A method of forming a pattern, a textile fabric, and an article

Abstract

The application discloses a pattern forming method, a textile fabric and an article. The pattern forming method comprises forming an initial pattern by direct jet printing using a dispersion ink; pre-heating the initial pattern to obtain a pre-solidified pattern; pasting an adsorption layer on the pre-solidified pattern and heating to develop a color to obtain a target pattern. The application effectively improves the pattern accuracy by introducing the adsorption layer to prevent the migration of the dispersion ink in the color developing stage.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of textile materials, and in particular to a method for forming a pattern using digital direct-to-garment printing with disperse ink, a textile fabric having the pattern, and articles obtained based on the textile fabric. Background Technology

[0002] Existing methods for printing with disperse inks include heat transfer printing and direct digital inkjet printing. Heat transfer printing involves printing the design onto transfer paper, which is then bonded to the fabric. During heating and pressure, the disperse ink on the transfer paper sublimates and transfers to the substrate, such as the fabric. Direct digital inkjet printing uses a high-precision digital printhead to directly spray disperse ink onto the substrate, such as the fabric, to form the design. Heat transfer printing uses medium-to-low temperature disperse inks, which have poor heat resistance. The transfer process requires pressure up to 220°C, which can cause the fabric to become thinner due to compression, resulting in severe heat shrinkage and misalignment of the print. Furthermore, after sublimation, the dye generally only colors the surface layer, leaving the fabric mesh uncolored. Direct digital inkjet printing can use different types of inks; when using high-temperature disperse inks, the overall colorfastness is better than that of medium-to-low temperature disperse inks. However, post-printing washing is required to remove excess ink, generating a large amount of wastewater, which is detrimental to environmental protection. Regardless of the ink type, during the color development process, moisture in the ink can easily carry away a small amount of dye and contaminate unprinted areas, causing ink migration and staining problems. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address at least one of the aforementioned problems, this application discloses a pattern forming method, a textile fabric, and an article thereof. The pattern forming method involves adding an adsorption layer during the heating and color development process of the original pattern formed by digital direct-to-garment printing. This adsorption layer effectively absorbs moisture and dye, preventing dye migration during color development and adsorbing excess excess dye, thereby improving pattern accuracy. Simultaneously, it simplifies the color development process.

[0004] The first aspect of this application discloses a pattern forming method, which may include: providing a substrate; forming an initial pattern on the substrate by direct inkjet printing using disperse ink; preheating the initial pattern to obtain a pre-cured pattern; and attaching an adsorption layer to the pre-cured pattern and heating it to develop color, thereby obtaining a target pattern.

[0005] According to some embodiments of this application, the preheating temperature can be 100℃-150℃.

[0006] According to some embodiments of this application, the adsorption layer may include a base film and a coating layer disposed on at least one side of the base film; the coating layer includes one or more of the following: resin, activated carbon, organobentonite, cotton powder, starch, modified starch, diatomaceous earth, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, nano silica, fumed silica, polyvinyl alcohol, gelatin, and carboxylated styrene-butadiene latex.

[0007] According to some embodiments of this application, the base film may include at least one of natural fibers, polymer materials, inorganic oxides, or inorganic silicate mica.

[0008] According to some embodiments of this application, the coating layer may have a porous structure; the pore size may be 2nm-50nm.

[0009] According to some embodiments of this application, the heating temperature for color development can be 100℃-220℃, and the heating time can be 1-5 minutes.

[0010] According to some embodiments of this application, the heating for color development can be achieved using a heating chamber, in which a hot airflow is formed, which flows through the substrate and then through the pre-cured pattern.

[0011] According to some embodiments of this application, the hot airflow can pass through the pre-cured pattern, then through a filter component, and finally out of the heating chamber.

[0012] A second aspect of this application provides a textile fabric having a pattern obtained by the pattern forming method described above.

[0013] A third aspect of this application provides an article of manufacture which can be made from the textile fabric described above.

[0014] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0015] The disclosure of this application will become more readily understood with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that these drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Furthermore, similar numbers in the drawings are used to denote similar components, wherein: Figure 1 This is an exemplary flowchart of a pattern forming method according to some embodiments of this application; Figure 2 This is an exemplary structural diagram of a heating cavity according to some embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0016] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this application more apparent and understandable, the specific embodiments of this application are described in detail below. Many specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of this application. However, this application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar modifications without departing from the spirit of this application. Therefore, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0017] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this application have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used in this application and in its specification is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. The terms "comprising" or "including," as used in this application, mean that an element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed following the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. The terms "and / or" or "and / or" as used in this application include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0018] The pattern forming method disclosed in this application involves forming an original pattern through digital direct inkjet printing, then applying an absorbent layer to the pattern and applying color to avoid ink migration and reduce environmental pollution.

[0019] The following describes some preferred embodiments of this application. It should be noted that the following description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. The steps involved in this application may be performed precisely in sequence, or various steps may be processed in reverse order or simultaneously. Furthermore, other operations may be added to these processes, or one or more steps may be removed from these processes.

[0020] refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 This refers to a pattern forming method according to some embodiments of this application. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the preparation method may include the following steps.

[0021] Step S1: Use dispersed ink to form an initial pattern through direct inkjet printing.

[0022] In some embodiments, the disperse ink can be any type of disperse ink, including high-temperature disperse ink, medium-temperature disperse ink, and low-temperature disperse ink. The disperse ink can also be environmentally friendly, using environmentally friendly dyes to achieve zero wastewater and waste discharge during dyeing, meeting green production standards. Direct-to-garment printing refers to a printing method where disperse ink is directly sprayed onto the surface of a substrate through a printhead to form a pattern. Existing digital direct-to-garment printing methods can be used to form the initial pattern. The initial pattern is controlled by a pattern file. The digital direct-to-garment printhead moves and sprays ink under the control of the pre-designed pattern file, thereby forming the initial pattern on a substrate such as a textile fabric. The initial pattern undergoes a subsequent heating and color-developing step to form the final pattern, which is the target pattern indicated by the pattern file. "Color development" refers to the process of sublimating or diffusing the disperse dye into the fiber through heating to achieve fixation and color development.

[0023] Step S2: Preheat the initial pattern to obtain a pre-cured pattern.

[0024] In some embodiments, the preheating can be used to remove moisture so that some of the dyeing material can enter the fibers of the textile fabric and be fixed. The resulting pre-cured pattern can have a certain degree of hardness to prevent scratches from affecting the pattern during the transfer process.

[0025] In some embodiments, the preheating temperature can be 100℃-150℃. For example, the preheating temperature can be 100℃, 110℃, 120℃, 130℃, 140℃, 150℃, or any value within the above range, and this application does not make a specific limitation. The preheating time can be 1-5 minutes.

[0026] Step S3: Apply an adsorption layer to the pre-cured pattern and heat it to develop color, thereby obtaining the target pattern.

[0027] In some embodiments, the adsorption layer is detachable and can be removed after heating and color development. The adsorption layer may include a base film and a coating layer disposed on at least one side of the base film. The base film may have a certain degree of flexibility and be made of a heat-resistant material. Exemplary but not limiting, the base film may include natural fibers such as wood pulp fibers, bamboo pulp fibers, and softwood fibers; polymer materials such as poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide) fibers, polyester fibers, phenolic resin fibers, and polyimide resin fibers; inorganic oxides such as alumina fibers and silica fibers; and inorganic silicates such as natural mica and synthetic mica. The base film may be in the form of "paper," and in some embodiments, heat-resistant paper materials may be used, such as paper made from wood pulp, which is flexible at ultra-thin thickness and has heat resistance due to the characteristics of the material used in its preparation, and can be used in the subsequent heating / color development process.

[0028] The coating layer may include one or more of the following: resin, activated carbon, organobentonite, cotton powder, starch, modified starch such as cationic starch, diatomaceous earth, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, nano-silica, fumed silica, polyvinyl alcohol, gelatin, and carboxylated styrene-butadiene latex. The coating layer may have a porous structure with a pore size of 2 nm to 50 nm. For example, the pore size of the coating layer may be 10 nm to 30 nm. Based on the material selection and pore structure, the coating layer can rapidly adsorb water vapor, vaporized dye substances, and dye substances carried away by steam in the dispersed ink during the heating and color development stage, thus eliminating the need for a low-temperature followed by a high-temperature stage in the color development process. This effectively prevents ink migration during color development and adsorbs excess dye floating color. In high-temperature ink applications, it can also reduce the number of water washes, and in some cases, even eliminate the need for water washing altogether.

[0029] In some embodiments, the heating for color development is thermal color development, including but not limited to hot-melt color development, baking color development, vapor evaporation color development, hot pressing color development, infrared radiation color development, and hot air curing color development. In some embodiments, the heating temperature for color development can be 100℃-220℃. Optionally, the heating temperature for color development can be 120℃-200℃. Optionally, the heating temperature for color development can be 140℃-180℃. The heating time for color development is 30s-10min. For example, 30s, 1min, 2min, 3min, 4min, 5min, 6min, 7min, 8min, 9min, 10min, etc., or any increment or decrement of any of the above values.

[0030] In some embodiments, the heating chamber may be used to heat the pre-cured pattern. (See reference) Figure 2 The diagram shows an exemplary structural diagram of a heating cavity according to some embodiments of this application. Figure 2As shown, a support S can be provided inside the heating chamber H, on which a substrate B with the pre-cured pattern, such as a textile fabric, can be placed. A hot airflow W can also be formed inside the heating chamber H. The hot airflow W blows out from the bottom of the heating chamber H, flows through the pre-cured pattern, passes through the filter component F, and then flows out of the heating chamber H. The support S is a perforated support; the hot airflow W first passes through the support S, then flows through the substrate B (such as the textile fabric), and then to the adsorption layer, which can carry away excess ink from the substrate B (such as the textile fabric). A portion of the ink is adsorbed by the adsorption layer, and the remaining unadsorbed ink is intercepted by the filter component F to avoid environmental pollution. After the substrate B is placed on the support S, the distance from the upper part of the heating chamber H can be less than 15cm. Optionally or preferably, this distance can be 4cm-8cm to form a relatively dense space, thereby reducing airflow interference, improving drying efficiency, and reducing uneven drying caused by the hot air flow inside the heating chamber H. After the above color development process is completed, the target pattern will be formed.

[0031] The pattern forming method provided in this application adds an adsorption layer during the heating and color development process of the original pattern formed by digital direct-to-garment printing. This adsorption layer adsorbs moisture and dye, effectively preventing dye migration during color development and adsorbing excess floating dye, thereby improving pattern accuracy. It also simplifies the color development process.

[0032] The present application will be further described in detail below with reference to embodiments. It should be noted that the following embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0033] The adsorption layer used in the following embodiments has a symmetrical structure, namely coating layer-base film-coating layer. During color development, one side of the coating layer adsorbs the dye on the fabric side, while the other side of the coating layer sublimates and removes the dye previously adsorbed during drying, thereby recycling the material.

[0034] Example 1 - Low-Temperature Dispersed Ink Printing in Cloth The fabric is printed using medium-to-low temperature dispersed ink, followed by pre-drying. An absorbent layer is then applied to the pattern, and the ink is heated to develop its color, resulting in the desired pattern. The entire process requires no water washing and effectively avoids ink smudging.

[0035] Example 2 - High-Temperature Dispersed Ink Printing for Cloth Fabric The fabric is printed using high-temperature disperse ink, followed by pre-drying. An absorbent layer is then applied to the pattern, and the ink is heated to develop color. After this, 1-2 reduction washes and 1-2 rinses with water are performed to obtain the target pattern. The number of water washes is significantly reduced compared to the multiple washes required after color development with existing high-temperature disperse dyes.

[0036] Example 3 - Low-Temperature Dispersed Ink Printing on Cut Pieces / Substrates Printing is performed on the cut pieces / substrate using medium-to-low temperature disperse ink, followed by pre-drying. An absorbent layer is then applied to the pattern, and the ink is heated to develop its color, resulting in the desired pattern. The entire process requires no water washing and effectively avoids ink smudging.

[0037] Example 4 - High-Temperature Dispersed Ink Printing on Cut Pieces / Substrate The fabric is printed using high-temperature disperse ink, followed by pre-drying. An adsorption layer is then applied to the pattern, and the fabric is heated for color development. After this, 1-2 reduction washes and 1-2 rinses with clean water are performed to obtain the target pattern. The number of washes is significantly reduced compared to the multiple washes required after color development with existing high-temperature disperse dyes. The pattern formation method (or color development method) provided in this application effectively avoids color staining problems caused by dye adsorbed on non-printing areas of the fabric (especially white fabric) and vaporizing with moisture or sublimation. It also effectively reduces the number of washes, especially after color development with high-temperature disperse dyes.

[0038] This application also discloses a textile fabric. The textile fabric can have a pattern obtained by the pattern forming method described above. For example, the textile fabric can be made of, but is not limited to, cotton yarn, high-knit blended yarn such as CVC / TCR, regenerated cellulose fiber, linen yarn, cotton-linen blended yarn, etc. The pattern obtained using the above pattern forming method is clear and has natural color.

[0039] This application also discloses an article, which may include clothing such as T-shirts, promotional shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, children's wear, casual shirts, loungewear, pajamas, underwear, etc.; home textiles such as cushions, pillowcases, tablecloths, placemats, curtains, fabric curtains, towels, bath towels, pillowcases, bed sheets, etc.; and bags such as handbags, aprons, and fabric decorations. The article may be made from the textile fabrics described above and has a high-definition pattern.

[0040] This application has described the basic concepts. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, the above detailed disclosure is merely illustrative and does not constitute a limitation of this application. Although not explicitly stated herein, those skilled in the art may make various modifications, improvements, and corrections to this application. Such modifications, improvements, and corrections are suggested in this application, and therefore such modifications, improvements, and corrections still fall within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of this application.

[0041] Meanwhile, this application uses specific terms to describe its embodiments. For example, "an embodiment," "one embodiment," "some embodiments," and / or "some implementations" refer to a particular feature, structure, or characteristic related to at least one embodiment of this application. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "an alternative embodiment" mentioned twice or more in different locations in this application do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, certain features, structures, or characteristics in one or more embodiments of this application can be appropriately combined.

[0042] It should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the principles and effects of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make various adjustments and changes to the material ratios and process parameters (such as rotational speed, temperature, and length-to-diameter ratio) in the above embodiments without departing from the concept and scope of the present invention. Such adjustments and changes all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0043] Similarly, it should be noted that, in order to simplify the description of this application and thus aid in the understanding of one or more embodiments of the invention, the foregoing description of the embodiments of this application sometimes combines multiple features into one embodiment or its description. However, this disclosure method does not imply that the subject matter of this application requires more features than those mentioned in the claims. In fact, the embodiments have fewer features than all the features of the single embodiments disclosed above.

[0044] Finally, it should be understood that the embodiments described in this application are merely illustrative of the principles of the embodiments of this application. Other modifications may also fall within the scope of this application. Therefore, alternative configurations of the embodiments of this application are considered as examples and not limitations, and are regarded as consistent with the teachings of this application. Accordingly, the embodiments of this application are not limited to the embodiments explicitly described and illustrated in this application.

Claims

1. A pattern forming method, characterized in that, The method includes: Provide a printing substrate; An initial pattern is formed on the substrate by direct inkjet printing using dispersed ink. The initial pattern is preheated to obtain a pre-cured pattern; An adsorption layer is applied to the pre-cured pattern and heated to develop color, thereby obtaining the target pattern.

2. The pattern forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The preheating temperature is 100℃-150℃.

3. The pattern forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The adsorption layer includes a base film and a coating layer disposed on at least one side of the base film; the coating layer includes one or more of the following: resin, activated carbon, organobentonite, cotton powder, starch, modified starch, diatomaceous earth, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, nano silica, fumed silica, polyvinyl alcohol, gelatin, and carboxylated styrene-butadiene latex.

4. The pattern forming method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The base film includes at least one of natural fibers, polymer materials, inorganic oxides, or inorganic silicate mica.

5. The pattern forming method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The coating layer has a porous structure with a pore size of 2nm-50nm.

6. The pattern forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heating process involves a color-developing temperature of 100℃-220℃ and a heating time of 30s-10min.

7. The pattern forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heating is achieved by using a heating chamber to develop color, and a hot airflow is formed inside the heating chamber. The hot airflow flows through the substrate and then through the pre-cured pattern.

8. The pattern forming method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The hot airflow passes through the pre-cured pattern, then through the filter component, and finally exits the heating chamber.

9. A textile fabric, characterized in that, The textile fabric has a pattern obtained by the pattern forming method as described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. An article characterized in that, The article is made from the textile fabric as described in claim 9.

Images