What is the transfer printing process:
Table of Contents
Introduction:
When acetate rayon was discovered as an alternative to cotton fiber at the end of World War I, these fibers could not be dyed with conventional dyes. The result was the discovery of acetate dice. The onset of transfer printing is due to the high temperature of these dyes. That’s when the British Celanese company printed and marketed the fabric in this way. For the next 30 years, no further effect of this method was observed. However, after the discovery of polyester fiber in 1956, seeing the volatile potential in the dispersed colors used for the fiber, France introduced the practice of transfer method printing. https://bdfabric.com/block-printing-process-in-textile/
Transfer printing is a type of printing that can be used to transfer the colored design of the printing paper by any means. In addition, the design can be transferred to synthetic film analog products without distortion of the image.
Principles:
Transfer printing technology is a two-step process. In the first step, the specific design is printed on transfer paper by a paste of Sablimable dyestuff. This transfer paper is printed by Flexographic, Lithographic or Rotorical screen. In the second step, the transfer paper is kept in contact with the printable fabric so that the design of the color paste is transferred from the design transfer paper to the specified fabric under the condition of time and temperature control. In this method, the short cloth is printed on a flatbed machine and a continuous machine for long cloth.
However, the following conditions have to be fulfilled to perform this procedure.
1. The smaller the weight difference between the tiny dye particles exposed to high heat, the better. Dyes must have a real addiction to synthetic fibers and no addiction to printing paper.
2. The fibers of the synthetic fabric to be printed must possess proper physical, chemical properties, and heat resistance.
3. Printing paper should be useful in the design of the high-quality textile industry.
4. The effective method of transferring the design from the printed paper to the cloth is when the paper adjacent to the cloth is heated and the dye atoms and the cloth become attached. As the heat increases, the dye molecules begin to boil and accumulate in the fabric fibers. This process continues until the particles of the complete dye have been placed on the cloth using paper.
Characteristics of transfer printing:
1. Transfer printing method is only suitable for synthetic fiber printing.
2. It takes only 15 to 60 seconds to transfer the design from transfer paper to fabric.
3. The temperature of this printing is usually 180°C to 220°C and in some cases 160°C.
4. This is a two-step printing process.
5. When this printing was invented in 1920, it has not been commercially introduced in Bangladesh till now.
6. This printing method is one and a half times more expensive than screen printing.
7. There are three methods of transfer printing namely: dry, melt, and wet.
8. The use of suitable dyestuff in this printing results in excellent colorfastness.
Characteristics of dyes of transfer printing:
According to dye manufacturers and marketing proprietors, the features of transfer printing dyes are as follows:
1. In this printing all the dyestuff is almost dispersed class and slightly solvent.
2. These dyes are suitable for synthetic fiber printing.
3. These dyes are volatile
4. The atomic weight of this dye is between 230 and 370.
5. They do not decompose at high temperatures (before 2300C).
6. This dye cannot be dyed Turkish blue.
