Abstract: Digital jet printing technology can save both plate making and time, as well as water and dyeing materials. The article discusses the technical characteristics and development direction of digital printing and its application in combination with large-scale customization.
Keywords: textiles, digital printing, jet printing, large-scale customization
1. Preface
In recent years, my country’s textile printing and dyeing industry has developed rapidly, and printing output has also increased simultaneously. In 2001, the national printing and dyeing production was 17.83 billion meters, of which 4.367 billion meters of printed cloth, accounting for 24.41% of the printing and dyeing production, an increase of 22.82%. In 2002, the national printing and dyeing production was 21.087 billion meters, an increase of 18.34%, of which 4.986 billion meters of printed cloth, an increase of 14.18%. , accounting for 23.57% of the printing and dyeing output; from January to December 2003, the printing and dyeing output reached 25.132 billion meters, an increase of 20.43% year-on-year. The printing output has not been announced yet. If calculated based on the proportion in 2002 (23%), my country’s printing output in 2003 is estimated to be 5.7 billion meters.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– ——————————————————————————————————————————– ———-
| Printing and dyeing output (100 million meters) | Growth rate (%) | Printing output (100 million meters) | Growth rate (%) | Printing output accounts for printing and dyeing (%) |
——-|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- ——–|
2001| 178.30| 13.27| 43.67| 22.82| 24.41|
——|——– ——–|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- | 23.57 |
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— |————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– ————|
2003| 251.32| 20.43|57* | – | – |
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– ——————————————————————————————————————————– ——————-
＊For the estimate
At the same time, the popularity cycle of clothing is getting shorter and shorter, and the shape changes faster and faster. Production requirements are getting higher and higher, ordering batches are getting smaller and smaller, and piracy of flower patterns is rampant. Although printing companies have introduced digital means such as printing CAD systems, laser illumination machines, flat nets, round nets, and wax spraying machines to improve the processing process in traditional printing methods, the concept that printing and dyeing plants are polluting plants seems to be a conception of pollution plants. Has made a deep impression. At the same time, internationally, my country’s printing and dyeing products exports are increasingly hindered by “non-trade barriers” including the environment. As far as current technology is concerned, a good way to solve many problems in the printing field.
2. Technical characteristics of digital printing machines
The printing process of digital jet printing system has undergone fundamental changes compared with traditional printing processes. The process flow is simplified into design, printing, and post-processing, eliminating the drawing. The installation of manuscripts, filmmaking (or net making, engraving), screening (or round net) simplifies equipment debugging, slurry adjustment and other processes; the simplification of the process flow saves the production machine (or net making, engraving machine) and so on. Equipment and consumable materials such as film, wire mesh, rollers.
Technical characteristics and advantages are as follows:
◎What you see in the digital printing process is the gain, and the data storage will never fade;
◎High-quality production, high precision and rich color levels; it cannot be pirated;
◎Simple printing process and short production preparation time;
◎Flexible production, suitable for personalized and small batches, effectively reducing inventory;
◎Cost has nothing to do with output, and proofing and small batch production economy Good performance;
◎Green and environmentally friendly, use dyes as needed, and less pollution.
Table 2 Comparative analysis of circular net, flat net printing and digital printing
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- ——————————————————————————————————————————– Flat screen printing | Digital printing
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- Color, automatic color matching for computers, 16.67 million
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- ———————————————
2. Vehicle speed 10-80m/min | 0.1-2m/min
———– ——————————————————————————————————————————– ——–
3. No treatment is required before printing | treatment is required before printing
——————— ——-|————————————————————————————————————————
4. Required network configuration | Full digital processing does not require network configuration
———————————————————————————————- ——————————————————————————————————————————– 800-250dpi | Printing accuracy 180-1440dpi, can achieve photo effect
—————————————————————————————— ——————————————————————————————————————————– Restricted | Flower pattern reproduction is not restricted
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- Poor | Computer halftone processing, good simulation effect
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- -1mm| Accurately match the flower, the error is 0.06-0.15mm
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- Difficult to be consistent | What you see is what you get, the size is exactly the same
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- ——————————————————————————————————————————– Equipment investment of 250,000-500,000 yuan
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— | Flexible production, the flower pattern conversion time is only a few minutes
——————————————————————————————————- ——————————————————————————————————————————–
Traditional printing cannot be separated from the net whether it is flat or circular net. However, the cost and time consumed in making plates cannot meet the trend of modern printing in small batches and multiple varieties, so it has developed a versionless Pressure-free digital printing. The basic principle is the same as that of inkjet printers.
Inkjet printing technology can be traced back to 1884, American C. H. Richard puts water in the syringe, and the needle applies pressure and flies out the droplets. If the direction of the droplets is controlled, an image can be formed on the paper, which is called fog ink printing. At that time, due to problems with needles and ink, the effect was very poor, and it was not until 1960 that it officially entered the practical stage. Inkjet technology was used ten years ago for barcode processing or printing of product serial numbers, called inkjet printers.
Digital jet printing is a systematic project that involves cutting-edge technologies such as CAD technology, network communication technology, precision machining technology and fine chemical technology. It is the product of the integration of information technology with traditional technologies such as machinery, textiles and chemicals. Since digital jet printing technology involves a lot of computing and control, it can be said that it is impossible for digital jet printing technology without today’s high-speed computers. As of now, the development of digital jet printing technology is basically synchronized with the working ability of computers, and there is still no sign of weakening of computer technology. With the development of computer technology, it is expected that the future digital jet printing technology will also have a high speed. develop. At the same time, the manufacturing technology of nozzles also benefits from related technologies of integrated circuits, such as etching, precision assembly, etc. This is proven by the continuous appearance of modern high-frequency, multi-nozzle nozzles.
In the 1990s, computer technology gradually became popular, and continuous digital jet printing machines appeared. By 1995, it had mature applications in textiles with rough patterns such as carpets and wall hangings. Austrian ZIMMER Company was the first to exhibit digital jet printing prototypes for carpets, with a resolution of 9-18, using valve spray technology, and no nozzles in the usual sense were used; its production speed was very fast, up to 16/min. However, due to the large spray droplets and the low resolution, it cannot be used in clothing fabrics.
In 1995, on-demand inkjet digital jet printing machines appeared. At that time, the main use of hot bubble nozzles was used, with a resolution of 300dpi. Later, it gradually developed to 600dpi, mainly 4 colors, and can basically be used on fabrics.
Digital jet printing machines using piezoelectric nozzles from 1999 to 2000 were exhibited in many countries, including the Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, the United States, Italy and China Hong KongHua Company has a resolution of 360~720dpi, 6/h. Since the small inkjet volume of piezoelectric nozzles is very small (it can reach 6p1 when used in textiles), the products produced are relatively fine and the colors are more uniform and natural. It is very popular and its application scope has gradually expanded.
At present, various new digital jet printing machines have emerged one after another, mainly using piezoelectric nozzles; high printing speed has developed from 1/h in 1990 and 6/h in 2000 to 080-150/h; dyes are used; From 4 colors to 6-8 colors and 2X6-8 colors; the application process is becoming more mature; the control software functions are gradually improving.
It can be seen that the development of digital jet printing technology has basically evolved from continuous shooting to on-demand jetting, from hot bubble nozzles to piezoelectric nozzles, and from 4 colors to 6-8 colors. At present, the development of digital printing technology is showing a trend of heroes growing together and blooming all kinds of flowers.
From basic theory to production equipment, from application processes to dye development, and even equipment, color control methods and software are under comprehensive research and development.
In the 1990s, the number of digital printing products exhibitors at ITMA exhibitions has grown from 1 to 5. In the past five years, the number of digital printing products exhibitors at ITMA exhibitions has developed rapidly. It is reported that digital printing is related to ITMA2003. There are as many as 23 exhibitors, including equipment, dyes, process technology and other aspects. In particular, traditional printing machine manufacturers and dye manufacturers have invested great enthusiasm. For example, STORK and ZIMMER have launched 4 models of digital printing machines respectively. Top dye and additive manufacturers such as CIBA, BASF, and Dystar. According to us Learn how many improvements have been made to their digital printed dyes. Even the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan signed a R&D alliance with many companies on December 5 last year to develop “industrial wide-format digital inkjet printing system technology”. These international companies have developed digital printing machines with such great efforts. Judgment on the development direction of digital printing in textiles.
4. Application and advanced production methods of digital printing technology
At present, digital printing technology can not only be used in personalized, small-scale production and printing and dyeing enterprises to make proofing, but has also entered the field of mass production. In Europe, orders within 500 meters are basically taken care of by digital printing machines. Many new printing and dyeing companies that only use digital printing systems have emerged, combining them with network design, network production, and network sales, and achieving good economic benefits. It can be said that we are ushering in a new era of digital textiles.
We have assisted enterprises in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai and other places to establish many proofing workshops using digital printing, which has improved the overall economic benefits of the enterprise. We have established multiple factories in Thailand, Malaysia and China to mass produce digital printing products, all of which have entered a profitable state. Now we are entering a new economic era. Compared with the traditional economic era of the last century when the textile industry was booming, the environment for textile production has undergone major changes., see Table 3
—————————————————————————————————————— ——————————————————————————————————————————– ——-|———————————————————————————————————————— ————–
Customer Optional | Regional | Global
————|—- —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- —
Consumption demand| Good quality and low price, meet basic living needs| Personalization and diversification
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- —————————————–
Market|Relatively stable|Fast and changeable, unpredictable
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- ———-|——————————————————————————————————————— , fast delivery
——————————————————————————————————————– —|—————————————————————————————————————————- Multiple varieties
——————————————————————————————————————— |—————————————————————————————————————————— —–|————————————————————————————————————————– ————
Competitive factors | Performance-price ratio | Flexible production and response speed
—————— ——————————————————————————————————————————– —
It can be seen from Table 3 that in terms of current and future development prospects, the environment for maintaining mass production of textiles has changed, and printed textiles are particularly responsible for the brunt of the current production.The method cannot adapt to the requirements of such environmental changes.
In order to survive and develop in a new environment and win in fierce global competition, enterprises must change their product manufacturing strategies and seek to implement new production models to shorten product time-to-market, improve product quality, and reduce product costs. With the goal of meeting customers’ needs for personalized customized products at a time and price acceptable to customers, large-scale customization is proposed for this demand.
Mass custom production is an emerging enterprise production and management model. Its goal is to produce customized products with large-scale benefits, which is undoubtedly an ideal production method that the manufacturing industry yearns for. Therefore, the concept of mass custom production has attracted widespread attention as soon as it was proposed and has become a global research hotspot in recent years. It has been successfully implemented in some companies and is becoming the mainstream production model of manufacturing in the 21st century.
Large-scale customized production is guided by the system’s ideas, from the perspective of overall optimization, by fully tapping the potential of the enterprise, and with the support of technologies and ideas such as standardized technology, computer technology, modern design methodology, parallel engineering, etc., with the support of technologies and ideas such as standardized technology, computer technology, modern design methodology, and parallel engineering. , and finally realize the process of providing customized products with the efficiency of mass production according to the special needs of each customer. Large-scale customized production combines the advantages of low-cost mass production and the advantages of customized production to meet customers’ personalized and diversified needs, allowing enterprises to adapt to rapid market changes and provide customers with real needs in time and price acceptable to customers. products. The difference between large-scale customized production and traditional large-scale production is shown in Table 4.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- | Large-scale custom production
—–|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– ———————————————–
Core|Achieve efficiency through stability and control|Achieve product variations and customization
—–|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– ——|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ———
Goal| to withstand almost every customer| to develop, produce, sell, and ship with sufficient flexibility and customization, and low cost and Low price development and production | Almost every customer gets the goods and services they want
| Production, sale, delivery of goods and services|
—–|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- ———————–
Critical | Product-centered; Stable demand | Customer-centered; Dynamic demand; Decentralized Market;
Features | Large and unified market; Product development | Short product development cycle; low-cost, high-quality, customized goods and services.
|Long cycle; low cost, consistent quality |
| Quantity, standardized goods and services. |
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- The goal of customized production is to produce customized products with large-scale benefits. For users, the products obtained are customized and personalized; for manufacturing companies, the product is mainly formed by mass production. of.
The emergence and gradual maturity of digital jet printing technology has successfully solved this problem. Only a few primary colors can be used to draw out tens of millions of colors, so that customers can be provided with samples within 24 hours, which is very convenient to be based on customers. It is necessary to organize small batches or even single-piece production, and the colors can be as you wish; when digital jet printing technology is further combined with information network technology, three-dimensional simulation and tailor-made for customers on the Internet to achieve a completely personalized business model. .
For example: Cus~mClmh. com is one of the manufacturers in customized clothing companies that use digital printing technology. Their products include computer printing, trademarks made of fabrics, tie and scarves.
Cus~mClo out. com applies six-color inkjet printing machine. Customers can choose from any of 12 to 150 different patterns, and can also design them by themselves using the templates provided on their web pages, or the company will tailor them for the fee. This method is highly operational and can completely avoid the trouble caused by large amounts of inventory.
In short, the emergence and successful application of digital printing technology is undoubtedly a major technological revolution in the textile industry. It has milestone significance. The economic and social benefits brought by digital printing will be for the world, especially major textile printing and dyeing countries. China has had a profound impact. Like previous industrial upgrading and changes, the emergence of new digital jet printing technologies is both a challenge and an opportunity, and Chinese textile companies must seize the initiative in the upcoming changes.
5. Conclusion
The development of digital jet printing technology has basically changed from continuous jet to on-demand jet, from hot bubble nozzles to piezoelectric nozzles.
The speed of digital jet printing machines is constantly increasing, and currently a single unit can reach proofing and small batches.Production purpose, parallel production has reached the level that can be used for large-scale product production, and the single-machine speed is still increasing rapidly.
The environment for maintaining mass production of textiles has changed, and the current production methods cannot adapt to the requirements of this environmental change; mass customization production is a new production and management model, and is the mainstream production model of manufacturing in the 21st century. .
Digital jet printing technology fundamentally changed the traditional printing principle and was a revolutionary change in traditional printing methods. The advantages of digital jet printing are very prominent, saving water and dyeing materials, which are beneficial to environmental protection and adapt to large-scale customized production needs. The development and promotion of digital jet printing machines will promote the digital upgrade of the domestic textile industry and improve the international competitiveness of my country’s textile industry.
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