Impressions - October/November 2012 - (Page 34)

Early white ink systems for DTG machines developed a reputation for clogging and drying out in the print heads, which led to expensive repairs. New advances in technology have greatly improved the process and for the most part, if you fully understand how your system works and follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer, you shouldn’t experience signiﬁcant problems. (up to about 13” x 19” ﬁelds) and professional printers are used for larger formats. It should be noted that no modiﬁcations are made to printers used for sublimation, and they are used right out of the box. Inkjet print systems create image color by mixing base colors that are formulated incorporating recipes created by the graphics software. Unlike screen printing and embroidery, which use pre-colored decoration materials (ink and thread), digital printing allows you to create thousands of custom color combinations without being limited by print stations or needles. Sublimation printers come in four-, sixand eight-color models, which refers to the number of base colors available for mixing, not the number of colors that can be output. More base colors enable the creation of more precise color detail, such as realistic facial skin tones when dealing with photographs. DTG printers are four-color units, and those capabilities are ﬁne for most graphical applications — especially apparel. Another key point with digital printing is that the inks and dyes will only bond with the surfaces for which they were created. DTG is primarily a cotton application, while sublimation is limited to polyester. Both will work on blended fabrics, but the colors may appear faded, muted or washed out. 34 Impressions | October/November 2012 With all digital printing, there is a challenge to deliver consistent color results on the ﬁnal product. Both DTG and sublimation processes rely on digital artwork created with standard software programs such as CorelDRAW, or Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. But it takes a further level of enhancement to properly deliver accurate color output at the print head. DTG relies on raster image processor (RIP) programs that may not be included in the initial equipment purchase. Sublimation systems rely on custom printer drivers, color palettes and proﬁles that usually are provided by the manufacturer. WHAT ABOUT WHITE INK? This brings us to another important point: the effect of garment color on image color. Without a doubt, the best garment color for any printing of any kind is white. As soon as you move into anything else, the image color may be degraded. Thus, there are challenges to printing on colored garments, especially dark ones. In DTG printing, one solution is to use a chemically engineered ink called, quite simply, “white ink.” White ink has two purposes in garment printing. It can be used as a base coat for images on colored garments and it can be used in the re-creation of the color white on colored garments. Digital colors are created by combining different percentages of base colors (mixing). Unfortunately, the color white cannot be produced through any combination of colors; thus, white ink has to be engineered as a separate, stand-alone ink. Because there is not a recipe for the color white, graphics programs typically leave any white areas in a design “open” under the assumption that they will be applied to a white surface. In that situation, the background color ﬁlls in the open area and creates the needed white. But if the same image was applied to a blue shirt, the supposed white areas would now be blue, which may not be ideal. With a white ink system, a command is sent to the printer telling it to apply the white ink (from an independent cartridge) when required, thus making it possible to print the color white. The second aspect of white ink is the creation of base coats. With digital printing, you are applying a thin coating of ink or dye — meaning the colors of the ink will be intertwined with the colors of the ﬁbers, which may affect the image color. To counter this effect, you can apply a base layer of white ink, which blocks out the background color, such that the image is actually being applied to a white background instead of directly against the color impressionsmag.com http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - October/November 2012

Impressions - October/November 2012
Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
Product Gallery
ISS Conference
Embracing Digital Technologies
DTG vs. Dye Sublimation
Digital Products Preview
High-Performance Fashion Yields a Technical Edge
How To Sell More With Every Order
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Production
Screen Printing Production
Online Directory
Screen Printing Technique
Digital Decorating
Business to Business
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - October/November 2012