Over the years, technological advancements in equipment and media have continued to change the landscape of the fabric printing market. From innovative transfer and direct-print sublimation printer technologies to vastly improved ink disbursement systems as well as a new host of colorful lightweight fabrics to print on, these new development are also revolutionizing the entire industry as a whole and helping create new applications for output providers to offer their clients.
多年以来，设备和媒体行业的技术进步不断地影响着织物喷印市场的发展前景。从创新型传送技术和直接喷印升华技术，到极大改善的支出系统和新型彩色轻质喷印织物，这些新型技术也彻底改变了整个行业的发展方向，并且为客户开发出新型输出供应功能。
“The growing diversity of polyester fabric is quite interesting right now. Also, fabric signage—either reflective or backlit—is popular because it is lightweight and foldable (easy to carry/install and economical to ship), and the colors are vivid,” comments Ryosuke Nakayama, product manager, Textiles & Apparel Business Development & Marketing, Mimaki USA. “These are desirable qualities that cannot be accomplished by printing on PVC and banner materials. Other trends are eco-friendly processes and materials, and polyester is recyclable,” he adds.
美国Mimaki纺织服装业务发展市场的产品经理与助中山称：“涤纶面料的多样化发展非常有趣。同时，反光或背光纺织标识都很受欢迎，因为它既轻便又可折叠（易携带安装，运输经济节省），且色彩鲜艳。这些特点限制了它在PVC和横幅材质上的应用。而且其工作过程和材质都非常环保，聚酯是可回收的。”
Improved Polyester Fabrics
改进的涤纶面料
Nakayama reports that he is noticing that fabric manufacturers are expanding and tailoring their products so that they’re compatible with dye-sublimation inks. “For example, there are different types of polyester fabrics intended to mimic the look and feel of materials such as cotton, nylon, and silk, which are all materials that are incompatible with dye-sublimation ink.”
中山称，他留意到织物制造商正不断调整他们的产品，以便于它们能和染色升华技术兼容。“例如，不同种类的涤纶面料在外观和触感方面都在模仿棉布、尼龙和丝绸，这些材质是不能和染色升华油墨相容的。”
Randy Anderson, product manager at Mutoh America, agrees, adding that the look and feel of polyester fabrics have improved phenomenally in the past few years, and this has benefitted and spurred growth in the fashion market more than any other application.
美国Mutoh公司产品经理兰迪·安德森赞同道，近几年来，涤纶在外观和触感方面已经有了明显的进步，同时它也促进了时装市场的发展。
Anderson reports that he is seeing more industrial type printers being introduced for the smaller format markets and higher speed models for users to address production needs in the large-format markets.
安德森称，在宽幅喷印市场，很多工业型喷印机都被用在了小幅喷印市场和满足用户输出需求的高速模型中。
Innovations Abound
不断创新
Lily Hunter, product manager, Textiles and Consumables at Roland DGA defiantly feels that recent developments in equipment and media have played major roles in the growth of this category. “Manufacturers such as Roland are constantly innovating to improve printer image quality, productivity, reliability and ease of use," Hunter says. "We offer higher-density inks that dry quickly and we offer a wider color gamut and deliver greater opacity. Additionally, end users are looking for high quality output while keeping overall operating costs to a minimum. That includes not only printers designed for optimum efficiency, but also lower-cost consumables, including ink and paper.”
罗兰DGA公司的织物消费品部门的产品经理莉莉·亨特称：“设备媒体最近的发展在该行业发展进步中扮演了非常重要的角色。制造商譬如罗兰，不断地通过创新来提高喷印图像的质量、生产率、可靠性和易用性，提供更高密度的快速干燥油墨、更宽的颜色范围和更高的传送不透明性。另外，终端使用者正在寻找高质量输出设备，该设备能够将整个运行成本最小化，不仅包括高效喷印机成本，还包含较低成本的消耗品，包括油墨和纸张。”
Knit Fabrics Gaining in Popularity
针织面料得到普及
Hunter points out that trends on the fabric side include the rise in knit fabrics, which are typically less expensive, ‘stretchier’ materials, whereas woven fabrics are stiffer, higher-cost fabrics. “We are starting to see more knit fabrics that can be used in place of woven fabrics, providing the same look and feel at a lower cost. Today’s polyester is not your stereotypical ‘shiny’ leisure suit fabric anymore. There is ‘spun’ polyester, which looks and feels like cotton, and companies like Premier Textiles now offer polyester fabrics that look like linen and other home décor textiles.”
亨特指出：“针织行业的发展趋向是变得更便宜、使用“可伸展”材质，然而，机织物不易弯曲、成本也更高。我们正在寻找那些可以取代机织物的针织面料，它们的外观和触感都是一样的，但是成本却低得多。如今的涤纶不再是老套的‘有光泽的’休闲服装了。目前有一种‘纺成的’涤纶，它的外观和触感跟棉布是一样的，Premier纺织公司就生产出了像亚麻布料和其他家居装饰织物的涤纶面料。”
She adds that traditionally, flags and backlit signage were direct printed in order to get the desired ink saturation. “However, thanks to new and advanced dye-sublimation printers such as our Roland Texart RT-640 and XT-640, it’s now easy to achieve this same level of saturation for these applications with transfer sublimation. It’s also important to keep in mind, that with direct sublimation, you need to use coated fabrics, which can limit your choices. Transfer dye sublimation does not require coated fabrics, allowing for a wider choice of materials.”
她补充道：“习惯上，直接喷印旗帜和背光式标识是为了达到理想中的油墨饱和度。然而，多亏了新型先进的染色升华喷印机如罗兰Texart RT-640和XT-640，使用这些设备可以很容易地达到同等水平的饱和度。同时需要注意的是，如果使用直接升华技术，就需要使用涂层织物。传递染色升华技术不需要涂层织物，它可以使用多种材料。”
Transfer Vs. Direct Printing Options
传递设备VS直接喷印
Both transfer and direct-print sublimation printing technologies have their advantages and drawbacks. As we know, the main difference is that with transfer, you are limited to printing only onto polyester or polyester-coated substrates, and the process requires reverse printing onto transfer paper as well as a heat press to get the image onto the fabric. With direct fabric printing no transfer process is required and you can print onto more types of fabrics, but but different fabrics require different ink types including reactive dye, acid dye, disperse dye, etc. In addition, some direct processes also require post-print treatment such as a heat press to set the inks.
传递技术和直接喷印升华技术都有其各自的优缺点。众所周知，两者之间主要的不同点在于，使用传递技术，你只能在聚酯或涂层聚酯材质上喷印，并且背面也要进行喷印传递过程，同时把图像通过热压方式印在织物上。织物直接喷印技术就无需传递过程，而且你可以在多种织物上喷印，只不过不同的织物要用不同的油墨来喷印，包括活性染料、酸性染料、分散性染料等等。另外，一些直接喷印过程也需要做印后处理，例如通过热压方式将油墨固定。
Transfer Process More Precise
传递过程更精确
Nakayama says that transfer versus direct-print sublimation printing varies from market to market. “One advantage of printing on transfer paper is that you generally achieve better overall quality. For example, the transfer process is more precise when printing smaller text, as well as images. Printing on transfer paper allows for the dots of ink to be more precise. A drawback of transfer printing is the added cost for the paper needed throughout the process.”
中山称：“相对于直接喷印升华技术，传递技术在市场中不断地发展变化。传递纸质的优势是可以达到更好的整体质量效果。例如，在喷印较小的文件或图像时，传递过程是很精确的。在传递纸质上喷印时的油墨点更精密。而在喷印过程中纸质的附加成本是传递喷印技术的缺点。”
He says that an advantage of direct-to-fabric printing is that customers can run high-production output. “This is ideal for applications such as soft signage, because it requires less time to manufacture. Also, with this type of printing, customers usually produce larger output, which is seen from a distance and does not require fine-resolution printing.
他说：“直接喷印的好处是客户可以实现高产量输出。这对软性标识来说是理想化的，因为它要求更短的时限来制作。同时，客户通常采用这种喷印技术，来生产较大的适于远距离观赏、无需高分辨率的输出产品。”
"One drawback of direct-to-fabric printing is that the margin of error is greater because the ink can sometimes bleed through the fabric and the imprecision of the ink dots are sometimes more noticeable. Both printing processes require a heat press that will enable the ink to set and bond with the fabric. Overall, both methods are effective for specific uses.”
“直接喷印的缺点是如果出现失误，那么代价是非常大的。因为油墨有时会从布料中渗出来，并且不精密的油墨点有时会更明显。这两种喷印技术都需要进行热压过程，这样就能保证油墨被固定在织物中。总而言之，两种技术对特定的应用都是非常有效的。”
Flying the Flag for Direct Printing
挥动直接喷印的旗帜
Anderson says that perhaps the biggest advantage to direct-print sublimation is in the production of flag and flag-type fabrics. “Using a dispersed dye to print directly on a flag fabric can allow some print through to the other side, which when sublimated, can give a better two-sided appearance to the flag over singled-sided transfer.”
安德森称：“旗帜类型织物或许是直接喷印升华技术的最大优势。采用分散性染料在旗帜织物上直接喷印可以使得染料直接穿透到另一面，这样的话，当进行升华过程时，通过单面传递就能够得到双面都染色的旗帜了。”
“There is a whole market of coated polyesters and coated natural fabrics that can utilize a dispersed pigment to print directly to the fabric with good results," Anderson says. "This provides good results for soft signage and specialty markets.” He adds that heat press technology still relies on the fundamentals of heat, pressure and time to sublimate or set inks to fabrics in the most popular applications.
安德森谈到：“涂层聚酯和涂层天然织物都是使用分散性颜料在织物上直接喷印，最后生产出优质的产品，同时它们也促进了软性标识和专业市场的发展。”他补充道，热压技术仍然依赖于通过高温、压力和时间来将油墨升华或固定到织物中。
Fabric Printing with Mutoh
Mutoh织物喷印技术
Anderson points out that Mutoh offers the RJ-900x, VJ1624WX, VJ1628X, VJ1638WX, VJ1938WX and the VJ2638X printers for dye sub applications and they have just released the VJ1938TX direct-to-textile 75-inch printer, that is designed for high-production textile printing.
安德森指出，Mutoh目前供应RJ-900x, VJ1624WX, VJ1628X, VJ1638WX, VJ1938WX和VJ2638X热升华喷印机，还有刚刚推出的用于高产量织物喷印的75英寸VJ1938TX织物直接喷印机。
Anderson says that there are two major things to look for when purchasing a printer for this market—reliability and versatility. “Reliability is a big key. Dye sub can be an application where a printer that is a real workhorse is a major asset for an output provider. Versatility is also important. Many printer manufacturers try to lock you in to a specific ink/media/RIP combination. An open source machine allows you to customize your supplies to match the needs of your particular business application,” he concludes.
安德森称，在购买喷印机时有两个主要性能是要考虑到的——可靠性和通用性。他说：“可靠性是一大关键，输出供应商对于热升华打印设备的功能十分在意。通用性也是非常重要的。许多喷印机制造商试图将你带入一个特定的油墨/媒介/RIP组合中。一台设备就能够让你定制出满足特定功能需求的产品。”
Mimaki Sublimation Offerings
Mimaki升华技术产品
Nakayama reports that the Mimaki TS300P-1800 dedicated dye sub printer is very popular right now. “It's a 77-inch dedicated transfer paper model for digital textile printing or applications requiring transfer to hard surfaces," he says. He adds that the recently introduced Mimaki TS500P-3200 printer is a super wide 129.9-inch, dedicated transfer model developed for production transfer runs to create extra-wide textile applications such as soft signage, home furnishing and hospitality fabrics. Both printers offer high print speeds and the ability to print onto very thin transfer papers.
中山谈到：“Mimaki公司热升华喷印机TS300P-1800目前非常受欢迎。它有77英寸宽，主要用于数码织物喷印中的传递纸质模型，或需要传递到坚硬表面上的应用。”他补充道，最近推出的Mimaki TS500P-3200喷印机是一个129.9英寸超宽，用于制造超宽织物应用的设备，例如软性标识、家居用品和接待织物用品。这两种喷印设备都配有高喷印速度，并且能在非常薄的传递纸质上喷印。
Nakayama also says that for shops in the market for a printer in this area they should ask if the printer includes functions to support unattended printing for long print runs. “Mimaki printers, for example, include technologies that assist with unattended printing: Nozzle Check Unit plus Nozzle Recovery System, bulk ink supply (2L ink pack or 3L external talks), uninterrupted ink supply system on some models, and tension bars for proper take-up alignment.”
中山还谈到：“对商铺来说，他们应该了解要购买的喷印设备是否支持长时间无人值守的喷印过程。Mimaki公司的喷印设备，就包含无人值守的喷印过程技术，例如Nozzle Check Unit和Nozzle Recovery System，自带大容量油墨（2L油墨包或3L外部供给），不间断油墨供应系统，以及恰当校准的自动收布功能。”
He says another question for them to ask is regarding the inks. “Who makes them? Who warrants them against defects? This can be an issue when using third-party inks. We always recommend using Mimaki original inks to achieve the best performance.”
他谈到：“另一个问题是关于油墨的。谁制造的？谁能保证它们没有瑕疵？使用第三方油墨时这就是问题了。我们一直推荐使用Mimaki原装油墨来获得最佳效果。”
Roland’s Textile Printer Lineup
罗兰织物喷印设备阵容
“We offer the Texart RT-640 dye sublimation printer, which is a versatile 64-inch inkjet designed to optimize sublimation output while minimizing operating costs,” says Hunter. “Our line up also includes the 64-inch Texart XT-640 dye-sub printer, which is uniquely engineered to maximize output in high-volume apparel and textile production environments. Printing with both the RT-640 and XT-640 using Texart inks allows production of items that are OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Class 1 certified. This opens up opportunities for products that can be sold into the children’s market, such as clothing, décor, toys and accessories. It’s now a safety requirement that these kinds of products meet OEKO-TEX Class 1 certification,” she points out.
亨特说：“我们供应Texart RT-640染色升华喷印设备，自带通用型64英寸喷墨打印机，能在最小化运行成本下实现最佳升华过程。我们的设备还包括64英寸Texart XT-640热升华喷印机，它用于将服装和织物产量输出最大化。使用RT-640和XT-640设备再加上Texart油墨进行喷印作业能够得到OEKO-TEX标准100等级1级的产品。这些产品已成功打入了儿童市场，例如服装、装饰品、玩具和配饰。这是一个相对安全的需求，因为这些产品满足了OEKO-TEX等级1级的要求。”
Other Buying Tips
其他购买技巧
Hunter says it's important to make sure to purchase a printer that's designed specifically for dye sub applications. “While these printers may look similar to eco-solvent printers on the outside, what's ‘under the hood’ can make an enormous difference.”
亨特说：“很重要的一点，要确保购买的喷印设备是特定于热升华应用的。或许这些喷印设备在外观上看起来和溶剂型喷印设备很相似，但是内部构造不同就可以产生极大的不同。”
She adds that's it's important to keep in mind that dye-sublimation ink droplets are a lot smaller than eco-solvent ink droplets, so you need a printer that provides outstanding ink-firing accuracy. “Equipped with this type of printer, even if your graphics have a lot of fine lines and details, you'll be able to achieve optimal image quality. You should also take a close look at the finished output (after sublimation). That will give a good feel for the quality of the printer and the inks.”
她补充道：“需要注意的是，染色升华油墨滴比溶剂型油墨滴小得多，所以你需要选择提供显著精密油墨点的喷印设备。使用这种类型的喷印设备，即使图像上有许多细线，你也可以获得最佳质量的图像。你还要仔细看一下成品（升华过程之后），然后会发现无论是喷印机还是油墨都是优质的。”
She says to make sure shops consider the overall productivity of the printer, not just in regard to speed, but also when it comes to maintenance and cleaning. “Remember, less time spent to maintain and clean your printer means more time to print. Consider the printer's overall cost of operation, too—not just the cost of the printer and consumables. Efficient dye-sublimation printers can save you a tremendous amount of money in the long run.”
她说：“要确保商铺考虑到了喷印机的整体生产率，而不仅仅注重速度，还要考虑到设备的维护和清洁。记住一点，花费在维护和清洁设备上的时间越少，就意味着喷印的产品就越多。要考虑到喷印机整个运行成本，而不只是喷印机本身和消耗品的成本。从长远来看，高效染色升华喷印设备会为你节省大量的资金。”
Lastly, she adds to take into consideration what comes with the printer as well. “For instance, does it come with powerful and reputable RIP software? How about a quality take-up system? Finally, consider the reputation of the manufacturer, the level of service and support provided, and the product warranty.”
最后，她补充道：“要考虑到喷印设备会带来哪些好处。例如，它带有强大著名的RIP软件吗？有优质自动收布系统吗？最后，要考虑制造商的声誉，提供服务的等级和产品质量的保证。”
