ImagesMagUK_July_2021

www.images-magazine.com 24 images JULY 2021 TIPS & TECHNIQUES D irect-to-film printing (aka DTF or digital film transfer) has hit the garment decoration industry with a massive bang. The last time a new process had this kind of impact was the introduction of water-based DTG printing more than 15 years ago. DTF printing involves transferring special water-based inks, including white, from a piece of film onto garments. There is no need for pretreatment, and it can be put onto any How does it all work? The DTF process involves combining a soft, water-based ink with a flexible adhesive that is invisible when heat pressed onto the garment. While the best results are achieved when a printer designed specifically for DTF is used, smaller desktop printers can be used to print onto DTF film. They may be slower, but they offer decorators the chance to dip their toes into the DTF market before jumping in with a fully automatic, commercial solution. The DTF print process should be done in what is called single-pass (or in-line) printing to get the best results. Heat needs to be introduced to the film to allow enough ink to be printed to get a vibrant image, avoiding bleeding or pooling. Once the ink is printed onto the film, it requires part-curing, ready for the adhesive powder to be applied. You can do this process manually, or use a fully automated system to part- cure, apply the powder and then final cure without any human intervention. Creating film transfers may sound like a slow process, but in fact a commercial system like the Resolute R-Jet Pro DTF 600 can produce up to 2,000 chest print prints an hour. With only a 15-second heat press – and in some cases this can be brought down to 10 seconds at between 150°C and 165°C, depending on the fabric – this process outperforms some of the most expensive DTG printers available at a fraction of the investment. Potential pitfalls There are, however, some pitfalls to be aware of, but these are very easily combatted with professional RIP software. ■ In order for the adhesive powder to adhere it requires white ink. This means even a white T-shirt will have a white ink layer printed behind the CMYK. This sounds expensive, but although the white pigment in DTF inks is titanium dioxide, the same as used in DTG inks, DTF ink is much cheaper to make than traditional DTG ink. In some cases, it can be over 50% cheaper than some DTG inks, making it a very economical process. During tests, an A4 image cost 45p to print using the Resolute R-Jet Industry experts provide insight and guidance in all areas of digital garment and textile printing Digital helpdesk Direct-to-film printing is causing a big buzz in the garment decoration world at the moment, and it’s easy to see why – it offers budget-friendly printing on a wide range of substrates. Colin Marsh, managing director of Resolute Ink, offers a comprehensive introduction to the world of DTF Colin Marsh colour and almost any fabric, including polyester, softshell, leather, hi-vis garments and workwear. Since the inception of DTG printing, the Holy Grail has been to eliminate the need to use pretreatment when white ink is printed. I believe DTF is the process the industry has been waiting for as it offers exactly that. CMYK images including white ink can now be printed onto any colour fabric, and onto the fabrics that traditional DTG is not able to print onto. DTF’s ability to leave just the ink behind (rather than the transfer, which is what happens with vinyl or print-and-cut methods) produces a very soft hand with the printed images also being super- stretchy. Sportswear can be decorated with the confidence there will be no cracking of the ink on leggings, cyclewear and other fabrics that were traditionally best printed using sublimation. And whereas sublimation has no white ink, DTF allows short and long runs of coloured sportswear to be decorated with any colour logo or text. It is also suitable for workwear due to its high level of durability and stretch properties. An example of DTF in-line printing