Dyed & Printed Polyester Fabrics (GSM 135 ±10%)
The right combination of fabric and dye is the first step on the road to a beautiful and durable print. We specialise in printing on polyester and polyester blends, and always recommend the transfer technique for these fabrics.
Heat transfer printing is a two-step printing technique which involves a dye sublimation process. We work with disperse dye inks — the only colorant with the ability to sublime.
The sublimation process
The ink printed on the transfer paper turns from a solid into a gas without becoming liquid at any point. The process takes place in the calender at high temperatures.
At the carefully set temperature, the molecules of the polyester fibres open — the fibres soften and let the ink, now turned into gas, pass through. When the polyester fibres are removed from heat after sublimation, the molecules settle again and absorb the ink completely. This fusion between fabric fibres and ink makes the technique incredibly reliable: the colour is absorbed into the fabric instead of sitting on its surface, as with other textile printing techniques.
Colour fastness is intact and there is no need for further finishing or washing after sublimation. Some specially treated textiles — such as Trevira CS — will become stiff in the calender and do need washing to restore their original feel.
What are disperse dyes?
- Insoluble in water after print, or have very low solubility in water
- Used for dyeing synthetic fibres, especially polyester
- Good light fastness, with an assessment of 4–7
- Good washing fastness, with an assessment of 4/5–5
- Undergo no chemical modification during printing
Ghosting — shades on the fabric after printing
Ghosting describes a blurred pattern or unwanted shades on the fabric after printing. The most common cause is transfer paper quality — thin paper, as used in conventional textile printing, risks letting ink penetrate and cause trouble. The transfer paper in our digital printers is thicker and denser, so ghosting is not an issue we encounter.
Hasty rolling may also cause ghosting, which is why it's important to leave time for the fabric to cool adequately before rolling. Our equipment and procedures allow for proper space and time for cool-down and quality control after the sublimation process in the calender. We have not had any incidents of ghosting in our digital print production.
Bleeding — colours "bleeding" on the fabric
Bleeding does not occur when printing on pure polyester. In principle, it may occur in all types of polyester blends, but we most often encounter the challenge in polyester blends with elastane (lycra).
We can easily print on polyester fabric blended with elastane by taking certain measures to ensure a satisfactory result. Most often, the elastane lies on one side of the fabric, and we make sure to print on the other side. The elasticity of elastane comes from softeners — during the print process, the grease of the softener may cause colours to "bleed." Normally, a thin protective polyester thread is spun around the fine lycra thread, but it can be difficult to wash out the added grease between the threads, so bleeding may occur. We always test new fabric to learn how the ink reacts before running production.
Sourcing textile fabric?
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