Going Soft

There’s nothing new about the idea of printing to textiles and there are plenty of applications where soft signage can replace banners and boards. There are good reasons for doing so, with the most obvious being the environmental benefit since most textile printers use water-based inks, even for outdoor applications.

In addition, soft signage can easily be folded up for storage or for transport. Better still, fabric banners are genuinely tough with little chance of being damaged, and they can be washed or simply ironed flat if creased. Soft signs can also be installed easily by anyone without the need for specialist sign fitters as they are not heavy and can usually be clipped into frames with no other finishing required. A further advantage is that dye sub prints tend to have very bright vivid colours, and they can be particularly effective when used with an LED backlight.

The potential business opportunity is enormous. Textiles can cover a range of display applications, including flags, exhibition graphics and backlit displays. But it goes way beyond these to include home furnishings, clothing etc.

Soft signage is fairly commonplace in Europe, yet most vendors bemoan the lack of enthusiasm for textiles in this country.

Mike Wozny, EFI Vutek’s product manager for textiles, says that around half of all the textile printers that EFI has installed worldwide have been in Western Europe, with the exception of the UK. He says of the British market: “Their focus has been about the recyclability of various banner materials and PVC and not so much about alternative media like textiles.”

Melanie Enser, marketing manager for Colourgen, says there's more noise about textiles now than previously, noting: “We are getting more enquiries and people do look more at it.”

She blames the economic climate for the slow take up of dedicated textile print kit, pointing out that as well as a printer for dye sub work you also have the extra cost of a calendar unit. And, of course, you can print some soft signage such as banners and flags with a UV or latex printer, which can also be used for other applications.

But the advantage of using a dedicated dye sub printers is that the ink will penetrate into the media, rather than sitting on the surface. This in turn allows the image, which is printed on one side to show through to the other, which is vital in some areas such as flags.

However, Duncan Jefferies, marketing manager for Mimaki distributor Hybrid Services, says that digital textile printing is finally taking off having been slowly building for a few years now. “There’s genuine growth and continuing investment in the UK and Ireland,” he says, reckoning that one of the main factors is that brand owners want prints made with aqueous inks on recyclable media.

Textile printing methods

Dye sublimation printing relies on heat to convert the inks into a gas so that they penetrate deep into the fibres of the fabric. The traditional method of textile printing has been to print to transfer papers and then use a heat press to drive the inks into the fabric. But there are also machines for printing direct-to-textile, which are mainly used for coated polyesters. Plus there are printers for going direct to cotton or silk, used for applications such as furnishing fabrics, scarves or trim for underwear - though these materials will require a different inkset. Some of these printers also include a fixation unit, though with most you will still need a calendar press to fix the inks into the fabrics and bring out the vibrancy of the colours.

Material choices

There is an enormous range of consumables covering just about every conceivable signage application from banners to backlit displays, as well as garments and furnishing fabrics. Dye sublimation will only work with polyester but there are many different blends that include other fabrics, such as lycra or cotton. Most printers will require a minimum of 80% polyester, but some will accept as little as 50% polyester.

Textile printer update

Mimaki has covered most bases with its textile range. These start with the 1m wide TPC-1000, which has a built-in cutter and is designed to print to transfer paper. Then there’s the TS3-1600, which runs from 7.4m2/hr to 17.5m2/hr, also for printing to transfer paper.

The TS34-1800A is a more heavy-duty design, with a 1.9m print width, and producing 32m2/hr at 540 x 720dpi with six inks. The TS5-1600AMF is a more robust version again, with a print width of 1.6m, producing 40.1m2/hr at 540 x 1080dpi.

There’s also a dye sublimation version of the JV5, a 3.2m wide printer designed for printing direct-to-textiles or to transfer paper for banners and soft signage. It runs at up to 60.3m2/hr and has a maximum resolution of 1440dpi. There’s a choice between a four or six colour inkset.

The Tx400 series is designed for production printing direct-to-textiles. There’s the Tx400-1800D, with maximum resolution up to 600 x 600dpi. It will print direct to a wide range of non-stretchable materials, depending on the ink that is loaded, with a choice between reactive dye, for printing to materials such as silk, and sublimation ink for polyester media. There’s also a version with an adhesive belt carrier system for printing to stretchable fabrics, the Tx400-1800B.

Mutoh also sells a couple of direct-to-textile printers. The base model is the ValueJet 1628TD, which takes media up to 1625mm. There are eight ink channels allowing for two sets of CMYK, or for multiple ink types to be loaded, or for a mix of process and spot colours. It can take direct disperse inks to print direct to textiles or high speed disperse dye inks for printing to transfer papers. There’s also a bigger version, the ValueJet 2628TD, which takes media up to 2642mm.

Mutoh also has a range of ValueJet sublimation printers designed mainly for printing to transfer paper. These include the 1.3m wide 1304W, which can produce 5.3m2/hr at 720dpi resolution. Then there’s the 1604W, essentially a wider 1.6m version capable of 7.9m2/hr, and the somewhat larger and more robust 1638W, which produces 42 to 65m2/hr at 360dpi.

Digitex, based in Hong Kong, makes the Gunsjet R4 series, which includes a textile version, the R4-WR. It’s available in three sizes, with print widths of 1.9m, 2.6m and 3.3m. They use Ricoh gen4 printheads, giving resolution ranging from 600 to 1200dpi. You can also add extra heads for faster performance. It’s distributed in the UK by Sabur, which specialises in textile printing and has forged partnerships with other companies, including the Italian company Manoukian, which provides the sublimation inks.

Digital Print Innovations is selling the Mtex fabric printer, which comes with an integrated fixation unit based on infrared heaters. It is available in 3.2m and 1.6m wide versions and uses Epson heads giving a maximum resolution of 1440 dpi.

Atech sells the ATP Color range of direct-to-fabric printers, which are based on existing printers - such as the DFP740R, based on Roland plotters. They include a built in sublimation unit and there’s an optional inline cutter. They will print to coated and uncoated media, as well as mesh materials. There’s a choice of different models going up to the 3.3m wide DFP 1320.

Durst sells the Rhotex 320, which is built like a tank and designed for 24-hour operation. Resolution is up to 600dpi and there’s an option for up to eight colours. Print speed is between 60m2/hr and 72m2/hr depending on quality mode. It uses water-based inks and will print to coated or uncoated media with at least 50% polyester content.

EFI’s offering is the Vutek TX3250r, a 3.2m wide dye sub printer, that can print direct-to-textile and will take up to eight colours. The Vutek machine differs from most textile printers in that it uses solvent inks.

Wozny accepts that customers like the idea of aqueous inks but points out that the final prints are solvent free. He claims that the solvent inks allow the printer to deliver higher quality at speed, and certainly the Vutek has an impressive 167m2/hr, though most people will run it at a higher quality mode of around 105m2/hr. Wozny also says that customers rarely buy a Vutek as their first machine, but that it’s a natural upgrade path once they have established a market for themselves and need the higher productivity.

Given the available technology it’s very hard to see why textile printing is not more commonplace in the UK, given its popularity in the rest of Europe. The advantages seem fairly obvious, given that these soft signs can be posted to customers and are easy to install, as well as ticking the environmental box. And although they do mean extra investment, they bring in extra applications through the clothing and furnishings market.

Finishing

As well as the printer, you will also need to factor in the price of a calendar to fix the inks to the media.

There are a number of calendars around such as the Kala DS67, which is also sold as the Unifixer 65 by Mutoh and should cost around £18,000. This is designed to be an affordable heat press for use with dye sub and textile printers. It has a working width of 1.7m and can get up to a temperature of 220C.It works with prints made with either dye disperse or oil based inks and is suitable for most applications from flags to soft furnishings.

Allan Ashman, managing director of Atech, says that finishing can put some users off the idea of fabric printing because they think it requires a specialist. But Atech sells the Matic sewing machines, which are designed to be very simple to use, and Ashman says: “It will automatically fold the fabric and create the pockets needed for poles and so on.”

Another option to consider would be an impulse welder for pockets and hems, which will seal the edges. Ashman also recommends a good eyeletting machine with plastic eyelet “because it’s pointless putting in a metal eyelet when the textile banners are recyclable”.

Just about all of the finishing equipment is capable of keeping up with multiple printers, and indeed many vendors report that customers do often buy several printers once they’ve established a market.