The printing technology of Chinese clothing has gradually advanced to a higher level, from primitive manual operations in the style of family workshops to relying on automated equipment for production today. Clothing printing is a familiar and common thing for consumers, especially for summer shirts with printed patterns. Due to their affordable prices and diverse patterns, they are deeply loved by consumers. And hundreds or even thousands of patterns and designs are undoubtedly attributed to clothing printing machines.
So, what are the printing machines currently being used by clothing production enterprises? Due to the fact that clothing printing machines belong to the category of special machines and meet the requirements of clothing enterprises for small batches and multiple varieties of special machines, there may be dozens to hundreds of varieties and specifications of clothing printing machines, and the classification perspective may also vary. According to printing methods, there are drum printing machines and flat printing machines. According to the driving methods of printing, there can be several categories: pneumatic, hydraulic, and computer. Here is a brief introduction to common printing machines in clothing or printing enterprises, as well as their respective characteristics and differences.
1. Heat transfer printing machine
Also known as heat transfer printing. Heat transfer printing is an emerging printing process that first prints pigments onto paper to create transfer printing paper. Then, the color is transferred to the fabric through high temperature (heating and pressing on the back of the paper). It is generally used for synthetic fabrics, characterized by bright colors, delicate layers, realistic patterns, and strong artistic appeal. The transfer printing process is simple, with low investment and flexible production. It is currently popular in the market and has a certain level. Chemical fiber fabrics require the use of heat transfer printing.
Advantages: The printing process is simple, the position is accurate, and different colors transition naturally.
Disadvantages: Having too many colors can cause discoloration, and in addition, problems such as blue and red dots may occur during the printing process. Compared to traditional screen printing technology, the cost is higher when printing in large quantities.
2. Hot stamping machine
Hot stamping machine is one of the types of heat transfer printing machines that can heat various types of hot stamping onto fabrics such as cotton, linen, and synthetic fibers. It can also perform heat treatment processes such as screen printing, adhesive, and foaming, making it suitable for making cultural shirts, etc. It is economical and practical, with exquisite patterns. It is replacing traditional embroidery and screen printing, but the cost and effect are much lower and better than general embroidery and multi-color screen printing.
There are two types of hot stamping machines related to the clothing industry: flat hot stamping machines mainly used on clothing fabrics, and cap hot stamping machines with arcs used on hats. According to the operating power, it can be divided into manual, pneumatic, and hydraulic.
The three main concepts of a hot stamping machine are pressure, temperature, and time. Its working mechanism is to generate heat through a heating plate, and use a certain pressure, specific temperature, and time to attach the layer and thermosetting on the transfer paper to the substrate or penetrate it onto the substrate.
The core component of a hot stamping machine is the heating plate, so special attention should be paid when selecting a hot stamping machine. The upper and lower plates should be made of aluminum material, and the heating tube should be cast inside the aluminum plate. The above board is made of aluminum plate with grooves, and then attached with heating tubes, which will cause unnecessary energy loss and have disadvantages such as slow heating and large temperature difference when used. If the lower plate is made of iron or other materials and works in a high temperature and high pressure environment for a long time, it will easily deform and age. According to the different areas of the heating plate, there are weight standards for both the upper and lower plates. If they are too light or too thin, the heating plate will easily deform and affect its use. Generally speaking, the larger the weight, the more reliable the performance. After pressing down, the upper plate of the hot stamping machine should be absolutely parallel to the lower plate. To test whether the upper and lower boards are tightly interlocked, you can place a piece of hard paper or other pieces of resilient material at each corner, then press the handle down. After the upper and lower boards are interlocked, pull the hard paper outward to determine whether the upper and lower boards are flat and whether the machine is qualified.
Advantages: No need for plate making, one piece can start printing; The image is realistic and can approach the image effect.
Disadvantages: Slightly hard to the touch, light colors have excellent breathability, but dark colors are not breathable.
3. Screen printing machine
Screen printing is different from heat transfer printing. Screen printing requires ink, while hot stamping uses transfer paper and hot stamping paper. Screen printing technology is relatively complex, mainly involving several steps such as design, film production, plate printing, printing, and drying. Screen color printing, in simple terms, is the process of printing a T-shirt pattern in three colors: red, yellow, and blue. It requires printing three versions, one for each color. In China, spot color printing is commonly used. Screen printing can be mainly divided into: water slurry printing, gel printing, and ink printing. Screen printing can achieve different printing effects by adding special materials to meet the special needs of customers. The method of using screen printing is to place ink on the screen, scrape it with glue, and place the printed fabric underneath. The computer-generated screen printing can automatically complete the entire process of ink coating and printing.
Advantages: Suitable for large-scale production.
Disadvantages: The texture is not as soft as inkjet products; There should not be too many colors and color matching is required; Color gradients and other effects cannot be reflected; Silk screen products are usually not breathable.
4. Cold transfer printing machine
The first three types of printing machines must generate high temperatures during operation in order to perform printing, while the last one is relative. Cold transfer printing is currently one of the most advanced textile printing technologies in the world, which features room temperature color fixation, low energy consumption, and low pollution emissions. It is also another "revolution" in the textile and clothing printing and dyeing industry. Through recent years of development, cold transfer printing technology has made significant progress in terms of color depth, brightness, and color fastness. In an instant, it has been widely used in cotton, linen, recycled fibers, etc. The best results are highlighted in fabrics such as "modal" and "Tencel".
From this, it can be seen that the biggest difference between the cold transfer printing process with reactive dyes and the conventional printing process is "50% energy savings, colorless pulp and sewage, less water consumption, excellent dyeing fastness in all aspects, rich and bright colors, and fine patterns.". In addition, the cold transfer printing process is also simple and easy to learn. First, put the reactive dyes into the bucket, and then make the full-automatic spray device spray the reactive dyes onto the cotton cloth through the addition of pumps of the spray equipment. After the drying and humidity treatment, when the specified temperature is reached, put the cold transfer printing paper on the cotton cloth and use the cold transfer printing machine to perform cold pressing. Finally, take out the printed workpiece for cold stacking, and then clean and dry it.
So far, both active pulp and cotton materials have adopted infiltration and spraying processes. The most criticized aspects of ironing equipment and printing machines are their high power consumption. However, cold transfer printing machines, due to their lack of heating, can be said to be completely energy-saving products, and their research and development ideas are more inclined towards energy conservation and environmental protection. Except for natural fabrics such as cotton and linen, cold transfer printing can also be used on other fabrics.