Textile printing Inks: what types are there and improve the quality of your designs

Textile printing is a continually changing discipline that incorporates new techniques and technology as they become available. The search for improved textiles and dyes does not stop here. For getting the highest-quality results, various design components must be considered. The Ink used for printing is one such crucial component that may enhance or break the design's attractiveness.

There are many different types of Inks available in the market, but here is the list of Inks that are frequently used for textile printing. This article will brief you about different types of Inks and how they work.

Reactive Ink

In the textile business, reactive Ink is the most often utilized Ink. Because it is mainly designed for the piezo-electric print heads used in digital fabric printing, this Ink is ideal for digitally printing textiles. This Ink has excellent chemical stability and, as a result, a long shelf life. It possesses specific unique characteristics that make the finished product highly appealing-this Ink provides vibrancy and good fixation.

Reactive Ink is known to have high fastness, which essentially means the color of the Ink remains intact even after multiple washes. This property is due to the covalent bond formed between the Ink molecules and fiber. The Ink forms a strong bond with the fiber and produces the highest stain. Sometimes the Ink can be spotted on the other side of the fabric if the fabric used is thin.

This Ink requires pretreatment, heat fixation followed by washing.

Disperse Ink

Disperse Inks work great for polyester fabrics. Disperse Ink is sprayed onto the fabric after pretreatment so that the fabric accepts the Ink. Steaming is required for the fixation of the Ink. These Inks are mainly designed for high-speed printing, with excellent washing and light-fastness characteristics. An improved formulation for fabric processing was created to achieve the excellent color yield and sharpness of prints. The Ink build-up on polyester fibers is enhanced, which is necessary for achieving deep and solid colors.

Since this type of Ink works best for poly-ester fabrics, a large variety of swimsuit garments with attractive designs and colors are printed with the same Ink.

Water-based Inks

Water-based Inks, as the name suggests, use water as the main component in the solvent. It contains two main components, water, and pigment. These Inks do not contain plastic or PVC, and hence, they are an environmentally friendly option for textile printing. This Ink does not sit on the top of the fabric but seeps into the fibers. This way, a uniform look is achieved while printing with water-based Ink.

Acid Inks

Acid Inks are well-known for printing on materials that do not maintain color well. This Ink provides exceptional color brightness as well as excellent tolerance. Because of their exceptional color brightness, light fastness, and wash fastness, acid Inks are a favorite for high-quality Inkjet printing and are utilized in fashion for the printing of delicate silks, soft cashmere, and colorful sports and swimwear. Acid Ink printed fabrics are used widely for swimwear because of their high tolerance against chlorine and saltwater.

Sublimation Inks

Sublimation Inks are novel Inks that turn solid to a gaseous state on the application of heat and pressure. These Inks bind to the fiber when in a gaseous state and print the fabric with such staining properties. Earlier, these Inks were used along with the transfer paper to carry out the digital printing process. However, now textile printers have innovated the new technique of directly printing the fabric without the need for transfer paper. This is a rather more environmentally friendly technique of textile printing.

Pigment Inks

Pigment Inks to adhere to the cloth. A polymer-based substance is used in pigment Ink, which acts as a binder. During the fixation process, this polymer is heated to the point where it plasticizes and forms a connection between the fabric fibers and the pigment particles in Ink. The binder is extremely important in the performance of pigment Inks. It determines the Ink stability, nozzle jetting performance, and clogging of the print-head to ensure fastness of the Inks on fabric.