitable for transfer printing of small batches of personalized products.
(4) Silk screen sublimation ink. This transfer printing method has low plate making costs and sublimation ink is not expensive. However, because the printing plate is a screen plate, the edges of the pattern will produce burrs, which is not suitable for delicate patterns such as figures and landscapes. print.
heat transfer printing
Different from the sublimation thermal transfer printing method, the printing material does not sublimate (vaporize) like sublimation dyes. The printing material will not print at high temperature and high pressure, causing the slurry to penetrate into the fabric fibers. Although it can also be pressed with a transfer machine , but what is "printed" on the surface of the clothing is like a layer of "plaster" attached to the surface of the clothing.
Its main feature is that most of the base materials used are PET sheets. After printing patterns of various colors on the PET sheets, hot melt adhesive is applied on the back of the patterns. It is this hot melt adhesive that connects the patterns with The clothes are firmly combined, the PET waste film is peeled off, and the heat transfer process is completed.
Advantages of thermal transfer printing: low plate making cost, full pattern levels, and beautiful color. Disadvantages: The air permeability is poor after being transferred to clothing, and the feel is not as soft as sublimation heat transfer.