Topic Listings

MEMS Head Technology

Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) is the technology of the very small, and merges at the nanoscale into “Nano-Electro Mechanical Systems” (NEMS) and nanotechnology. MEMS generally range in size from a micrometer (a millionth of a meter) to a millimeter (thousandth of a meter). The scale …

Latex Ink

A variety of fabric types are used for soft signage applications, with polyester currently the most common. Other available fabrics include cotton/polyester blends, satin-finish polyester, and cotton. Printers using Latex ink, have a wide range of compatible uncoated fabrics and textiles available. Latex …

Inkjet Head Variables and Productivity

Printhead manufacturers of piezo head units usually make two types of heads. The first type is known as a fixed drop or a head using a singular drop size. This drop size can vary, but is fixed by the manufacturer for a given head model.

Ink Chemistries

There are a wide variety of ink chemistries used to print textile materials. The fiber content of the material will dictate which ink can be used. Some inks work on a variety of fiber types while others only work on specific fiber types. In general terms, dyes are soluble and have an affinity …

Dispersed Dyes

Dispersed dyes are specifically used for fibers such as polyester, acetate rayon, poly Lycra and acrylics. The dyes can form a solid solution with the fiber or dissolve within the fiber and become part of it. Dispersed dyes are typically direct printed on to the textile and then processed through a heat …

Digital Textile Printer Platforms

There are many direct to textile printers on the market, falling into two distinct categories. Printing directly onto textiles is one category, while the other is printing using dye sublimation ink onto transfer paper. Some of these printers may have heat ovens on the take-up side to set …

Acid Dyes

Acid dyes are best used to print on wool, angora, cashmere, silk and polyamides. Nylons are also printed using this type of dye. The fibers in these materials have positively charged ions that are naturally attracted to the negatively charged ions within the acid dyes. The acid-dye ink is printed …

Rigid Media

Flatbed printing can help a business take on specialty and unusual printing jobs. Having a flatbed also means trying to output on substrates you might never have seen or heard of before. Where do you get the materials and who carries them? Below are descriptions for common media used in flatbed …

Design for Digital Production

Designing a workable environment for digital equipment includes proper cooling for all electronic devices such as — monitors, computers, battery backups & scanning devices.  It’s very expensive to add additional cooling after the foundation has been poured and walls erected. For quality control …

Inkjet Printer Technology Primer

Inkjet Machine Configurations - Roll-to-Roll type printers This type of printer can print from rolls of material of varying widths. There are both dedicated roll-to-roll devices and devices that can be adapted to be flatbed printers (hybrids). Roll devices can be as small as 17 inches in …