THE WORLD OF DIGITAL TEXTILE PRINTING
Posted by Judy Taylor on
Digital Textile Printing is a process of printing on textiles and garments using inkjet technology to print colorants onto fabric. This process allows for single pieces, mid to small-run cycle production and even long-runs as an alternative option to screen printed fabric. 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 fabric in the same way as your desktop printer prints images on paper. Take for example this SUN UP TO SUN DOWN Collection from Hoffman. The blue bonnets in this panel are amazingly lifelike.
This SUN UP TO SUN DOWN WHEAT panel reminds me of the fields of golden wheat back home.
This SUN UP TO SUN DOWN RED BARN panel is so lifelike, you can almost hear the lowing of the cows.
Not only can any picture be digitally printed on a small run panel, it can also be printed on running yardage as seen in this SUN UP TO SUN DOWN RUSTY WHEELS fabric.
Digital fabric printing started out with just a few manufacturers and only 2% of fabrics produced. Today, the digital printing process has increased significantly. But not all manufacturers have the ability to print the beautiful digital designs that will stand the test of time. So choose your manufacturer carefully and plunge into the world of Digital Textile Printing.