Summary: Digital jet printing technology can save plate making and time, as well as water and dyes. The article discusses the technical characteristics and development direction of digital printing and its application in combination with mass customization.
Keywords: Textiles Digital Printing Jet Printing Mass Customization
1. Introduction
In recent years, my country’s textile printing and dyeing industry has developed rapidly, and printing output has also increased simultaneously. In 2001, the national printing and dyeing output was 17.83 billion meters, of which 4.367 billion meters were printed fabrics, accounting for 24.41% of the total printing and dyeing output, an increase of 22.82%. In 2002, the national printing and dyeing output was 21.087 billion meters, an increase of 18.34%, of which 4.986 billion meters were printed fabrics, an increase of 14. .18%, accounting for 23.57% of the printing and dyeing output; from January to December 2003, the printing and dyeing output reached 25.132 billion meters, a year-on-year increase of 20.43%. The printing output has not yet been announced. If calculated based on the proportion in 2002 (23%), my country’s printing and dyeing output in 2003 Production is estimated at 5.7 billion meters.
———————————————— ————————————————– ———-
| Printing and dyeing output (100 million meters) | Growth rate (%) | Printing output (100 million meters) | Growth rate (%) | Printing output accounts for 20% of printing and dyeing (%) |
——–|——————-|————–|—— ——————|—————-|—————— —–|
2001| 178.30 | 13.27 | 43.67 | 22.82 | 24.41 |
——–|——————-|————– |——————–|—————-|———- ————|
2002| 210.87 | 18.34 | 49.86 | 14.18 | 23.57 |
——–|——————-|————–|– ——————|—————-|—————– ———-|
2003| 251.32 | 20.43 | 57* | – | – |
———————————————— ————————————————– ——-
* is an estimate
At the same time, the clothing fashion cycle is getting shorter and shorter, patterns are changing faster and faster, production requirements are getting higher and higher, and order quantities are getting higher and higher. Small, pattern piracy is rampant. Although printing companies have introduced printing CAD systems, laser imagesetters, flat screens, rotary screen inkjet, wax spray screen machines and other digital means to improve the processing process in traditional printing methods, the concept that printing and dyeing factories are polluting factories seems to be It has left a deep impression. At the same time, internationally, my country’s exports of printing and dyeing products are increasingly hampered by “non-trade barriers” including the environment. As far as current technology is concerned, digital printing is a good way to solve many problems in the printing field.
2. Technical characteristics of digital printing machine
Compared with traditional printing technology, the printing process of digital jet printing system has undergone fundamental changes. The process flow is simplified to design, printing and post-processing, eliminating the need for tracing, The installation of film making (or screen making, engraving) and screen (or rotary screen) simplifies equipment debugging, pulp mixing and other processes; the simplification of the process eliminates the need for equipment such as film making machines (or screen making machines, engraving machines) and Consumable materials such as film, screen, and rollers.
Technical features and advantages are as follows:
◎What you see is what you get in the digital printing process, and data storage will never fade;
◎High-quality production, high precision, rich color levels; no piracy;
◎The printing process is simple, Short production preparation time;
◎Flexible production, suitable for personalization and small batches, effectively reducing inventory;
◎The cost has nothing to do with output, and sampling and small batch production are economical;
◎Green and environmentally friendly, according to No need to use dyes, less pollution.
Table 2 Comparative analysis of rotary screen, flat screen printing and digital printing
———————————- ————————————————–
Rotary screen and flat screen printing |Digital Printing
—————————–|————– —————————-
1. Artificial color matching, usually more than ten kinds | several basic colors, computer automatic color matching , 16.67 million species
—————————–|————- ————————–
2. Vehicle speed 10-80m/min| 0.1-2m/min
—————————–|———- ———————————-
3. No pre-press processing required| Pre-press processing required
- —————————-|————————– ———————
4. Net making is required | Full digital processing does not require net making
———– ——————|——————————— ———–
5. Printing accuracy 800-250dpi | The printing accuracy is 180-1440dpi, which can achieve photo effects
——————————–|—— ———————————-
6. Flower pattern reproduction is limited | Heavy pattern Now unrestricted
—————————–|————- ————————–
7. It is basically impossible to do halftones or the effect is poor | Computer halftone processing, simulation Good effect
——————————–|—————- —————————-
8. The alignment is not accurate, the error is between 0.2-1mm | Accurate alignment, error is 0.06-0.15mm
——————————–|—— ———————————-
9. It is difficult to match the sample with the sample | What you see is what you see The results are exactly the same in size
——————————–|———- ———————————-
10. Equipment investment 2.8 million yuan | Equipment investment 250,000-500,000 yuan
——————————–|—————— ————————–
22. Small production flexibility, patternLong changeover time | Flexible production, pattern changeover time is only a few minutes
——————————– —————————————-
3. Development of digital printing technology Trajectory
Traditional printing is inseparable from the screen, regardless of whether it uses a flat screen or a rotary screen. However, the cost and time consumed in plate making cannot satisfy the modern printing trend of small batches and multiple varieties. Therefore, the development of plateless, Stress-free digital printing. The basic principle is the same as that of an inkjet printer.
Inkjet printing technology can be traced back to 1884, when American C. H. Richard put water in the syringe and applied pressure to the needle to fly out the droplets. If the direction of the droplets was controlled, an image could be formed on the paper, which is called fog ink printing. At that time, due to problems with the needle and ink, the effect was very poor. It was not until 1960 that it officially entered the practical stage. Ten years ago, inkjet technology was used for barcode processing or product serial number printing, called inkjet printers.
Digital jet printing is a systematic project that involves cutting-edge technologies such as CAD technology, network communication technology, precision machining technology, and fine chemical technology. It is the product of the integration of information technology and traditional technologies such as machinery, textiles, and chemicals. Since digital jet printing technology involves a lot of calculation and control, it can be said that without today’s high-speed computers, digital jet printing technology would not be possible. For now, the development of digital jet printing technology is basically synchronized with the working capabilities of computers, and the development of computer technology still shows no signs of weakening. With the development of computer technology, it can be expected that digital jet printing technology will also have high speed in the future. develop. At the same time, the manufacturing technology of the nozzle also benefits from integrated circuit related technologies, such as etching, precision assembly, etc. The continuous emergence of modern high-frequency, multi-nozzle sprinklers proves this point.
Computer technology gradually became popular in the 1990s, and continuous digital jet printing machines appeared. By 1995, they had been widely used in textiles with rough patterns such as carpets and wall hangings. The Austrian company ZIMMER took the lead in exhibiting a digital jet printing prototype for carpets with a resolution of 9-18. It uses valve spray technology and does not use a nozzle in the usual sense; its production speed is very fast, up to 16/min. However, due to the large spray droplets and low resolution, it cannot be applied to clothing fabrics.
In 1995, the on-demand inkjet digital jet printing machine appeared. At that time, it mainly used thermal bubble nozzles with a resolution of 300dpi. Later, it gradually developed to 600dpi, mainly 4 colors, and could basically be applied to fabrics.
From 1999 to 2000, digital jet printing machines using piezoelectric nozzles were exhibited in many countries, including the Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, the United States, Italy and China’s Honghua Company, with resolutions up to 360~720dpi, 6/ h, due to the very small ink volume of the piezoelectric nozzle (can reach 6p1 for textile applications), the product picture producedThe pattern is finer and the colors are more uniform and natural, so it is very popular and its application scope is gradually expanding.
At present, various new digital jet printing machines have appeared one after another, mainly using piezoelectric nozzles; the high printing speed has developed from 1/h in 1990 and 6/h in 2000 to 080-150/h; the use of dyes has increased from 4 colors have developed into 6-8 colors and 2X6-8 colors; the application process has become increasingly mature; the control software functions have gradually improved.
It can be seen that the development of digital jet printing technology has basically evolved from continuous shooting to on-demand jetting, from thermal bubble nozzles to piezoelectric nozzles, and from 4 colors to 6-8 colors. At present, the development of digital printing technology is showing a trend where all heroes are emerging and a hundred flowers are blooming.
From basic theory to production equipment, from application technology to dye development, and even equipment, color control methods and software are all under comprehensive research and development.
In the 1990s, the number of exhibitors of digital printing products at the ITMA exhibition grew from 1 to 5. In the past five years, the number of exhibitors of digital printing products at the ITMA exhibition has grown rapidly. According to reports, there were reports about digital printing at ITMA2003. There are as many as 23 exhibitors, including equipment, dyes, process technology and other aspects. In particular, traditional printing machine manufacturers and dye manufacturers have invested great enthusiasm. For example, STORK and ZIMMER have launched 4 models of digital printing machines respectively. According to us, top dye and auxiliary manufacturers such as CIBA, BASF, and Dystar have Learn that there have been several improvements to the digital printing dyes they have introduced. Even Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs signed a research and development alliance with many companies on December 5 last year to develop “wide-format digital inkjet printing system technology for industrial use.” The fact that these international companies have developed digital printing machines with such great efforts reflects their Judgment of the development direction of textile digital printing.
4. Application of digital printing technology and advanced production methods
At present, digital printing technology can not only be used in personalization, small batch production and printing and dyeing enterprise proofing, but also has entered the field of mass production. In Europe, orders within 500 meters are basically handled by digital printing machines. Many new printing and dyeing companies that only use digital printing systems have emerged, combining online design, online production, and online sales, and have achieved good economic benefits. It can be said that we are ushering in a new era of digital textiles.
We have assisted companies in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai and other places to establish many proofing workshops using digital printing, which has improved the overall economic benefits of the company. We have established multiple factories in Thailand, Malaysia and China for mass production of digital printing products, all of which are now profitable. Now we are entering a new economic era. Compared with the traditional economic era of the last century when the textile industry was booming, the environment for textile production has undergone major changes, see Table 3
————- ————————————————————
| Traditional economic era | New economic era
—————|———- ——————–|————————-
Customer Optional|Regional|Global
————-|———————— ——|————————-
Consumer demand | High quality and low price, meeting basic living needs | Personalization, Diversification
————-|———————————| ————————–
Market | Relatively stable | Fast, changeable and unpredictable
————-|————————— —|———————-
Market demand | Low cost, high quality | Customized, fast delivery
————-|———————————|—– ——————–
Marketing method | Standardization, serialization, large batches | Single piece, small batch, multiple varieties
—– ——–|———————————-|———- —————
Technical resources | Relatively concentrated | Global Distribution
————-|——————————–| ———————–
Competitive factors | Performance-price ratio | Flexible production and response speed
——- ————————————————– ————-
As can be seen from Table 3, in terms of current and future development prospects, the environment for maintaining mass production of textiles has changed, and printed textiles are particularly the first to bear the brunt. With the current situation The production method cannot adapt to the requirements of this environmental change.
In order to survive and develop in the new environment and win in the fierce global competition, companies must change their product manufacturing strategies and seek to implement new production models to shorten product launch time and improve product quality.To improve product quality, reduce product costs and other goals, we can meet customers’ needs for personalized customized products at a time and price acceptable to customers. Mass customization is proposed in response to this demand.
Mass customized production is an emerging enterprise production and management model. Its goal is to produce customized products with high-volume efficiency. This is undoubtedly the ideal production method that the manufacturing industry aspires to. Therefore, the concept of mass customization has attracted widespread attention as soon as it was proposed, and has become a worldwide research hotspot in recent years. It has been successfully implemented in some enterprises and is becoming the mainstream production model of the manufacturing industry in the 21st century.
Mass customization production is under the guidance of systematic thinking, from the perspective of overall optimization, by fully tapping the potential of the enterprise, and with the support of standardized technology, computer technology, modern design methodology, concurrent engineering and other technologies and ideas, The ultimate realization is the process of providing customized products according to the special needs of each customer with the efficiency of mass production. Mass customized production combines the low-cost advantages of mass production with the advantages of customized production to meet customers’ personalized and diverse needs, enabling enterprises to adapt to rapid changes in the market and provide customers with what they really need at a time and price acceptable to customers. products. The difference between mass customized production and traditional mass production is shown in Table 4.
———————————————— ————————————————–
| Mass production | Large Mass customized production
——|—————————-|——– ————————————————–
Core | Pass Stability and control achieve efficiency | Achieve product variation and customization
——|————————— -|———————————————— —-
Target | To be affordable by almost every customer | Develop, produce, sell, and deliver with sufficient flexibility and customization,
| Development, production at low costs and low prices | Almost every customer gets the goods and services they want
| Production, sales, Shipping Goods and Services|
——|—————————-|—— ————————————————–
Key | Product-centered; stable demand |Customer demand-centered; dynamic demand; fragmented market;
Characteristics | Large and unified market; Product development | Short product development cycle; low-cost, high-quality, customized goods and services.
| Long cycle; low cost, consistent quality |
| High-quantity, standardized goods and services. |
———————————————— ————————————————–
Mass customization production The goal is to produce customized products with high-volume efficiency. For users, the products obtained are customized and personalized; for manufacturing companies, the products are mainly produced using mass production methods.
The emergence and gradual maturity of digital jet printing technology has successfully solved this problem. Tens of millions of colors can be produced with only a few primary colors, making it possible to provide customers with samples within 24 hours, which is very convenient according to customer needs. Organize small batches or even single-piece production, and the colors can be arbitrary; when digital jet printing technology is further combined with information network technology, three-dimensional simulation and customization can be carried out for customers on the Internet, realizing a completely personalized business model.
For example: Cus~mClmh. com is one of the manufacturers that uses digital printing technology among custom-made clothing companies. Their products include computer prints, fabric-based labels, ties and scarves.
Cus~mClo out. com applies six-color inkjet printing machine. Customers can choose from 12 to 150 different patterns, design their own using templates provided on its website, or pay the company to have it tailor-made according to their wishes. This method is highly maneuverable and can completely avoid the trouble caused by large inventories.
In short, the emergence and successful application of digital printing technology is undoubtedly a major technological revolution in the textile industry. It has milestone significance. The economic and social benefits brought by digital printing will be great for the world, especially China, a major textile printing and dyeing country. have a profound impact. Like previous industrial upgrades and changes, the emergence of new digital jet printing technology is both a challenge and an opportunity. Chinese textile companies must seize the opportunity in the upcoming changes.
V. Conclusion
The development of digital jet printing technology has basically evolved from continuous jetting to on-demand jetting, and from thermal bubble nozzles to piezoelectric nozzles.
The speed of digital jet printing machines is constantly increasing. Currently, a single machine can achieve the purpose of proofing and small batch production. Parallel production has reached a level that can be used for mass production, and the speed of a single machine is still increasing rapidly.
The environment for maintaining mass production of textiles has changed, and the current production methods cannot adapt to the requirements of this environmental change; mass customized production is a new production and management model, and is a system for the 21st century.The mainstream production model of the manufacturing industry.
Digital jet printing technology has fundamentally changed the traditional printing principle and is a revolutionary change in the traditional printing method. The advantages of digital jet printing are very prominent. It saves water, dyes and chemicals, is environmentally friendly, and can adapt to the needs of mass customized production. The development and promotion of digital jet printing machines will promote the digital upgrading of the domestic textile industry and improve the international competitiveness of our country’s textile industry.
Extended reading: https://www. china-fire-retardant.com/post/9376.html
Extended reading: https://www.alltextile.cn/product/product-4-124.html
Extended reading:https://www.brandfabric.net/pu-mirror-light-leather-fabric/
Extended reading:https://www.china-fire-retardant.com/post/9389.html
Extended reading: https://www.china-fire-retardant.com/post/9575.html
Extended reading: https://www.brandfabric.net/full-dull-dobby-print-pongee-breathable-fabric/
