Digital printing technology has revolutionized the textile industry by offering versatile and high-quality printing options. With digital printing, various digital printing fabric types can be printed with intricate designs, vibrant colors, and complex patterns. Some common digital printing fabric types used in digital printing include:

1. Cotton: Cotton is a popular digital printing fabric for digital printing due to its natural fibers and excellent absorption properties. It allows for vibrant colors and sharp details in printed designs.
2. Silk: Silk is a luxurious and delicate fabric that is well-suited for digital printing. It offers a smooth surface and vibrant color reproduction, making it ideal for high-end fashion and luxury applications.
3. Polyester: Polyester digital printing fabrics are widely used for digital printing due to their durability, wrinkle resistance, and colorfastness. They can be blended with other fibers or used in their pure form to achieve vibrant and long-lasting prints.
4. Rayon: Rayon, a semi-synthetic digital printing fabric made from cellulose, is often used for digital printing. It offers a soft and flowing drape, making it suitable for garments such as dresses, blouses, and scarves.
5. Linen: Linen is a natural digital printing fabric known for its strength and breathability. Digital printing on linen can produce unique and artistic results, particularly for home decor items like curtains, tablecloths, and cushion covers.
6. Nylon: Nylon is a synthetic digital printing fabric commonly used for activewear, swimwear, and outerwear. Digital printing on nylon allows for intricate designs and vibrant colors, enhancing the visual appeal of sportswear and other performance garments.
7. Velvet: Velvet is a luxurious digital printing fabric with a soft and plush texture. Digital printing on velvet can create rich and intricate designs, adding a touch of elegance to upholstery, drapery, and fashion applications.
8. Denim: Denim, a sturdy cotton twill fabric, is also compatible with digital printing. It offers a unique and trendy canvas for printing designs, allowing for customization and personalization of denim garments.
9. Knits: Various knit digital printing fabrics, such as jersey, interlock, and rib knits, can be digitally printed. Knits are comfortable, stretchable, and versatile, making them suitable for activewear, loungewear, and casual clothing.
10. Synthetic Blends: Many digital printing fabrics are available as blends of different fibers, such as cotton-polyester, silk-polyester, or rayon-spandex. These blends combine the properties of multiple fibers, allowing for a range of printing options with enhanced durability, elasticity, or other desirable characteristics.

Digital printing fabric has evolved over time and is the result of advancements in technology and printing processes. Here’s a brief overview of how digital printing fabric came into reality:

1. Emergence of Digital Printing Technology: The development of digital printing technology in the late 20th century played a significant role in making digital printing fabric possible. Initially, digital printing was used for paper-based printing, but its potential for fabric printing soon became apparent.
2. Inkjet Printing: Inkjet printing technology, which forms the basis of digital fabric printing, has a history that dates back to the 1950s. However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that inkjet printers capable of printing fabric were introduced. These printers utilized specially formulated textile inks and advanced print heads to apply the ink directly onto the fabric.
3. Evolution of Printing Inks: The development of textile-specific inks was crucial for digital printing fabric. These inks are designed to penetrate and bond with fabric fibers, ensuring vibrant colors, durability, and washability. Over time, the formulation of textile inks has improved, resulting in better color gamut, improved lightfastness, and eco-friendly options.
4. Advancements in Printer Technology: As digital printing technology progressed, printers specifically designed for fabric printing were developed. These printers incorporated features like wider print widths, advanced print heads, improved ink delivery systems, and sophisticated color management capabilities. These advancements allowed for high-quality and high-speed fabric printing.
5. Software and Color Management: The development of specialized software and color management systems played a vital role in the success of digital fabric printing. These tools enable designers to translate their digital designs accurately onto fabric and ensure color accuracy, consistency, and repeatability across different print runs.
6. Accessibility and Affordability: Initially, digital fabric printing was limited to large-scale production facilities due to the high costs of equipment and inks. However, as technology advanced and became more accessible, smaller-scale digital fabric printers became available, making it feasible for individual designers, small businesses, and even hobbyists to engage in digital fabric printing.

Today, digital printing fabric has gained widespread popularity due to its versatility, customization options, faster turnaround times, reduced waste, and the ability to print complex and intricate designs. It has revolutionized the textile and fashion industries, allowing for more creativity and flexibility in fabric printing processes.

Digital printing on knit fabric is a popular method of creating customized designs on textile surfaces. It offers numerous advantages in terms of design flexibility, color accuracy, and production efficiency. Here’s some information about digital printing on knit fabric:

1. Digital Printing Process: Digital printing involves directly transferring digital designs onto fabric using specialized inkjet printers. The process typically includes the following steps:
   • Design Creation: Designs are created digitally using graphic design software or specialized textile design software.
   • Color Separation: The design is separated into individual color channels, which are then printed layer by layer.
   • Printing: The fabric is fed into a digital printer, and the design is printed onto the fabric using inkjet technology.
   • Fixation: After printing, the fabric goes through a heat-setting or steaming process to fix the ink onto the fabric fibers.
   • Washing and Finishing: The printed fabric is washed to remove excess ink and undergoes any necessary finishing processes such as softening or drying.
2. Advantages of Digital Printing on Knit Fabric:
   • Design Flexibility: Digital printing allows for intricate and detailed designs, including gradients, fine lines, and photographic images.
   • Color Accuracy: Digital printing fabric offers excellent color accuracy and the ability to reproduce a wide range of colors, including vibrant and subtle hues.
   • Quick Turnaround: Digital printing fabric is a fast process compared to traditional printing methods, enabling shorter production times and faster delivery.
   • Print-on-Demand: Digital printing fabric allows for on-demand production, meaning fabrics can be printed in small quantities or even as single pieces, reducing waste and inventory costs.
   • Customization: Digital printing facilitates customization, as each piece of fabric can have a unique design without incurring additional setup costs.
   • Environmentally Friendly: Digital printing produces less waste, consumes fewer resources (such as water and energy), and uses eco-friendly, water-based inks, making it a more sustainable printing option.
3. Considerations for Knit Fabric:
   • Fabric Selection: Different knit fabrics have varying properties, such as stretch, weight, and fiber composition. It’s important to select a fabric suitable for digital printing fabric and consider how the print will interact with the fabric’s characteristics.
   • Fabric Preparation: Pre-treating or pre-coating the fabric may be necessary to optimize the printing process and enhance color vibrancy and durability.
   • Design Placement: Due to the stretchiness of knit fabrics, special attention should be given to design placement to ensure it aligns correctly when the fabric is stretched or sewn into garments.
4. Application of Digital Printing on Knit Fabric:
   • Fashion and Apparel: Digital printing fabric allows for unique and personalized garments, activewear, swimwear, and accessories with vibrant and detailed prints.
   • Home Textiles: Customized digital prints can be applied to knit fabrics for pillows, bedding, curtains, and upholstery.
   • Sportswear: Knit fabrics used in sportswear, such as performance leggings, jerseys, or athleisure apparel, can benefit from digital printing fabric for branding and custom designs.

When considering digital printing fabric on knit fabric, it’s advisable to work with experienced textile printers or manufacturers who specialize in digital fabric printing. They can guide you through the process, offer fabric recommendations, and ensure high-quality results that meet your specific requirements.

Digital printing technology has revolutionized the textile industry, allowing for more efficient and cost-effective production of fabrics with intricate designs and patterns. Digital printing technology involves using a computer to create a digital image, which is then printed directly onto the fabric using a specialized printer. This process eliminates the need for expensive and time-consuming traditional printing methods such as screen printing, which require separate screens for each color and design.

Digital printing fabric has become increasingly popular in the fashion industry, allowing designers to create unique and innovative designs that would be difficult or impossible to produce using traditional printing methods. With digital printing, it is possible to print designs in multiple colors, create gradients and shading, and print photographic images directly onto the fabric.

One of the main advantages of digital printing fabric is that it allows for quick and easy customization of fabrics, making it ideal for small production runs or even one-of-a-kind pieces. This flexibility also allows for more sustainable and environmentally-friendly production, as it reduces waste and eliminates the need for excess inventory.

In terms of fabric selection, digital printing can be done on a wide range of materials, including natural fibers such as cotton and silk, as well as synthetic materials like polyester and nylon. However, it is important to choose the right type of fabric for the intended use, as some fabrics may not be suitable for certain printing techniques or may require special preparation.

Digital printing fabric is a versatile and exciting technology that is transforming the fashion industry by allowing designers to create unique and innovative designs with greater efficiency and sustainability.

1. The easiest way around those minimums at a conventional print plant. Conventional methods understandably require large minimums due to longer setup times. Digital printing fabric allows us to print the small runs much more efficiently to allow for print on demand or short run programs.
2. Proper dye/digital printing fabric combination with finishing provides excellent Light/Color Fastness.
3. Reduce Risk! Allows for smaller investment to get one’s product to market without the cost of speculation.
4. Quick turnaround of strike-offs.
5. There is no restriction on the number of colors or size of repeat.
6. Photo Realistic images are easily achievable.
7. Ideal for short runs, engineered prints, customized designs, print on demand, and one of a kind prints!
8. Digital textile printing can achieve many prints that are not possible with the conventional method. The inkjet printhead can print at a high resolution to achieve photo quality digital printing fabric prints, if desired.

WHAT IS DIGITAL PRINTING?

First, let’s look at conventional printing. Conventional screen printing requires the engraving of one screen per color in a design. So a design with 18 colors would require 18 screens. Additionally, 18 separate colors also need to be mixed and matched. With digital printing, there are no screens or colors to mix. Any image you can see on a computer can be reproduced on digital printing fabric in the same way as your desktop printer prints images on paper.

WHAT FABRICS CAN BE PRINTED?

Unlike other digital printing operations, our digital printing solution is not limited in regards to any digital printing fabric content. We can print on cotton, polyester/cotton, rayon, silk, linen, nylon, wool, etc., as well as blends with a maximum width of 66”. There are however various reasons why any specific digital printing fabric may not perform well on our printer. Examples of things that can make a digital printing fabric unprintable include: water repellent finishes, softeners, hairy fabrics, extreme textures, sheer fabrics, warped selvages, long haired selvages, etc.

The most frequently used digital printing fabric methods nowadays are screen printing, inkjet printing, and dye sublimation.

Screen printing is an analog digital printing fabric method that has been around for a long time. As we explained before, it is the process of smearing a layer of ink over a screen to transfer it onto a piece of fabric.

This screen is also called a stencil, and a different stencil needs to be made for each design.

In the past, a large number of prints needed to be made for the process to be cost-effective. However, technology has given way to more cost-effective, versatile screen printing processes.

Now, there are two types of screen printing: rotary and flatbed.

Flatbed screen printing is a semi-continuous process, which in other words, means that it is an automated version of the manually operated screen printing process of the 18th century.

On the other hand, rotary screen printing uses cylindrical screens that rotate in a fixed position with the squeegee placed within the cylindrical stencil.

The fabric moves at a constant speed between the screen (or screens) and an impression roller that is located below the screen.

Rotary screen printing is continuous, unlike when silk or screen printing were first developed. This allows for higher production speeds, and thus, reduced costs.

The most frequently used digital printing fabric methods nowadays are screen printing, inkjet printing, and dye sublimation.

Screen printing is an analog digital printing fabric method that has been around for a long time. As we explained before, it is the process of smearing a layer of ink over a screen to transfer it onto a piece of fabric.

This screen is also called a stencil, and a different stencil needs to be made for each design.

In the past, a large number of prints needed to be made for the process to be cost-effective. However, technology has given way to more cost-effective, versatile screen printing processes.

Now, there are two types of screen printing: rotary and flatbed.

Flatbed screen printing is a semi-continuous process, which in other words, means that it is an automated version of the manually operated screen digital printing fabric process of the 18th century.

On the other hand, rotary screen digital printing fabric uses cylindrical screens that rotate in a fixed position with the squeegee placed within the cylindrical stencil.

The fabric moves at a constant speed between the screen (or screens) and an impression roller that is located below the screen.

Rotary screen digital printing fabric is continuous, unlike when silk or screen digital printing fabric were first developed. This allows for higher production speeds, and thus, reduced costs.

The Technology Behind It

Digital printing fabric is a very exciting development in the fabric industry. This type of printing opens opportunities for customization, small-run printing, and experimentation.

It utilizes inkjet printing technology which is used for paper printing applications. Over time with technological developments, wide-format printers became available to handle anything from paper to vinyl, and of course, fabric!

During the printing process, the fabric goes through the printer using rollers. As it goes through the printer, the ink goes on in layers with many passes of the printer. When the design is complete, you heat and/or steam to cure it. When that’s all said and done, you have your printed fabric!

Design & Customization

The best part? The designs! Customize to your liking or create a digital printing fabric with many graphic design programs. Scanned photographs or existing artwork work as well. Digital printing fabric allows you to find or create the perfect print for your garments!

Both digital printing and screen printing processes involve taking your design and transferring it onto fabric. Digital printing and screen printing each use very different processes to achieve this, but there are two main mediums that are used to print with that are common to both.

The introduction of digital printing fabric has brought great advancement in the process of printing onto fabric. As it’s a new process it’s also continually evolving. The basic process involves sending a digital file of your artwork from a computer to a specialised printer. This means you can create your artwork in Photoshop or Illustrator and prepare your file according to the digital printing companies specifications, send your file to them and have it directly printed onto the fabric. Each company will have their own requirements in regards to file format etc.

The two main types of printing used are dye sublimation and digital pigment printing. Each digital printing company will have their preferred method so it’s best to do some research and see which you prefer. Dye sublimation involves printing with dyes and digital pigment printing uses pigments. Your choice will depend on factors such as the fabric you want to print on and the end use of the fabric.

The great news is that digital printing fabric is becoming a much more affordable option so if you are starting out you can easily get some samples made without having to spend a fortune.