A comprehensive understanding of digital thermal transfer technology (on)

First, how to understand and understand digital thermal transfer technology

1, what is the digital thermal transfer technology

Digital thermal transfer technology is a new technology that combines traditional thermal transfer technology and digital printing technology to print color images and patterns without a plate. In the country, the first technology was mainly used in advertising, signage, card, and ceramic image production. Later, with the broadening of the application field, it was more widely used in industrial production, such as digital printing and dyeing, garment production, and shoe production. Industrial products such as webbing and apparel labels are increasingly used.

The earliest countries to apply this technology are the United States, South Korea, Italy, Switzerland, China and other countries. From the scale of the market in the past two years, China has become the world's largest digital thermal transfer processing market. Many international brands of thermal transfer color printing inks have begun to stare at the huge Chinese market and participate in market competition. There is a great deal of hope and the competition will become increasingly fierce.

Here, the digital thermal transfer we are going to talk about is digital thermal transfer using inkjet printing technology as a technical form, because this type of technology can guarantee a certain width and length, suitable for industrial production.

2, the market significance of digital thermal transfer technology

Digital thermal transfer technology can be said to be a new technology that appears to meet the needs of personalized market development and consumer demand for personalized products. It is an effective complement to traditional thermal transfer technologies and traditional thermal transfer products. Therefore, strictly speaking, the market positioning of digital thermal transfer technology and products is a personalized product market. Traditional thermal transfer products are difficult to produce small batches of personalized products due to technical limitations and plate-making costs. Therefore, in the traditional thermal transfer market, digital thermal transfer technology is a market gap before the advent of personalized products. The advent of this technology has made it possible to produce personalized thermal transfer products. Not only that, the quality of the printed images of digital thermal transfer products is far more than the traditional thermal transfer technology. This is why digital thermal transfer technology can be popularized and popularized within a few years.

Second, how to distinguish and recognize thermal transfer and digital thermal transfer

1, what is the heat transfer

Generally speaking, thermal transfer is a kind of transfer technology and product. It uses thermal transfer equipment to transfer patterns and images on thermal transfer paper to 180°C-230°C and transfer and print on different materials. form.

The thermal transfer technology was first applied in the textile printing and dyeing industry and shoe material industry. Later, with the development of the times and the advancement of science and technology applications, the emergence of digital technology and the emergence of personalized consumption concepts have made the application of thermal transfer technology more widespread and widespread. The application products have emerged in an endless stream, covering almost all material fields. . Such as: metal, wood, stone, ceramics, glass, PVC, leather, chemical fiber fabrics can apply thermal transfer technology to transfer beautiful patterns and images, production and production of exquisite products.

2, thermal transfer two printing methods

Thermal transfer has two kinds of printing methods, one is sublimation transfer printing, and the other is thermal transfer printing.

The sublimation method refers to the printing of a pattern on a printing paper to a desired medium after the paste produced by heat-raising the disperse dye is printed on a screen or gravure into a printing paper.

The heat-solid transfer method refers to the use of thermosetting ink (also known as hot-melt adhesive) to screen-print printed paper, and transfer the pattern on the print paper to cultural shirts and clothing and other products.

The two printing methods have obvious differences in application. The sublimation transfer method is mainly applied to chemical fiber fabrics and hard materials coated with thermal transfer coatings. The heat-solidification transfer methods are mainly applied to pure cotton products.

The difference in the texture of the two printing methods is that the dye-sublimation pattern does not change the original texture of the material after transfer, and the hand feel and appearance are good. After the thermosetting pattern is transferred, a layer of jelly material is formed on the surface of the attachment, and the hand feel is poor and airtight.

The two kinds of printing methods have their own advantages and disadvantages in production and have their own characteristics.

3, the traditional sublimation thermal transfer of several technical methods

The traditional sublimation thermal transfer technology has three kinds: silk screen thermal transfer, gravure printing (copper plate, electro engraving) thermal transfer, offset thermal transfer. The traditional sublimation thermal transfer feature is printed.

4, digital thermal transfer

Digital thermal transfer is a new technology based on the traditional sublimation heat transfer printing combined with digital printing technology to print pattern images without printing. It is characterized by the use of digital printing technology to print color patterns and images without the need for plate making, which saves the plate making process and costs, and is therefore suitable for producing personalized printed products.

The technical feature of digital thermal transfer is that the digital printing device uses a dedicated thermal transfer color print ink and thermal transfer printing paper.

5, the difference between traditional thermal transfer and digital thermal transfer

(1) Differences in printing methods: Traditional thermal printing belongs to printing; digital thermal printing belongs to printing without printing.

(2) The difference of printing color quality: The traditional thermal transfer can not solve the problem of color reproduction; digital thermal transfer can solve this problem as long as the ink quality is guaranteed.

(3) The difference of application products: The traditional thermal transfer application products are relatively single; digital thermal transfer application products are relatively extensive.

(4) The difference in market positioning: The traditional thermal transfer market positioning is a popular market; digital thermal transfer market positioning is a personalized market.

(5) The difference in production quantity: The traditional thermal transfer production capacity is large, suitable for the production of large quantities of popular products; digital thermal transfer production capacity is small, suitable for the production of small quantities of personalized products.

(6) The difference in market prices: Traditional thermal transfer products are low-priced because they are popular products; digital thermal transfer products are high in the market because they are personalized products.

6, how to understand and distinguish the traditional thermal transfer market and digital thermal transfer market

The digital thermal transfer market is a personalized new market. Its product and market prices are determined by the concept of personalization. Digital thermal transfer products and technologies are the development and extension of traditional thermal transfer. The two markets are coexisting and complementary, and they are independent of each other, forming different market prices and consumer groups.

The traditional thermal transfer market is a low-priced market.

The digital thermal transfer market is a high-priced market.

The difference between the two markets cannot be simply based on price. The fundamental difference between the two markets lies in the quality, content, form and technical content of the product. Traditional thermal transfer can not produce high-quality products and personalized products required by digital thermal transfer because of technical limitations (platemaking, color performance).

Therefore, the market for digital thermal transfer is a consumer group with high added value. Because of the clear market positioning of digital thermal transfer, it is not only inconsistent with the traditional thermal transfer market but also has different consumer groups and application areas.

Considering the production cost and added value of digital thermal transfer products, digital thermal transfer technology does not involve the thermal transfer market in the traditional price range.

Third, the core technology of digital thermal transfer - thermal transfer color printing ink

1, thermal transfer color printing ink (water)

Thermal transfer color printing inks are formulated with dye-sublimation disperse dyes, other chemical additives and water. As the ink market is accustomed to dividing inks into oil inks and water-based inks, the product was said to be a thermal transfer color printing ink in the early days of the market, because the ink is water-based ink, and now people are used to calling it Sublimation printing ink or thermal transfer printing ink.

2. Thermal transfer color printing ink and screen printing thermal transfer (sublimation) color paste, thermosetting ink, gravure thermal transfer (sublimation) color paste, offset thermal transfer (sublimation) ink difference

Thermal transfer color printing ink and screen, gravure, offset thermal transfer paste, ink, and silk screen thermosetting ink has a difference with this. Thermal transfer color printing ink is used for desktop printers and pictorial printers. The printing format is no plate printing, and other thermal transfer printing modes are plate printing. In addition, there is a qualitative difference in print quality such as color saturation and color reproduction. Digital thermal transfer has a clear quality advantage.

â—† Thermal transfer color printing ink is mainly used for production of personalized products.

â—† Wire mesh thermal transfer color paste and gravure thermal transfer color paste are mainly used for the production of printing papers for chemical fiber fabrics and shoe materials, suitable for the production of low-priced traditional products.

â—† Thermosetting ink (Hot Melt) is mainly used for the production of cultural shirts, children's clothing printing paper, suitable for the production of traditional products.

â—†Offset thermal transfer printing ink is mainly used in the production of thermal transfer paintings for advertising posters, banners, and banners. It is suitable for producing bulk advertising products.

3, thermal transfer color printing ink classification

Digital thermal transfer color print ink can be roughly divided into two categories. Since digital thermal transfer application products are broadly classified into advertising image products and industrial products, if the thermal transfer color printing inks currently used in the market are classified in terms of quality and price, they can be classified as “advertising images”. Ink and "garment printing grade" ink. The characteristics of garment printing inks are: quality stability, high color saturation, good fluency, professional color quality, high-quality textile printing and personalized clothing production, and advertising image-grade inks characterized by unstable quality and low prices. The main reason is that color reproduction and fluency are relatively poor, so only small-format, small-size products with low requirements for image quality can be produced. Apparel printing inks are suitable for large photo inkjet printers and digital printers, and advertising image-grade inks are suitable for desktop printers. From the point of view of applicable models, there is a clear quality difference between the quality of apparel printing inks and advertising image-grade inks. The vast majority of advertising image-grade inks circulated on the market are difficult to use on photo inkjet printers and digital printers. The reason is that the plugging phenomenon is serious and cannot be continuously produced.

4, how to identify the quality of thermal transfer color printing ink

Identification of thermal transfer color printing ink has two most important criteria, one is the purity of the ink, and the other is the fluency of the ink, that is, the value of a print length and area. The purity of ink determines the degree of color saturation and reduction after image transfer. Fluency determines the print quality and the continuous length of the paper (especially in the case of thermal transfer papers such as apparel and shoe materials, which cannot be broken or fly-wired, and are not allowed from production requirements). Therefore, a good ink is necessary for purity and fluency, which is also the most important indicator to identify the advantages and disadvantages of ink. According to the production standard of ink-jet printing ink, the average ink dye particle size can not be larger than 0.1 micron. Below this standard, printer plug-in phenomenon will easily occur, and the ink quality will be greatly reduced.

In addition to the above two important indicators, the problem of the precipitation of dyes that affects the quality of the ink will also seriously affect the quality and stability of the ink. If the ink appears to precipitate, it must be shaken before use.

In addition, there is almost no chromatic aberration when printing high-quality inks, but inferior ink often causes chromatic aberration. This is also the reason that the current digital thermal transfer market distinguishes the advantages and disadvantages of inks with advertising image quality and garment dyeing inks.