Are you interested in learning about all the printing techniques we use, here, at New Look? Let’s dive into it right away.
[p]rinting is a process of decorating textile fabrics by application of pigments, dyes, or other related materials in the form of patterns. Although apparently developed from the hand painting of fabrics, such methods are also of great antiquity. There is evidence of printing being carried out in India during the 4th century BCE, and a printing block dated at about 300 CE has been unearthed in the burial grounds of Akhmīn in Upper Egypt. Pre-Columbian printed textiles have been found in Peru and Mexico.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica
Fabric printing may literally be ancient but it’s more relevant now than ever due to the competitive nature of the fashion world and the constant desire to stand out. That’s why it’s important to understand and choose the right printing method, medium and type of dye; all of the above has a huge effect on the final look of a garment. The word “printing” itself is derived from Latin, it actually means “pressing” and implies the application of pressure. So, in a few words, textile printing is the technique of applying color to a fabric in order to create various patterns and/or designs on it with a view to producing an attractive visual result.
There are five main techniques of printing: block, roller, screen, heat transfer and ink-jet methods. The printing process is carried out via using different instruments depending on our demands, for example the quantity that need to be printed, as well as on the kind of material of the printed product.
Our favorite printing methods are sublimation, digital textile printing and screen-printing. Allow us to properly introduce them to you below.
#1 Sublimation/ Dye-diffusion
You might find yourself wondering: “sub-li-what”? So, sublimation – also called “dye-diffusion” method – is a high-tech printing process which transfers a design into a material or fabric using the combination of ink and heat together. It’s a game changer within the fashion universe because it allows you to choose whole garment prints and designs that can literally go seam-to-seam; and that’s the reason why it’s also known as “all over printing”.
Curious about how the sublimation printing method works?
The initial step is for a design to become printed onto special paper. All the inks which are used during this method turn into gas when brought under heat, they’re combined with the fabric and permanently are printed onto the latter. Matter moves from a solid state to a gaseous one, bypassing the liquid state, so that this printing process basically occurs during the heating phase, i.e. via using a temperature of up to 200 degrees Celsius. The, the dyes sublimate and, as a result, merge with the actual material.
The effects of this specific printing technique are permanent and less likely to fade as the inks are embedded in the fabric rather than simply laying on its surface like a normal print. The full-color patterns won’t peel, crack, or wash away from the substrate. Think of it like resembling the process of a tattoo method, but in the place of skin we have fabric, in this case. The heat itself opens the fabric’s “pores”, then, the inks cool through the applied pressure and transform into a solid format.
The process of sublimation can be carried out in two ways:
- Direct sublimation: the sublimation inks are directly applied onto the fabric via using a digital printer.
- Intermediate sublimation: it has to do with transfer printing. The design/pattern is printed on transfer paper and, then, through using a calender or a flat press, where it becomes exposed to high temperature, it’s transferred onto the base material.
#2 Digital Textile Printing / DTG=Digital-To-Garment
Another method we absolutely love using is what is known as “digital textile printing” or “DTG”, meaning a Digital/Direct-to-Garment process. The technique of digital printing on fabric acts similar to an inkjet printer: it doesn’t inflict any limitations on the project, we can print any pattern/design onto the surface of the fabric without any restrictions regarding shade-transitions among the colors or even the number of colors themselves.
Wondering how digital textile printing works? By applying microscopic droplets of paint/ dye onto fabric in order to create a design/ pattern. Via using the printer, we are able to virtually reproduce any color we want from the normal color palette through a combination of the four main colors from the CMYK palette – cyan, magenta, yellow, black – and, additionally, the so-called “spot colors”: for instance, orange.
Digital printing on fabric works is just perfect for printing detailed designs, for tonal transitions and for complex patterns, graphically speaking.
#3 Screen-printing
The third printing process that we prefer at New Look is screen printing, also known by many other names: silk-screening, screen-printing, serigraphy, or serigraph-printing. It first appeared in a distinct form in China during the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD) and was, then, adapted by other Asian countries like Japan, only to be introduced to Western Europe at some point during the late 18th century until silk mesh was more available for trade from the east and a profitable outlet for the newly-discovered medium.
This method can be carried out as a hand operation or an automatic machine process. The steps are the following: firstly, the fabric is laid on a printing table, gummed in position, and, secondly, the pattern is applied through a screen made of silk or nylon gauze that is stretched over a wooden or metal frame on which the design for one color has already been reproduced. A screen is put over the fabric on the table against registration stops, ensuring an accurate pattern outcome, and, then print paste is poured onto the screen edge near the operator and is spread with a squeegee over its surface, so that the color will be pushed through the open parts. The next step is for the screen to be moved until one color has been applied onto the fabric. Keep in mind that concerning the application of various colors, the process is repeated via using different screens, but the important thing is that through this printing process, we can use an extensive choice of colors and darker fabrics respond to it extremely well, too.
#4 Screen-printing & Andy Warhol
One of the most famous artists who worked using the medium of print was none other than Andy Warhol who started as a commercial illustrator and went on to become the epitome of the Pop Art movement.
During the 1950s, the artist Max Arthur Cohn introduced Warhol to silkscreen-printing which had only been used in commercial packaging and advertising, so far. He adored the reproduced image, from the Campbell’s Soup cans to portraits of films stars, like Marilyn Monroe’s headshot, and he was fascinated by the opportunities the printing process gave him, in terms of making his art accessible to a wide audience; as well as by how it allowed him to repeat a basic image and create endless variations of it via using different colors or adding paint onto the printed surface.
Referring to the printing process itself, he said:
“With silk-screening you pick a photograph, blow it up, transfer it in glue onto silk, and then roll ink across it so the ink goes through the silk but not through the glue. That way you get the same image, slightly different each time. It all sounds so simple – quick and chancy. I was thrilled with it.”
All in all, we use the aforementioned printing techniques, chosen among many, in order to not only satisfy our clients’ demands, but also to remain true to our company’s ethics and beliefs via using high-tech processes which are, above all, environmental-friendly, precise and versatile.
Welcome to New Look. Welcome to the future of fashion.