Transfer Printing Machine and Their Process in Textile

Rushikesh Digambar Patil
Department of Textiles (Textile Chemistry)
DKTE’S Textile and Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji, India
Intern at Textile Learner
Email: [email protected]

Introduction:
Textile printing is that the most versatile and widely used method of adding color and style into textile fibers.

Printing has long been accustomed enhance the aesthetic quality of textile fabrics. To satisfy the need for top rates of production and complexity in such printing, textile printing technology has advanced rapidly over the previous few decades, notably in terms of the machinery used for printing, print manufacture, and post-treatment of printed materials. This text discusses some textile printing technologies furthermore as recent breakthroughs within the field.

The practice of putting a design onto cloth at high temperatures and pressures in a very short amount of your time without generating image distortion is understood as transfer printing.

Transfer Printing Machine in Textile:
There are three types of transfer printing machinery

1. Flat bed printing press
2. Continuous high production machines using pre-batched fabric
3. Vacuum transfer printing machine

Explanation –

A. Flat bed printing press:

1. We are able to have something sort of a flatbed transfer press, which may be used for clothing and other items, and since you cannot have this kind of arrangement where the pressure is applied sporadically.

Obviously, there should be a relentless flow. So, peace goods exist because transfer printing, which is additionally used for clothing and peace products, may be simple or, in some cases, people can simply use their own iron to put the look wherever they require then get. So, this is often an easy way of gazing it, but after all, if you have got a machine and a few automation, you may have better temperature control, which is clearly essential now that you just know what might happen if there’s a temperature difference than it will be very different and uniform pressure applied on the entire surface, that’s a very important part, if that life may be easy, simple process of a flatbed type.

2. In the easy machine, a top metal plate, commonly known to as a buck, is heated to 180 to 220°C and so lowered to push the paper into good contact with the garment, which is survived a padded, unheated plate

3. Print transfer takes 15 to 60 seconds. The importance of temperature and pressure uniformity can’t be overstated.

4. At the leading station, the underside plate A is heated, and therefore the paper with the confront is placed on the conveyor.

B. Continuous transfer printing machine:

1. If you have a look at a continual type, this print roller, which could be a large roller, it’s sort of a familiar quite a sight, a roller machine, also appears like this, but overall, this configuration is sort of almost like a palmer dryer, where there’s, material entering from one side and exiting from the opposite side and therefore the roller is quite big then, all the method gets completed, should get completed, if you would like to allow 30 seconds or more it should be possible to finish the method within this area. So, you’ve got a blanket, you have a paper and you’ve got the material, entering from one side, getting or to the opposite side, at a contact time of 20 seconds, a number of these items supported the kind of material and also the style of design, you will be ready to achieve, very high production rates, which you’ll never ever think about the other process, that you simply can think because you’re at the next temperature, transfer is in a very vapor form and it is a clean process. So, this advantage nobody can say, that does not exist just in case this itself is that the thing and if you have got the identical design, within the same paper and everything, is there you will just be ready to make money, on standard designs, like if you have got checks and dots and tiny small things, which are popular, then you’ll be able to keep doing this at a faster rate.

2. Continuous transfer printing machine are available in several form-

a) In the common available machine the paper and fabric pass face around a heated cylinder or calender whilst contact between the paper and heated surface is maintained by controlled light pressure from an endless blanket

b) In this machine production rate up to 1300 m/hour are possible depending upon the trail length of the material connected with heated cylinder. This is captivated with the cylinder diameter

c) A backing either full width or at both edges only is also run between the material and also the blanket to stop mark off on the opposite latter. Nomex fabric is usually used as blanket material [glass transition temperature, Tg=275°C and softening point above 350°C]

d) An essential element in printing by this method is a fair temperature over the heated cylinder surface to avoid changes in color across the material

C. Vacuum transfer printing machine:

1. Sometimes if the material is thick the GSM is high, then you will, require some vacuum. So, that the dye, is facilitated to maneuver within the direction of the material, sometimes not this machine but a flatbed machine could, be used also for carpet printing, where you will must use vacuum, to confirm that the dye vapor go, in the direction within which they expect it to travel. So, two things obviously these machines do is, reducing the air gap and in fact maintaining temperatures, air one important thing, is that you just keep some kind, of vacuum and you head to provide a vacuum seal, which suggests that this area, within the whole chamber, as it moves in and things move in and are available out, is comparatively more, stable point and there’s no gaps. So, this itself is it in some sense, could be a little more complex, technology because if something is entering and if you pressure, to place an excessive amount of pressure, then also you have got a controversy of either paper, tearing or the material getting compressed. But if you do not try this, then you cannot maintain vacuum. So, in there’ll be very few continuous processes, you’ll have seen, where the method is occurring under vacuum, mostly, it is all gas pressure, all continuous processes are gas pressure, but doing anything, under vacuum obviously requires, special scenes, from where the material can enter and are available out without, additional tearing pressure or torture to the material.

2. Both flat bed process and cylinder machine is made to control under conditions of partial or complete vacuum by employing a finely perforated cylinder which may be maintained at an inside pressure under gas pressure, air may be made to flow through the print paper and fabric and thus enhancing dye transfer rate and improving fabric penetration.

3. The fabric is held against the cylinder surface and the pressure difference ensures contact with the paper without the utilization of backing blanket.

4. In some machines like kannegiesser vacuum machine, heat is supplied externally through infra heaters placed around cylinder.

5. It avoids the compression of the material and glazing of the material. It gives better penetration just in case of thick fabric and low pile material.

6. The paper and fabric layer are held in-tuned with the heated calendar surface by means of perforated metal bond or mesh extending across the complete width of the material.

7. The triple layer is backed by shadow continuous pumped chamber which surrounds approx 280°C of the cylinder circumstances thus; dye transfer takes place essentially at lower pressure. The entrance and exit parts of the chamber are set operated to keep up reduced pressure.

8. Principle advantage of this system is that the dwell time which may be reduced by operating at 80 mm pressure This eliminates the requirement for an oversized diameter calendar while, allowing production rates of up to 1800 m per hour.

9. Another advantages of the utilization of vacuum system is that temperature required for transfer printing at gas pressure is also reduced by the maximum amount as 30°C without reducing production rate.

Advantages of Transfer Printing:

1. Faults at paper printing stage are less costly than for direct printing on fabric.
2. Quantity of photographic reproduction are often achieved by transfer printing.
3. Greater precision of the planning will be achieved in printing on paper instead of fabric.
4. In case of vapor transfer method, no washing or after treatment is required.
5. Print may be produced in small or large quantities as per design in any desired sequence without excess cost.

Conclusion:
Transfer printing is the advanced technique of printing where possibilities of faults are less as well as more accuracy can be achieved. Transfer printing machines will produce good prints like photographic effect can be achieved. Hence, this technology will be the best and advanced printing methods.

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Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. He is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.

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