Textile printing

Abstract

An example method includes providing a textile on which a print fluid is to be deposited at a print station and supporting the textile by a support member. The support member is to advance the textile through the print station. The example method includes increasing a size of the support member to increase a size of the textile and advancing the textile toward the print station by advancing the support member toward the print station.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Some printing machines are used to print on textiles, for example, by depositing printing fluid onto the textile. Attached Figure Description

[0002] The example will now be described by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0003] Figures 1A and 1B are simplified schematic diagrams of the example support;

[0004] Figures 2A and 2B are simplified schematic diagrams of example supports for textiles;

[0005] Figure 3A is a simplified schematic diagram of the example support component;

[0006] Figure 3B is a simplified schematic diagram of the example support component;

[0007] Figures 4A and 4B are simplified schematic diagrams of example supports for textiles;

[0008] Figures 5A and 5B are simplified schematic diagrams of the example support;

[0009] Figures 6A and 6B are simplified schematic diagrams of the example support;

[0010] Figure 7A and Figure 7B This is a simplified schematic diagram of an example support component;

[0011] Figure 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C A simplified schematic diagram of an example support for supporting and propelling textiles toward the printing station;

[0012] Figure 9 A flowchart for the example method; and

[0013] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of an example method. Detailed Implementation

[0014] In textile printing, printing fluids can be deposited onto textiles. This can be used to print images (e.g., ink-printed images) or to color part or all of the textile (which can be considered as printing a monochrome or multicolor image onto the textile). For the printing fluid to transfer the image or color to the textile, thus achieving good print quality (or high-quality garments), the transfer should achieve good saturation, uniformity, and hand feel. However, sometimes the three-dimensional structure of textiles can present challenges because some printing fluids may not be able to properly penetrate the different layers of the textile.

[0015] For example, textiles can include interlocking networks of fabrics (and / or yarns and / or strands and / or threads and / or strands, etc.) formed by weaving and / or interlacing and / or winding and / or intertwining and / or knitting fabrics (and / or yarns, etc.) into layers. These are sometimes referred to as “warp” and “weft”. For example, a fabric network can include two sets of different fibers (and / or yarns, etc.) of textile material such as fabric and / or cloth, which are woven (and / or interlaced, etc.) at right angles to form a textile, wherein the longitudinal threads are called warp and the transverse threads are called weft. Warp and weft can be referred to as “threads” of a textile and can include textile material such as fabric material and / or yarn and / or cloth, etc. Therefore, textiles can include networks of threads and / or yarns and / or strands and / or fibers, such as cloth and / or fabric and / or textile material and / or string and / or rope, etc. Textiles may include fabrics and / or clothing and / or rags and / or garments, etc. Textiles may include woven and / or non-woven materials. The threads (or yarns or fibers, etc.) of textiles may contain natural or synthetic materials.

[0016] During some printing processes, textile material may be laid on a flat surface, and the threads of the textile may be close together, making it difficult for any droplets of printing fluid deposited on the surface to properly penetrate the threads. Therefore, the textile may not have the expected color depth, richness, or uniformity. Consequently, the textile may have poor color coverage, low saturation, and may be considered of inferior quality.

[0017] Some examples in this paper involve stretching the textile prior to the printing process, for example, by increasing the size of the textile. This expands the distance between adjacent threads (e.g., warp and / or weft) of the textile to allow the printing fluid to penetrate better and color the textile. Consequently, this improves the final print quality and / or uniformity of the textile, and this can be achieved using the same amount of printing fluid (e.g., without using more printing fluid to achieve the improved quality). The stretching of the textile can be a predetermined amount, for example, it can be a stretch between 0 cm and 2 cm. The textile can be stretched in the textile propulsion direction (e.g., the media propulsion direction) and / or in a direction perpendicular to the textile propulsion direction (e.g., the cross direction). Stretching the textile can change the textile from, for example, a loose or slack state to a taut or tensioned state. Because the textile is large in size, according to some examples, the image to be transferred to the textile can be enlarged, for example, by a processor (e.g., a processor executing machine-readable instructions), and the image transferred to the textile can include a resized image. In this way, although the textile is stretched, the final image to be printed on the textile can be sized as originally intended, so that the stretching does not affect the printing process, but the resulting textile still has better uniformity, saturation and hand feel. Therefore, resizing the image can include, for example, stretching the image and / or distorting the image in the same or multiple directions as the textile is stretched (e.g., advancing and / or ribbing).

[0018] According to other examples, supports or bases are provided for supporting textiles and for increasing the size of the textiles. The support or base may include a first component and a second component, which may be movable relative to each other, for example, in a translational (or slidable) and / or rotatable manner, such as moving away from or towards each other. Each component may be used to hold a portion of the textile, such that an increase in the size of the textile can be achieved by increasing the size of the support. The increaseable size of the support may be the distance between the first and second components of the support. The first and second components may each be used to hold the textile by contact or engagement between the textile and clamping elements (such as clamping fingers or toothed components) of the components that clamp the textile by penetrating its fibers. The increaseable size of the support may include the width, length, depth, or height of the support and may correspond to the size of the fabric in the media advance and / or cross-web direction. Once the size of the support is increased to increase the size of the textile, the support can then advance the textile toward a printing station to print an image thereon. Therefore, some examples herein relate to supports or adjustable supports with adjustable dimensions for textiles.

[0019] Figures 1A and 1B illustrate a support 10 for textiles used to advance the textiles through a printing station of a printing machine. The textiles and printing station are not shown in Figures 1A and 1B, but will be described later with reference to other figures. The support 10 includes a first support member 12 for supporting a first portion of the textile and a second support member 14 for supporting a second portion of the textile. As indicated by the arrows in Figure 1B, the first support member 12 and the second support member 14 are movable relative to each other. When the first support member 12 and the second support member 14 are movable relative to each other, this changes the dimensions of the support 10. For example, the support 10 shown in Figure 1A has a width W1, while in Figure 1B it has a width W2, where W2 > W1, because in the example of Figure 1B, the first support member 12 has moved away from the second support member 14 relative to the example of Figure 1A. Therefore, the support 10 can be considered a dimensionally adjustable support 10. The first support member 12 and the second support member 14 are movable relative to each other, such that when the first and second portions of the textile are supported by the first support member 12 and the second support member 14, the adjustable size of the support member 10 can mean that the size of the textile is adjustable (or changeable, etc.). This is shown in more detail in Figures 2A and 2B. Although represented as width, the increased size of the support member 10 due to the relative movement of the first support member 12 and the second support member 14 can also be the depth, height, or length of the support member 10. To achieve relative movement, in some examples, one of the first support member 12 and the second support member 14 may be movable relative to the other, or in other examples, both the first support member 12 and the second support member 14 may be movable. As shown in Figure 1, and as will be discussed later, in this example, one of the support members 12, 14 may be received (e.g., translated or slidably received) in the other to adjust the size of the support member 10.

[0020] Figures 2A and 2B illustrate a support member 10 supporting a textile 20. Both figures show the support member 10 housed within the textile 20, in this example, which includes a shirt (or T-shirt), with the support member 10 shown in dashed lines to indicate its location within the garment 20. In the example of Figure 2A, the support member 10 is the one shown in Figure 1A with a width W1. In this example, the size (e.g., width) of the support member 10 is small enough that the shirt 20 rests loosely around it. In the example of Figure 2B, the support member 10 is the one shown in Figure 1B with a width W2 > W1. In this example, the size (e.g., width) of the support member 10 has increased, causing the shirt 20 to be taut, stretched, pulled, or stretched / stretched around it. Therefore, the increased width of the support member 10 results in an increase in the width of the garment 20. In other words, the first and second portions of textile 20 (see left portion 21 and right portion 22) can each be supported by a first support member 12 and a second support member 14, such that as the first member 12 and the second member 14 move relative to each other, these first portions 21 and second portions 22 are pulled away from each other to increase the size of textile 20. Since the distance between the first portions 21 and second portions 22 of the textile is adjustable, the size of textile 20 is adjustable. As will be explained later, support member 10 can be used to support and / or clamp and / or hold textile 20 to advance it through the printing station of the printing machine. Support member 10 can be used to increase the size of textile 20 before the printing operation, such that the textile is pulled taut and / or tensioned to improve the printing quality of the image formed thereon.

[0021] Figure 3A shows another support 30 for textiles (not shown). Support 30 may include support 10 as described above. Like support 10, support 30 is used to advance textiles through the printing station of a printing machine and includes a first support member 32 for supporting a first portion of the textile and a second support member 34 for supporting a second portion of the textile. As indicated by the arrows, the first support member 32 and the second support member 34 are movable relative to each other. When the first support member 32 and the second support member 34 are movable relative to each other, this will change the size of support 30, and therefore (as will be explained below with reference to Figure 4) will change the size of the textile held by support 30, for example, as described with reference to Figure 1.

[0022] Figure 3B illustrates a support member 36, which may include any of the aforementioned support members, such as first support members 12, 32 or second support members 14, 34. The support member 36 includes clamping elements 38. By way of example, two sets of clamping elements 38 are shown in Figure 3B, one set being provided at either end of the support member 36. However, according to the example, any number of clamping elements 38 (including a single clamping element) may be used. The clamping elements 38 are used to clamp textiles, for example, to support or hold textiles for use with supports (including support members 36) (such as support members 10 or 30) to hold and advance the textiles through the printing station. The clamping elements 38, or each set of clamping elements 38, may include a pair of clamping fingers, which are, for example, biased in a closed configuration to clamp the textiles therebetween; however, in some examples, a single clamping element or a protrusion or finger may be used.

[0023] Figures 4A and 4B illustrate a support member 40 and a textile 25, in which, in this example, the textile 25 comprises a textile without a closed interior, depicted as a blanket or scarf 25. The support member 40 can be a support member as described above with respect to Figures 1-3; for example, the support member 40 can include the support member 30 of Figure 3A and can include the support member 36 of Figure 3B. The support member 40 is used to advance the textile 25 through the printing station of a printing machine and includes a first support member 42 for supporting a first portion 26 (e.g., the left-hand portion) of the textile 25 and a second support member 44 for supporting a second portion 27 (e.g., the right-hand portion) of the textile 25. As shown in Figure 3A, the first support member 42 and the second support member 44 are movable relative to each other to change the size of the textile 25 as the first portion 26 and the second portion 27 of the textile 25 are supported by the first support member 42 and the second support member 44. For example, in the example of Figure 4A, the support member 40 has a width W1, such that the textile 25 has a width W3, and in the example of Figure 4B, the support member 40 has a width W2, W2>W1, such that the textile 25 has a width W4, W4>W3. This is because, relative to the example of Figure 4A, in the example of Figure 4B, the first support member 42 has been moved away from the second support member 44 to increase the distance between them (and thereby increase the size of the support member 40, e.g., its width), and thereby increase the size of the textile 25 (e.g., its width). In the example of Figure 4A, the textile 25 can be relaxed, while in the example of Figure 4B, the textile can be taut or tensioned, etc.

[0024] As shown in Figure 3B, each support member 42, 44 of the support member 40 includes a pair of clamping elements 48 (although in some examples, each support member 42, 44 may include one clamping element 48), wherein each pair of clamping elements 48 includes a pair of clamping fingers, which are, for example, biased into a closed configuration for clamping textiles therebetween. In some examples, each clamping element 48 may include a single gripper or clamping fingers, etc.

[0025] Figures 5A and 5B illustrate an example support 50, which may include any of the supports 10, 30, 40, or support members as described above. Support 50 is used to advance textiles (not shown) through a printing station of a printing machine and includes a first support member 52 for supporting a first portion of the textiles and a second support member 54 for supporting a second portion of the textiles. As indicated by the arrows, the first support member 52 and the second support member 54 are movable relative to each other. When the first support member 52 and the second support member 54 are movable relative to each other, this changes the dimensions of support 50. For example, support 50 shown in Figure 5A has a width W5, while in Figure 5B it has a width W6, where W6 > W5, because in the example of Figure 5B, relative to the example of 5A, the first support member 52 has moved away from the second support member 54. Therefore, support 50 can be considered a dimensionally adjustable support 50. The first support member 52 and the second support member 54 are movable relative to each other, such that the adjustable size of the support member 50 means that the size of the textile is adjustable when the first part and the second part of the textile are supported by the first support member 52 and the second support member 54.

[0026] The support member 10 of Figure 1 can be received inside a textile (as shown in Figure 2), while the supports 30 and 40 of Figures 3 and 4 are used to hold the textile between the first and second support members of the support. The support member 50 of Figure 5 may include the support member 10, or may include the support members 30 or 40. In other words, the support member 50 may be received inside a textile or garment (such as a T-shirt), and expanding the size of the support member 50 (as shown in Figure 5B) can, for example, expand the size of the textile from the inside (as described in Figure 2), effectively increasing the size of the textile from the inside. In another example, the support member 50 can be used to hold or clamp the textile between its first support member 52 and second support member 54, in which example each support member 52, 54 may include clamping elements (e.g., 38, 48 as described above) to hold a portion of the textile. Although the support member 10 is depicted as a solid block, and the supports 30, 40 are depicted as unconnected support members, the support member 50 is depicted as a frame having a first frame element and a second frame element connected around an opening or hollow center. In some examples, textiles may be received in the opening between support members 52, 54 and may be held therein by any of the examples discussed above.

[0027] Due to their shapes, supports 30, 40, and 50 may be referred to as “frames” or “frame elements” or “frame-type” supports, and supports 32, 34, 36, 42, and 44 may be referred to as “frame elements”. Support 10 may be referred to as a “pallet” or “pallet-type” support.

[0028] Referring back to Figures 1A and 1B, to facilitate relative movement between support members 12, 14, in this example, a portion of the first support member 12 may be received within a portion of the second support member 14. The relative movement between support members 52, 54 of the support member 50 in the example of Figure 5 is similarly achieved in this example, with a portion of the first support member 52 being received within a portion of the second support member 54. In these examples, the support members may be slidably extendable. However, in other examples, relative movement between support members may be achieved in other ways, such as independent movement between support members (as shown in Figure 4) or virtually other ways. For example, a movable (e.g., slidable) connection may link one support member to another (e.g., one support member may include a guide rail or slide rail, while the other member includes rollers or wheels that can be received and slid within the guide rail / slide rail, such that the two members are connected via a drawer or guide rail or wheel mechanism or conveyor assembly, etc.).

[0029] Figures 6A and 6B illustrate an example support 60 for propelling textile 65 through a printing station to a printing machine. The support 60 includes a first support member 62 for supporting a first portion 66 of the textile 65, and a second support member 64 for supporting a second portion 67 of the textile 65. Each of the first and second support members 62 includes a portion of a rotatable member, depicted as a gear-like wheel with a set of teeth, each set of teeth or each tooth clamping the textile 65 through a region penetrating between the fibers of the textile 65, for example, in a penetrating manner. Therefore, each of the first and second support members 62 may include teeth of a toothed element (e.g., a toothed rotatable element). Because each of the first and second support members 62 includes a portion of a rotatable member, as indicated by the arrows, the first and second support members 62 and 64 are rotatable relative to each other. When the first and second support members 62 and 64 are rotatable relative to each other, this changes the dimensions of the support 60, as it changes the distance between the support members 62 and 64, which in turn changes the dimensions of the textile 65 supported by the support 60. For example, compared to FIG. 6A, in FIG. 6B, each support member (or the portion of the textile 65 it holds) has been rotated away from the other support member, so that the corresponding portions 66, 67 of the textile 65 held by the support members have moved away from each other, thereby increasing the size of the textile 65 by pulling it. When compared to the example shown as relaxed in FIG. 6A, the textile can be pulled to tension or tighten.

[0030] Figure 7A and Figure 7B Example supports 70 and 700 are shown, each including a mechanism for holding a textile (not shown), similar to the mechanism described with reference to Figure 6. Specifically, each of supports 70, 700 includes a first support member and second support members 72, 74, 702, 704, each including a rotatable element, such as a toothed element, each support member thus including teeth of the rotatable toothed element to grip the textile in a penetrating manner. As shown in Figure 6, when the teeth penetrate the textile to grip it and rotate relative to another part of the textile, it will change the size of the textile. By way of example, Figure 7A The support member 70 is a "tray" design as shown in Figures 1 and 2, while Figure 7BThe support member 700 is a “frame” design as shown in Figures 3-5. Further, each support element 72, 74, 702, 704 includes a longitudinal element, such as a rod or shaft, which includes a continuous profile of clamping teeth. In this way, each support element 72, 74, 702, 704 includes a rotatable clamping element extending in one direction of the support members 70, 700. In the example of Figure 7, each rotatable support member 72, 74, 702, 704 substantially extends the support member 70, 700 by, for example, substantially along its length (or width or depth, etc.). This design allows the support members 70, 700 to clamp textiles in many locations (e.g., continuously clamping textiles along their dimensions, such as their length, width, or depth). Figure 7A and Figure 7B The arrows indicate the rotatable nature of the support members, such that when the textile is held by the supports 70 and 700, rotation of the support members will change the size of the textile by moving portions of the textile away from each other.

[0031] Figures 8A-8C The printing machine 800, including the printing station 810, is shown. Figures 8A-8C Each of the shown items represents a textile 825a-825c supported by supports 880a-880c and propelled toward the printing station 810. Figure 8A The textile 825a and support 880a shown in Figures 1 and 2 are illustrated (e.g., in the form of a shirt, having a "tray"-type support inside the garment as shown in Figures 1 and 2), while Figure 8B The same type of textile (shirt) and its internal support (tray) are shown, the textile being further supported by a "frame" type support as shown in Figure 5. Placing a frame-type support (such as the frame-type support in Figure 5) on a textile with its support means that by further placing the frame-type support on the textile, any increase in the size of the textile (e.g., being pulled and tensioned) caused by the increased size of the support contained therein (e.g., in the manner described with respect to Figure 2) can be secured or positioned in place. Figure 8C The textile 825c and support 880c shown in Figures 3-4 are shown being advanced toward the printing station 810. (For example, in the form of a blanket or scarf, wherein the support is of the "frame" type with clamping elements, as discussed in Figures 3-4).

[0032] In other examples, the support or its supporting member may include a combination of any of the mechanisms described above. For example, in Figure 7A Examples and Figure 7BIn the example, four rotatable elements are provided, each with clamping teeth, all depicted as aligned or parallel to stretch the textile in a single direction. However, in other examples, the support may include a first support member and a second support member, each including gears and oriented differently, for example, they may be oriented perpendicular to each other. In this way, rotating one support member increases the size of the textile in one direction (e.g., the advancing direction), while rotating the other support member increases the size of the textile in a different direction (e.g., the vertical direction, such as the crosshair direction). Figure 7A Examples and Figure 7B For example, a support member may include two sets of support members, each set comprising two parallel gears, but one set of gears being perpendicular to the second set. In this way, each set of gears can pull the textile by rotation to increase its size in one direction, but the size of the textile can increase in both directions (e.g., cross-web and media propulsion) as the two sets of gears rotate away from each other. In this way, the textile itself can be effectively expanded by pulling in more than one direction. In a further example, the support member includes two support members, one of which can slide (or translate) away from and toward another support member (such as the support member in Figure 1). The support member may include two further support members, one of which can slide (or translate) away from and toward the other of the further support members. In this further example, one set of support members may be movable relative to each other in a first direction, while the other set of support members may be movable relative to each other in a second direction. The first and second directions may be perpendicular, such that each set expands the textile in the cross-web or propulsion direction to enlarge the textile.

[0033] In some examples, moving a support member relative to another support member can be achieved under motor control. In these examples, a motor can be connected to one of the support members, where the motor can be controlled to move the support member away from the other support member. In other examples, a motor can be connected to each support member, and each support member can be moved toward or away from each other under the control of the motor. In this way, partial expansion of the support member can be automated. In another example, any support member as described above can include a resilient deformable element (such as an anti-slip element) to prevent loose movement of the support member, for example, relative to the surface beneath it. In this way, a resilient deformable element is provided to resist undesirable slippage of the support member, which may lead to undesirable changes in the dimensions of the textile.

[0034] Figure 9An example method 900 is illustrated, which may include a method of printing onto textiles. At box 902, the method includes providing a textile, on which printing fluid is deposited at a printing station. Box 902 may include providing a textile, such as garment, fabric, cloth piece, clothing piece, etc. Images, such as inked images formed by depositing printing fluid onto the textile, can be formed on the textile by the deposition of the printing fluid. The image to be formed on the textile may include color, such as a single color or combination of colors, or a pattern, etc.

[0035] In box 904, the method includes supporting a textile by a support member for advancing the textile through a printing station. The support member may include any of the supports or support members described above with reference to Figures 1-8. Therefore, box 904 may include the support provided by Figures 1-2, Figure 8A and Figure 8B The tray-type support shown and described herein supports textiles, or as shown in Figures 3-5. Figure 8B and Figure 8C The frame-type support shown and described herein supports textiles, or by means of, for example Figure 8B Both tray-type supports and frame-type supports are shown and described to support textiles. More specifically, frame 904 may include inserting a support member (such as support member 10) inside the textile, and / or may include placing the textile between two frame elements of the support member (such as support members 30-50), such that the textile is held by one or both of the two frame elements in the manner described above. In a further example, frame 904 may include inserting a support member (such as support member 10) inside the textile, and then placing a support member (such as support member 50) on top of the textile (as shown in the diagram). Figure 8B middle).

[0036] At box 906, the method includes increasing the size of a support member to increase the size of the textile. For example, the support member may include a first support member and a second support member, and box 906 may include moving the first and second support members relative to each other; or the support member may include a first portion and a second portion, and box 906 may include moving the first portion of the support member relative to the second portion of the support member. Both support members may be movable as portions as in box 906, or one support member may be movable relative to the other support member. In an example where one support member is received within the other support member, box 906 may include moving one support member out of a portion of the other support member. Thus, box 906 may include increasing the size of the textile (e.g., by increasing the size of the support members).

[0037] In some examples, moving a first portion of the support member to increase the size of the support member may include rotating the first portion of the support member (e.g., as shown in Figure 6, where the movable portion includes a portion of a rotatable element, and in this example, the increased size of the support member corresponds to the distance between the first and second support members). Box 906 may include increasing the size of the support member by an amount between 0 cm and 2 cm to increase the size of the textile. Box 906 may include increasing the size of the support member to increase the size of the textile in the propulsion (e.g., textile or media propulsion) direction and / or increase the size of the textile in the transverse direction (e.g., the direction perpendicular to the textile or media propulsion) by increasing the size of the support member in one or more directions corresponding to the propulsion and / or transverse directions. As stated above, as a result of box 906, the size of the textile can be increased. Therefore, as a further result of box 906, the space between the fibers or strands or layers of the textile (e.g., warp and weft) can be increased, allowing any printing fluid subsequently deposited on the textile to properly penetrate the textile.

[0038] At box 908, the method includes advancing the textile toward the printing station by advancing the support member toward the printing station. Box 908 may further include depositing printing fluid onto the textile at the printing station. Thus, box 908 may include advancing the textile toward the printing station as the textile has an increased size (due to the increased size of the support member at box 906), and depositing printing fluid onto the textile with the increased size, resulting in better fluid deposition and more uniform coverage, thereby leading to better print quality.

[0039] Figure 10 An example method 1000 is illustrated, which may include a method of printing onto textiles. Method 1000 includes a method of transferring an image (e.g., a color image or color or pattern) onto textiles, and includes the methods described above. Figure 9 The method 900. At block 1002, method 1000 includes method 900, but method 1000 includes a further block 1004, in which an image is resized, for example, by a processor (such as a computer or a processor of a printing machine), to modify the size of the image to be transferred to the textile. Method 1000 may then include, for example, operating a printing machine according to printing instructions, such as by orienting and depositing printing fluid toward and onto the textile according to the resized image (whose size is determined at block 1004), printing (or transferring) the image to the textile. Block 1004 may include resizing the image by an amount corresponding to an increase in the size of the textile, and / or may include resizing the image by an amount corresponding to an increase in the size of the support.

[0040] Referring again to Figures 1-8, these figures also depict example bases (e.g., any of the supports) for holding textiles and for advancing textiles through a printing machine (e.g., in the manner described above). The base includes a first side and a second side (e.g., see support members 12, 14 or support members 32, 34, etc.). Each side is used to hold a portion of textiles, such as the first and second opposite ends of a shirt (depicted in Figure 1) or the first and second sides of a blanket or scarf (depicted in Figure 4), wherein the corresponding portions of the first and second sides are movable away from and towards each other, such that the distance between the first and second sides is adjustable, allowing the base to adjust the size of the textile held by the first and second sides of the base. As discussed above, in some examples, one (or both) of the movable portions of the first and second sides may include rotatable elements (such as those described above with respect to Figures 6-7), in which example, the rotatable element may include protrusions (such as teeth) to grip the textiles. As discussed with reference to Figures 1 and 5, a movable portion of one of the movable sides of the first and second sides may be accommodated in a portion of the other side of the first and second sides (which may be movable or immovable). One or both of the first and second sides may include attachment members to hold portions of the textile. The attachment members may include any of the mechanisms discussed above (such as clamping elements like a gripper or a pair of gripping fingers) or any other mechanism.

[0041] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus, and systems according to examples of this disclosure. Although the above flowcharts show a particular order of execution, the order of execution may differ from the order depicted. A block described with respect to one flowchart may be combined with a block from another flowchart.

[0042] While methods, apparatuses, and related aspects have been described with reference to certain examples, various modifications, alterations, omissions, and substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit of this disclosure. Therefore, the methods, apparatuses, and related aspects are intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. It should be noted that the foregoing examples are illustrative and not limiting of what is described herein, and those skilled in the art will be able to devise many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

[0043] The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements other than those listed in the claims, and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality, and a single processor or other unit can perform the functions of several units recited in the claims.

[0044] Features of any dependent claim may be combined with features of any independent claim or other dependent claim.

Claims

1. A method for printing, comprising: The printing station provides the textiles on which the printing fluid is deposited. The textile is supported by a support member, which propels the textile through the printing station; Increasing the size of the support member to increase the size of the textile includes moving a first portion of the support member relative to a second portion of the support member; as well as The textile is moved toward the printing station by pushing the support member toward the printing station. Moving the first portion of the support member includes rotating the first portion of the support member to increase the size of the textile in one direction by rotation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the image at the printing station is to be transferred to the textile, and wherein the method further comprises: The image is resized by the processor to modify the size of the image to be transferred to the textile.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The support member is placed inside the textile or the textile is placed between a first part and a second part of the support member, such that the textile is supported by the support member.

4. A support for textiles, the support being used to advance the textiles through a printing station of a printing machine, the support comprising: A first support member for supporting a first portion of the textile; A second support member for supporting a second part of the textile. The first support member and the second support member are movable relative to each other to change the size of the textile when a first part and a second part of the textile are supported by the first support member and the second support member, wherein one of the first support member and the second support member includes a portion of a rotatable member, wherein the size of the textile is increased in one direction by rotating the rotatable member.

5. The support member according to claim 4, wherein the rotatable one of the first support member and the second support member includes teeth for clamping the textile, such that the textile is held by the rotatable support member.

6. The support member according to claim 4, wherein one of the first support member and the second support member includes a clamping element for clamping the textile.

7. A base for holding and advancing textiles through a printing machine, the base including a first side and a second side, each side for holding a portion of the textiles, wherein a portion of the first side or the second side is movable away from and toward the other side such that the distance between the first side and the second side is adjustable, such that the base is used to adjust the size of the textiles held by the first side and the second side of the base, wherein the movable portion includes a rotatable element, wherein the size of the textiles is increased in one direction by rotating the rotatable element.

8. The base of claim 7, wherein the rotatable element includes a protrusion to hold the textile.

9. The base of claim 7, wherein one of the first side and the second side includes an attachment member to retain a portion of the textile.

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