Textile Printing

WHAT IS TEXTILE PRINTING

Textile printing is one of the most liked fabric patterns in the world, and it has been in existence for many years until now. Textile printing is a process of embellishing a textile fabric by the application of dyes, pigments, and other associated materials that are in for solid patterns. In this process, colors are applied to fabrics in specific patterns or designs. Whereas in printing, usually one or more colors are applied on the fabric which falls on some certain parts only and in neatly in clarified patterns.

THE PROCESS OF TEXTILE PRINTING

Stencils, engraved plates, rollers, wooden blocks, or silkscreens can be used to place colors on fabric in printing. There are four major methods of textile printing. There are roller printing, block- printing, heat transfer printing, and screen printing. These methods have similar ways they are used to create patterns and designs on fabrics. In each of these methods, the color application that is usually a thick paste is accompanied by fixation, which is done by heating or steaming and then washing to remove excess color.

METHODS OF TEXTILE PRINTING

1. BLOCK PRINTING: this is the simplest method but the slowest. Designs are carved on wooden blocks that are made out of pieces of wood or by bonding together, grained woods with cheaper woods. The printer spreads color on the carved wooden blocks and presses it firmly and safely on the fabric. The fabric is then blown by drying rollers.

2. ROLLER PRINTING: this method of printing is used when there long meters of fabric is to be printed with the same design.

3. SCREEN PRINTING: this printing can be done either by hand or automatically by a machine. The fabric is laid on a printing table and pinned to a back gray. Then the designed is applied on cloth through a screen made of silk or nylon that is stretched over a wooden frame. The screen will be moved until one color has been applied to the fabric. The process is repeated for the application of other colors.

4. HEAT TRANSFER PRINTING: polyester became popular, and that led to the heat transfer printing process. Print patterns are made on paper which is then transferred to fabric by passing both together via kind of hot calendar.