Textile Inkjet White Underprint for Higher Color Density
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current digital printing methods on textiles, such as inkjet printing, face challenges in achieving high-quality, high-color prints, especially on colored fabrics, as they often require a uniform white underlayer which limits the flexibility and intensity of the final image.
Innovation Solution
A method involving pretreatment of textiles with an aqueous multivalent cationic salt solution, followed by digital printing with a white pigmented inkjet ink and colored inkjet inks, where the white ink is not dry before printing the colored inks, allowing for a non-uniform white underlayer and enhanced color intensity by printing within 60 minutes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a uniform white underlayer is printed before colored inks, then the fabric background is covered and printing flexibility is improved, but the color intensity and saturation are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the white underlayer non-uniform, with varying opacity in different regions. This allows areas with higher white ink concentration to provide background coverage while areas with lower concentration allow greater color intensity, resolving the contradiction between printing flexibility and color saturation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses partial action by applying white ink selectively rather than uniformly across the entire fabric. The white underlayer is applied only where needed to provide background coverage, allowing maximum color intensity in regions where the white underlayer is minimal or absent
2Stability of the object's composition
If the white ink is dried before printing colored inks, then the white layer is stable and prevents smudging, but the color penetration and vibrancy are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pretreating the fabric with a chemical solution before printing the white underlayer. This pretreatment creates a substrate that allows the white ink to dry quickly while maintaining stability, enabling subsequent colored inks to penetrate effectively without causing smudging or stability issues
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the white ink by controlling the drying process through chemical pretreatment. The pretreatment solution modifies the fabric surface properties to enable rapid evaporation of the white ink vehicle while leaving stable pigment particles that maintain layer integrity for subsequent printing
3Quantity of substance
If conventional screen printing methods are used, then the white underbase is opaque and provides good coverage, but the setup expense is high and short run production is not cost effective
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical screen printing system with a digital inkjet printing system. This substitution eliminates the need for physical screen preparation and setup, allowing direct digital printing of variable white underlayers with different opacities, thereby reducing setup expenses while maintaining coverage quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the application method from mechanical screen forcing to controlled inkjet deposition. The inkjet system allows precise control of white ink quantity and distribution through digital parameters, enabling cost-effective short run production while achieving adequate coverage through optimized ink formulation and application patterns
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 improved color density, saturation, and washfastness of printed images on textiles, enabling more vibrant and durable prints with increased color intensity and flexibility in image design.
Implementation Method 1
pretreating the textile with a pretreatment solution comprising an aqueous multivalent cationic salt solution
Data Source
AI summary
This invention pertains to a method of inkjet printing on fabric, comprising the steps of pretreatment with an aqueous multivalent cationic salt solution, printing with a white underprint of substantially the same shape as the colored image and printing an image on the fabric. The preferred digitally printed inks are pigmented inks .