p18 troubleshooter:Layout 1 18/05/2009 15:01 Page 18
INDUSTRY TROUBLESHOOTER
Ink jet printing
When it comes to T shirt printing, the printer, the shirt, the ink and the press are the main tools for the
job. But it can all go horribly wrong. Resident expert Tony Whitmore looks at some of the pitfalls and
how to overcome them to get a quality, durable print every time.
O
nly a few years ago the idea of printing just realise is that a lot of money, time and hard work will give you problems so if you have any doubts
one or two T shirts with a full colour print went into solving this problem. make sure that you ask and if it is a supplier or label
would have been something of a fantasy and So let’s look at some of the pitfalls that can create that you have not used before ask for a sample and
yet, today, that same fantasy has become a reality. problems even before you switch the printer on. One then print it and wash it at least four or five times.
The advent of the modified ink jet printer changed of the key areas for guaranteeing success is the T Curing is another pitfall that can easily catch you out
the whole concept of colour printing if you don’t pay attention. After a shirt
onto T shirts. Prior to the introduction of has been printed the ink will still be wet
this technology the cost of printing a so all you have to do is dry it, right?
single full colour print would have been Wrong, you must cure it. Inks such as
so high that it would have effectively those manufactured by DTG and
been economically impossible. Machines supplied by Your Embroidery Services Ltd
like the DTG Kiosk however reduced the have been developed to withstand the
cost per print to a point where this type same washing cycles that the shirt will
of printing is now a common high street go through and to achieve this they must
activity and one that is growing at a be cured at a certain temperature and
phenomenal rate. As with any for a given period of time.
technology though certain rules prevail Getting either of these wrong will result
that makes the process more or less in a print that doesn’t stay where it is
difficult and more or less successful. supposed to. To ensure that you achieve
We will be looking at some of these the desired temperature you will need a
rules to give you some guidance as to reliable press such as the DTG A3 (swing
how to make good prints each and head) Heat Press which has been
every time. At YES Ltd, our expertise lies with the shirt itself. You may expect all 100% cotton T shirts calibrated to give the correct heat evenly across the
DTG range of printers and so although our to be the same but unfortunately they are not, even plate. Models such as this have been made with this
comments can be directly attributed to them it is though there may be no cosmetic difference. When T printing process in mind and are not just being
also fair to say that the majority of points we will shirts are manufactured, some of the processes adapted to suit a purpose. If you use the right tools
discuss will be general to most of the printers on the involved can be carried out using differing methods for the job then you have a greater chance of
market today. and products and these can result in slight success.
Before we get down to the nitty gritty though let’s differences to the finish for example. While this may The printer, the T shirt, the ink and the press are the
just recap on what this style of printing is and how it not affect the durability or the feel it can, and does, main tools for the job and if you take care and make
has changed the printing scene. Basically a direct to affect the print. sure that they are all fit for purpose you will get a
product printer is a standard ink jet printer that has Some find this hard to understand but it is exactly quality, durable print each and every time. In this first
been adapted to use special inks and to take a the same with paper. If unsuitable stock is used for piece we have only covered the basic printing of a
variety of substrate on which to print. printing images then the resulting print will be design onto a white T shirt. When it comes to
To accommodate this, certain changes had to be adversely affected and will be plain to see but with T printing onto other colours then there are many
made to the printer not least of which was the shirts the problem may not be quite so obvious. The additional areas that you will need to pay attention
transport system. Ink jet printers print on paper so to print may look OK but may suffer from a durability to and in future issues we will be covering topics
get them to print directly onto a finished T shirt took issue and, of course you won’t find this out until such as the importance of maintenance, managing
some serious redevelopment but through hard work your customer comes back wearing a shirt with a the white ink, graphic manipulation, RGB versus
and ingenuity companies such as DTG succeeded faded print. CMYK, printing difficult garments such as hoodies,
allowing today’s garment decorators to achieve what This is not so much of a problem as it was in the printing software and much more.
was only a dream a few years ago. past simply because many of the T shirt suppliers are
Prior to this technology the only way to now aware that their product may be used for this For further information contact Your Embroidery
accommodate small orders of 100% cotton T shirts purpose and so have made sure that they are fit for Services Ltd on 01623 863343, email
with full colour prints was by using transfer printing. There are still some out there though that sales@yesltd.co.uk or visit www.yesltd.co.uk
technology which, in those days, did not have the
soft feel of screen-printing. In fairness this has
changed in the past few years and it is now much
better although still not the same as a direct print.
Apart from actually getting the shirt onto the printer
there was another serious problem involving the
inks. Logically if you put ink onto 100% cotton fabric
it will look something like a piece of blotting paper
just after you have emptied your pen onto it and
this, obviously would not do. A new ink had to be
developed that would not only solve this problem
but would also pass through the tiny jets on the
printers head. We know now of course that the
developers were successful but what we don’t
Good and bad: the right and the wrong way to do it.
| 18 | June 2009 www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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