By Digital Output Staff
Dye-sublimation (dye-sub) or sublimation, pigment, and reactive dye are primary considerations for inkjet printing to textiles. The April issue of Digital Output dives into the trends and advancements hitting this segment of the market. Here, we include some of the available ink sets from various vendors.
A.T. Inks
A.T. Inks offers its BRILLAR range of reactive dye inks for printing pretreated cotton white fabric for vibrant, bright, and colorfast images. The ink is available in CMYK, royal blue, red, orange, and gray. It is designed to be used with printheads from Epson, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, and Panasonic.
Also part of the A.T. Inks portfolio, HD-XL Grade, a dye-sub ink with a high density. The inks are designed to be printed on coated transfer paper. The image printed on transfer paper is transferred onto polyester fabrics and onto coated rigid substrates under heat and pressure.
AFFORD
At AFFORD, perspective buyers find dye, sublimation, direct to garment, and direct to film inks. They offer excellent printability and color strength, with little to no maintenance—including white ink. In addition, AFFORD boasts many certifications for its inks and the factory is audited by different certification organizations.
ARMOR IIMAK
ARMOR IIMAK dye-sub inks offer superior performance with all piezoelectric printheads, clog-free printing, and color consistency that maximizes printer performance and output, all while delivering on reliability and repeatability. The dye-sub inks are ideal for direct or transfer printing of polyester textiles and hard surfaces.
INX International Ink Co.
INX Digital’s TXKC is a water-based pigment ink formulated with a unique water-based pigmented dispersion. It is optimized for high image quality when running at superior printing speeds. These inks can be printed on pretreated cotton and blend textile fabric. The formulations boast superior nozzle reliability, and rub resistance that outperforms dye-based inks in similar applications. TXKC is approved by Kyocera and provides excellent jetting consistency and open time.
TRIANGLE DTK water-based dye-sub textile inks for transfer printing are suitable for all printers equipped with Kyocera KJ4B 300 printheads. They are applicable for 100 percent polyester fabrics or in blends with different fibers—lycra, viscose, cotton, acrylic—with a minimum percentage of 70 percent.
Lawson Screen & Digital Products, Inc.
Lawson Screen & Digital Products, Inc. offers textile inks formulated and blended for high opacity, brilliant color, and a soft feel.
Marabu North America
Marabu offers TexaJet DX-STE, a water-based sublimation ink system for transfer printing on devices with Epson DX6/DX7 piezo printheads. The product offers intense colors, deep blacks, and light, wash, and perspiration fastness.
The substrate range of TexaJet DX-STE includes polyester and polyamide (nylon), blended fabrics containing at least 60 percent polyester, or rigid polyester-coated materials such as metals, ceramics, and plastics.
StratoJet USA
The StratoJet Piranha XT Series of printers uses StratoJet I-Series Sublimation Inks, this includes a high-saturation black.
Sun Chemical
Sun Chemical offers textile ink in sublimation, pigment, acid dye, and reactive dye categories.
Sublimation printing includes ElvaJet Opal SB for low-viscosity printheads, ElvaJet Topaz SC for Kyocera printheads, and ElvaJet SR342 ink for high-viscosity printheads. ElvaJet Opal SB stands out for its simple loading and low maintenance, in addition to its ability to offer uniform performance across all paper types. ElvaJet Topaz SC is an expanded 13-color set that includes a hybrid black—allowing direct and transfer printing without compromise. ElvaJet SR342 offers increased color strength with reduced ink consumption and optimized dry time.
Xennia Emerald PC is a pigment ink designed to print on Epson and Kyocera printheads with excellent color strength and fastness properties. Coming soon, Xennia Sapphire, a range of optimized pigment inks for Kyocera and Ricoh printheads. The Xennia Sapphire inks offer an extended print gamut and high color strength, including a deep black with excellent application and fastness properties.
Xennia Amethyst EVO is a reactive ink for printing cotton, viscose, and other cellulosic fibers. It evolved from the previous Xennia Amethyst RC to have a better color balance across the range for optimized printing and has increased fixation yield, resulting in less dye wash out from the fabric.
Xennia Agate is a high-quality acid ink set designed for optimum performance on nylon and polyamide as well as silk, offering the best in color- and application-fastness.
Textile Ink
When looking for the right textile ink for the job, it’s first important to identify the material you plan to print to, and then look at the printheads used in the device. A number of options are available.
Apr2024, Digital Output
