Method for printing on fabric cloth

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a method for printing on cloth which enables reasonable use of the cloth and an ink and makes it possible to eliminate waste of the cloth 1 and the ink. [Solution] The present invention comprises a pattern formation means 20 for forming a pattern in accordance with one piece of cloth 1. The cloth 1 is plain. A design pattern position specification means 30 for specifying the position of a print design pattern 3 in each pattern is provided. A printing means 50 for printing, in each pattern, the print design pattern 3 for which specification has been performed is provided. The pattern is formed with 2D pattern data 5 that has been created from graphic 3D data 4.

Description

How to print on fabric

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for printing on fabrics, which allows for efficient use of fabrics and inks when printing patterns or the like on clothing fabrics.

[0002] Conventionally, to print a pattern or the like on plain clothing fabric, the entire piece of fabric 1 is printed in advance, and then each part 2 of the pattern is set (see Figure 12). This has the disadvantage of using unnecessary ink because parts of the fabric 1 other than the parts 2 are also printed. Moreover, because the fabric is also printed after the parts 2 are cut off, it is difficult to reuse the remaining fabric.

[0003] Furthermore, if the pattern position for each part is specified, or if the top and bottom directions of the printed fabric are specified, the orientation of the parts must also be aligned with the top and bottom of the fabric, which results in poor occupancy and increases the amount of ink wasted on unnecessary printing and the amount of fabric left uncut.

[0004] Meanwhile, conventionally, methods for efficiently forming patterns using three-dimensional data of a body model have been proposed in Patent Documents 1 to 3.

[0005] Patent Document 1 discloses a clothing pattern creation method that calculates a pattern shape in a short time by calculating a pattern shape according to the fabric, thereby reflecting the characteristics of the fabric that makes up the clothing.

[0006] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a method for improving the efficiency of information input by arranging two-dimensional clothing pattern data on three-dimensional mannequin data.

[0007] Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a pattern creation device that realizes the pressure desired by the user by using a pressure simulation processing unit that corrects and confirms user pattern data so that the simulated pressure is approximately the same as the target pressure.

[0008] JP-A-8-246219 JP-A-2007-138317 JP-A-2014-71878

[0009] However, conventional methods for creating patterns using 3D data of a body model do not take into consideration the efficiency of printing patterns, etc. onto fabric. Therefore, while it is possible to create patterns efficiently, no method has been proposed to rationally use fabric and ink when printing patterns, etc. onto plain fabric.

[0010] In other words, when producing printed clothing, the printing on fabric is still done using the old-fashioned method of printing the entire piece of fabric in advance and then selecting each part using a pattern, etc. This still results in wasted ink on unnecessary printing and leftover fabric that is difficult to recycle.

[0011] The present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a method for printing on fabric that allows for efficient use of ink and fabric when printing patterns, etc. on clothing fabric.

[0012] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the first means of the present invention is a method for printing a print pattern 3 on plain clothing fabric 1, comprising design determination means 10 for determining the design of the clothing on which the print pattern 3 is to be printed, pattern formation means 20 for forming a pattern that constitutes the determined design, pattern position designation means 30 for designating the print pattern 3 and the position of the print pattern 3 to match each part 2 of the pattern, part placement means 40 for placing each part 2 to which the print pattern 3 is designated according to the size of the fabric 1, and printing means 50 for printing the parts 2 placed by the part placement means 40 onto the fabric 1 together with the print pattern 3.

[0013] The second means is the design determining means 10, which determines the design by performing a simulation of the garment being worn on a body model using 3D modeling software and selecting a print pattern 3.

[0014] The third means is that in the pattern forming means 20, the part 2 converts the graphic 3D data 4 of the 3D modeling software into DXF format and stores it as 2D pattern data 5 in apparel CAD or image editing software.

[0015] The fourth means is the part placement means 40, which places the parts 2 so that the remaining uncut portions of the fabric 1 are minimized.

[0016] In the present invention, each part 2 with a designated print pattern 3 is arranged in accordance with the size of the fabric 1, and the arranged parts 2 are printed on the fabric 1 together with the print pattern 3, thereby reducing ink consumed for unnecessary printing and remaining fabric 1 to be cut off.

[0017] Furthermore, the remaining fabric 1 remains plain, so by recycling or upcycling the remaining fabric, it is possible to use 100% of the fabric 1.

[0018] 1 is a block diagram showing the means of the printing method of the present invention; a flow diagram showing the printing method of the present invention; a diagram showing design data determined by the design determination means of the present invention; a diagram showing parts of the pattern forming means of the present invention; a diagram showing a print pattern specified by the pattern position designation means of the present invention; a diagram of a print pattern designated for each part by the pattern position designation means of the present invention; a diagram of each part being arranged to match the fabric by the part arrangement means of the present invention; a diagram showing another arrangement of the part arrangement means of the present invention; a plan view of a clothing printer used in the present invention; a plan view of a CAM cutting machine used in the present invention; a conceptual diagram showing the sewing process of the present invention; a diagram of the arrangement of pattern parts in a conventional printing method.

[0019] The present invention is a method for printing a print pattern 3 on plain clothing fabric 1, and comprises a design determination means 10, a pattern formation means 20, a pattern position designation means 30, a part placement means 40, and a printing means 50 (see FIG. 1).

[0020] The design determination means 10 is a means for determining the design of the clothing on which the print pattern 3 is printed. Specifically, using 3D modeling software for apparel products, a simulation is performed on the computer screen in which the 3D model data of the body model is fitted (see step 1 in Figure 2). Through this simulation, the overall design of the clothing, including the print pattern 3, is determined (see Figure 3).

[0021] The print pattern 3 is selected from various data stored as print data (see Figure 5). This print pattern 3 can also be created using design software. The print pattern 3 can be used as is, or it can be enlarged in part or reduced in its entirety.

[0022] The pattern forming means 20 is a means for forming each part 2 of the pattern that constitutes the determined design. At this time, the graphic 3D data 4 of the determined design is converted into DXF (see step 2 in Figure 2) and saved as 2D pattern data 5 in apparel CAD or image editing software (see Figure 4).

[0023] The pattern position designation means 30 is a means for designating the print pattern 3 and the size and position of the print pattern 3 for each part 2 (see FIG. 6). The print pattern 3 is selected from print data stored in advance in the apparel CAD. Then, the print pattern 3 and the position of the print pattern 3 are set for each part 2 of the pattern (see step 3 and step 4 in FIG. 2).

[0024] The part placement means 40 is a means for placing each part 2, to which a print pattern 3 is designated, according to the size of the fabric 1 (see step 5 in FIG. 2). Since the print pattern 3 of each part 2 is set for each part 2, even if the pattern position is designated for each part or even if the up-down direction of the printed fabric is designated, the pattern parts 2 are placed in positions that minimize the amount of uncut area (see FIG. 7).

[0025] It is also possible to use a perimeter detection CAM based on data on the optimal placement of each pattern part 2 to determine the optimal placement for each clothing size (S, M, L, etc.) (see FIG. 8).

[0026] The printing means 50 is a means for directly printing the print design 3 together with the pattern parts 2 onto the fabric 1 using a fabric printer 6 (see step 6 in Figure 2). This fabric printer 6 is also called a direct inkjet printer, and is a printer that sprays ink onto the fabric to color it, and then fixes and dries the ink with heat (see Figure 9).

[0027] Furthermore, in order to produce clothing from the fabric 1 on which the print pattern 3 is printed together with the parts 2, cutting and sewing processes are required (see step 7 and step 8 in Figure 2).

[0028] The cutting process is a process of cutting out each part 2 of the pattern printed on the fabric 1. A CAM cutting machine 7 is used for this process (see Figure 10). This cutting machine is a device that detects each part 2 of the pattern with a sensor and automatically cuts it out.

[0029] Finally, in the sewing process, the cut pattern parts 2 are sewn together to produce the garment (see FIG. 11).

[0030] The means of the present invention are not limited to the illustrated examples, and modifications can be made freely within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0031] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Fabric 2 Parts 3 Print pattern 4 Graphic 3D data 5 2D pattern data 6 Clothing printer 7 CAM cutting machine 10 Design determination means 20 Pattern formation means 30 Pattern position designation means 40 Part placement means 50 Printing means

Claims

1. A method for printing a printed pattern on a plain fabric for clothing, comprising: design determination means for determining a design of the clothing on which the printed pattern is to be printed; pattern formation means for forming a pattern constituting the determined design; pattern position designation means for designating a printed pattern and the position of the printed pattern for each part of the pattern; part arrangement means for arranging each part on which the printed pattern is designated in accordance with the size of the fabric; and printing means for printing the parts arranged by the part arrangement means together with the printed pattern on the fabric. A printing method for fabric characterized by the above.

2. The printing method for fabric according to claim 1, wherein in the design determination means, the design is determined while selecting a printed pattern by performing a simulation of dressing a body model of 3D modeling software.

3. The printing method for fabric according to claim 1, wherein in the pattern formation means, the parts are stored in apparel CAD or image editing software as 2D pattern data by converting the graphic 3D data of the 3D modeling software into DXF.

4. The printing method for fabric according to claim 1, wherein in the part arrangement means, the parts are arranged so that the remaining fabric is minimized.

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