Blanket Layer Structure for Sharp Sublimation Image Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for printing images on fabrics, such as screen printing and digital textile printing, face issues like ink spreading, poor image quality due to fabric texture, and dye instability, especially on fleece materials, leading to distorted and fading images.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a first piece of material with a zero-nap upper surface and a second piece with a soft bottom surface, where an image is printed onto the zero-nap surface using sublimation printing and then coupled to the second material, ensuring the image is not directly on the fleece material's nap, thus preventing smearing and fading.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If ink jet printing is used on fleece material, then the printing process is simple and fast, but the ink spreads on the fabric texture causing distorted and blurry images
Solution Approach 1:
The blanket is divided into two distinct layers: a fleece layer providing softness and a separate smooth fabric layer providing a non-absorbent printing surface. This segmentation allows each layer to fulfill its specific function without compromising the other, resolving the contradiction between printing speed and image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
A smooth fabric layer is introduced as an intermediary between the printing process and the fleece material. This intermediary layer prevents direct contact between the ink and the absorbent fleece texture, thereby preventing ink spread while maintaining the desired printing efficiency.
2Ease of operation
If printing is done directly on fleece material with nap, then the soft texture is maintained, but the image becomes distorted when the nap moves
Solution Approach 1:
The blanket structure is segmented into two functional layers: the fleece layer maintains softness and comfort, while the separate smooth fabric layer provides a stable, non-textured surface for image printing. This eliminates the interaction between nap movement and image distortion.
Solution Approach 2:
The visual appearance and softness characteristics of the fleece are copied or replicated on the opposite side of the blanket, allowing the image to be printed on the smooth side while the soft texture is preserved on the contact side, thus maintaining both softness and image stability.
3Manufacturing precision
If screen printing is used, then the image can be transferred clearly, but the process is complex and requires accounting for mesh thread diameter and count
Solution Approach 1:
The printing surface parameters are changed from absorbent and textured (fleece) to non-absorbent and smooth (fabric layer). This parameter change enables the use of simpler printing processes like ink jet printing while maintaining image clarity, as the smooth surface prevents ink spread without requiring complex mesh configurations.
4Productivity
If digital textile printing is used, then the printing process is efficient, but the dyes fail to fix within fibers causing fading during washing
Solution Approach 1:
The smooth fabric layer acts as a disposable or sacrificial layer that maintains the image during the printing process. The image is printed on this layer rather than directly on the fleece fibers, eliminating the need for complex dye fixation processes while maintaining color fastness, as the smooth surface prevents ink migration during washing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach results in a high-quality, durable image that is resistant to washing and wear, maintaining sharpness and clarity, unlike traditional methods which often produce blurry or faded results.
Implementation Method 1
printing the image onto the intermediary image transfer sheet, placing the image and the intermediary image transfer sheet in contact with the substantially zero-nap upper surface of the first piece of material, and applying heat and pressure to the image, the intermediary image transfer sheet, and the substantially zero-nap upper surface of the first piece of material for a predetermined time period to transfer the image from the intermediary image transfer sheet to the substantially zero-nap upper surface of the first piece of material
Data Source
AI summary
A method of producing a high quality image on a blanket, including providing an image, a first piece of material having a substantially zero-nap upper surface configured to receive the image thereon, and a lower coupling surface. The method may include providing a second piece of material different than the first piece of material, the second piece of material having an upper coupling surface including a non-zero nap and a lower surface of a soft material. The method may include coupling the lower coupling surface of the first piece of material to the upper coupling surface of the second piece of material to form a single unit, while leaving the soft material of the second piece of material substantially exposed to an outside ambient environment, and incorporating the image within the substantially zero-nap upper surface of the first piece of material using a printing process.