When it comes to printing on PU (polyurethane) leather using latex technology, there are a few important considerations to keep in mind:

Latex Ink Compatibility: Ensure that the latex ink you intend to use is suitable for printing on synthetic materials like PU leather. Look for latex inks specifically designed for flexible substrates.

Surface Preparation: Properly prepare the surface of the PU leather for printing by ensuring it is clean and free of any contaminants that could affect ink adhesion. Some manufacturers may offer specific recommendations for surface preparation.

Printing Parameters: Adjust the printer settings to account for the unique properties of PU leather, such as its flexibility and smooth surface. This may involve adjusting ink density, curing temperature, and print speed to achieve optimal results.

Curing Process: Latex inks generally require heat for curing. Follow the manufacturer's guidelines for the appropriate curing temperature and duration to ensure good adhesion and durability of the printed image on the PU leather.

Testing and Quality Control: Before full-scale production, conduct thorough testing to validate the print quality, adhesion, and durability of the latex ink on PU leather. This can help to identify any potential challenges and optimize the printing process.

By adhering to these considerations, you can leverage latex printing solutions to produce high-quality prints on PU leather for various applications such as custom upholstery, fashion accessories, and promotional items. Always refer to the specific guidelines provided by the ink manufacturer for the best results.

T-shirt inkjet printing solutions typically involve the use of specialized inkjet printers and inks specifically designed for fabric printing. 

These solutions may include: 

Direct-to-Garment (DTG) Printers: DTG printers are designed to print directly onto T-shirts and other apparel. They use specialized textile inks and are often designed with a flat plate to accommodate the T-shirt press plate. Textile inks: These inks are specifically designed to adhere to fabrics and resist washing and wear. They may come in a variety of colors and formulas to suit different fabrics and printing methods. 

Pre-treatment solutions: For DTG printing, pre-treatment solutions are typically used to prepare the fabric to receive ink. This increases the vibrancy and durability of your printed design. 

DTF (direct-to-film) printing: After printing with an inkjet solution, a heat press is typically used to cure the ink and bond it to the fabric to ensure durability and wash fastness. 

These solutions produce high-quality, full-color prints on T-shirts, providing versatile and customizable options for garment decoration.

Comparison of DTF printing and DTG Directly Printing (Technical Perspective)

1. Color

Both processes are digital printing, with similar color richness but different processes.

DTG directly printing: directly print white ink on the fabric, and then print color ink on the white ink. Since white ink is directly printed on the clothing fabrics, part of the white ink will be absorbed by the fabric, and the surface of most fabric fibers is uneven, so the white ink we see is not so white. Therefore, when color ink is printed on the white ink, it does not seem very bright.

DTF transfer printing: first print color ink on the transfer film, and then print white ink on the color ink. After sprinkling powder on the white ink, transfer it on the clothes in reverse. DTF ink is directly printed on the film, which is actually printed on the coating of the film. The coating will not absorb any ink and can ensure that the ink does not spread. White ink is printed on the color ink, and then sprinkled with powder to ensure bright colors. At present, it seems that the color of DTF printing is better than that of DTG directly printing.

2. Fastness

Generally, there are three types of clothing fastness: dry rubbing fastness, wet rubbing fastness, and washing fastness.

Dry rubbing fastness: The dry rubbing fastness of DTF printing is generally level 4-4.5, and directly printing is generally above level 4. DTF printing is better, but both of them can all meet the requirements.

Wet rubbing fastness: The wet rubbing fastness of DTF printing generally reaches level 4, and directly printing is generally level 3-4. DTF printing is better. Washing fastness: DTF printing usually reaches level 4, and DTG direct printing usually reaches level 3-4. DTF printing is still better.

3. Product Applicability

In principle, pigment ink is suitable for any clothing fabric, and pigment particles rely on adhesives to adhere to the clothing fabric, but in practical applications, there are differences.

Heat transfer process: Heat transfer process is suitable for almost all fabrics.

DTG directly printing process: In principle, pigment ink is suitable for any fabric, but the fastness of directly printing process on some fabrics does not perform well , such as polyester fabrics or fabrics with low cotton content. With the advancement of technology ,this problem will be solved.

From the current technology, the heat transfer process is suitable for more fabrics and processes.

4. Cost

Cost consists of two parts: material cost and production cost.

Material cost: Digital DTF ink has relatively low requirements for ink because it is printed on the film. The transfer film printing market is developing rapidly and the competition is fierce. Currently, the price of DTF ink is lower than that of DTG ink. In the DTG directly printing production process, the fabric needs to be pre-treated. The material cost of the pre-treatment is relatively high, which will be higher than that of the film.

Production cost: The production cost is directly related to production efficiency, and the complexity of the process can also affect efficiency.

DTF printing process: film printing ➡ cutting ➡ transferring

DTG directly printing process:pre-treatment liquid ➡ drying (heat pressing) ➡ printing ➡ drying by air ➡ drying (heat pressing) color fixation

DTG directly printing process and heat transfer process, printing the same pattern and using the same time, but besides printing, DTG directly printing requires two more processes than heat transfer process. From the perspective of time, it takes about twice as much time and production efficiency is twice as low.

In terms of the printing process, there is not much difference between the two processes, but besides printing, the DTF transfer process is simple, efficient, and the corresponding labor cost is not high

5. Comfortability

Looking at the bright part from the back, the DTG directly printing part has even light coming through it, while the DTF printing part is completely black without any light. If we blow air on the cloth with our mouth, we will find that the directly printing part is breathable, and the DTF printing part is non breathable. For summer clothing, good breathability and comfort are essential.

Conclusion: Compared with the direct printing process, heat transfer printing is simpler and lower in cost, but less comfortable. DTG directly printing is rising rapidly and mainly targeting the high-end clothing industry. Therefore, the affordability of DTF printing cannot meet the needs of high-end customers.

Hongsam focuses on inkjet printing solutions for 22 years, we offers both DTF printing solution and DTG printing solution. If you are still confused, please contact us, we can offer the recommendation based on your actual situation.

Water-based ink

1. Water-based ink mainly uses water as solvent, and has the advantages of stable ink color, high brightness, strong tinting strength, strong adhesion after printing, adjustable drying speed and strong water resistance. Compared with other inks, since the aqueous ink does not contain volatile toxic organic solvents, it has no adverse effect on the health of the operator during the printing process, and has no pollution to the atmospheric environment and the printed matter itself. Because the ink has the characteristics of non-flammable, it can also eliminate the hidden dangers of flammable and explosive, improve the printing working environment, and is conducive to safe production.

2. However, current water-based inks still have certain technical limitations, and their printing performance and quality are not up to the standard of solvent-based inks or UV inks.

Hongsam Water Based Latex Ink

Hongsam latex ink solve the problems of normal water based ink’s limitation, it doesn’t lose the vibrant color and high color reproducibility of solvent inks. Resins contained in the latex ink are dissolved by heat and form a membrane to firmly fix pigments to the surface of the media. The latex ink allows for printing on a wide range of materials including wood, metal, PVC, paper, fabric, and PET film without the ink absorbing layer, which is typically difficult to print on with solvent ink.

UV inks

1. UV inks have a unique cure, for example fast cure without penetration and evaporation, and are now widely used in inkjet printing. UV inks have three major characteristics: energy-saving drying, extensive print ability to substrates (almost on all materials), and fast cure to reduce subsequent process times.

2. However, UV printing inks are harmful prior to application, workers' protection needed (pungent smell, skin irritation...). Paper waste from UV printing to be separated in the print shop, possibly even to be disposed of as hazardous waste, because de-inking in paper recycling is still prob-lematic.

The production process of textile digital printing uses modern digital equipment, color separation is processed by computer software, through professional RIP software to spray pigment ink or dye ink directly onto our fabric or the medium, and then the post-processing is performed on different fabrics to form the colorful patterns. Compared with the traditional printing process, the digital printing process gets rid of the process of color separation, sketching, film making and screen making, which greatly reduce the production time and production cost.

Digital printing also breaks the length limit of traditional printing color registration and flowers, can make the textile fabrics achieve the printing effect of high-end printing. Theoretically, the color can reach 16.7 million kinds, which breaks through the single color registration of traditional printing limit. Printing on high-precision patterns such as color gradients and cloud patterns. Digital printing has unparalleled advantages in technology, which greatly expands the space for textile pattern design and improves the grade of products.

In the high-precision spraying process. There is no waste of dyes and chemicals, no waste water, and the computer-controlled spraying process does not produce noise. The spraying process does not produce pollution, the process of achieving green production.

Follow Hongsam to learn more about inkjet knowledge. Hongsam has 22 years' experience on textile inkjet printing solutions, we have different inks used for different fabrics printing: roll to roll textile pigmment ink, sublimation ink, high energy disperse ink, reactive ink, DTG ink, DTF ink and acid ink.