The process of ink jet printing depends on the ink used. Generally, acid dyes are mainly used for carpet printing, disperse dyes are mainly used for polyester fabrics, and reactive dyes are mainly used for cotton fabrics. The following is an example of the ink-jet printing process using reactive dye inks for cotton fabrics. Fabric pre-treatment + pre-press drying hoppers ink jet printing after doubling printing + steaming (100-102°C, 8 min) bucket washing + drying:".
The pre-treatment of the fabric is mainly due to the wettability of the fabric and the capillary effect between the fibers. In conventional fabric printing pastes, a suitable printing paste must be used to prevent bleeding. The general ink jet printer can only use low-viscosity water-based ink. If it is directly printed on the fabric, the dye liquor will permeate in all directions, so the printed fabric must be properly pretreated. Special printing software is used in jet printing to print colors, lines and patterns with appropriate resolution. The post-treatment of printed fabrics is to increase their fastness.
Source: China Washing & Dyeing Industry Information Center