The Development Trend of Digital Printing Sublimation Inks

Digitization has become a task that all walks of life have to complete at present, and the wide application of digital technology also promotes the continuous development of digital printing sublimation inks printing technology.

With the continuous improvement of the printing resolution and production speed of digital printing sublimation inks, inkjet printers that can directly print digital pictures as output devices of digital cameras have begun to appear. Currently, inkjet printers for outputting various digital information are commonly used in many fields.

At the same time, inkjet printing is constantly trying to combine many production processes and advanced materials, to play a role in more fields.

Next, in this blog, I will introduce the types and performance requirements of digital printing sublimation inks and point out the inevitable trend of this product development.

Different Types of Digital Printing Sublimation Inks

Digital printing sublimation inks are generally composed of pigments, water, organic solvents, and additives (such as antibacterial agents, dispersants, pH adjusters, moisturizing agents, defoaming agents, etc.).

Textile digital printing sublimation inks can be divided into water-based ink and solvent ink. Water-based ink is currently the main variety used in inkjet printing.

In theory, all dyes used in traditional textile printing can be formulated into inkjet printing inks. However, the commonly used dye inks are mainly reactive dyes, acid dyes, metal complex dyes, and dispersed dye inks.

Performance Requirements for Digital Printing Sublimation

The characteristics of digital inkjet printing technology and product requirements determine the type of digital printing sublimation inks. Regardless of the type of ink, the following performance requirements are required:

Safety: non-toxic, odorless, non-carcinogenic and flammable, etc.

Viscosity: The viscosity of digital printing sublimation inks is lower than traditional printing. Generally, CIJ technology requires a viscosity of 2 to 10 mPa.s, and DOD technology requires a viscosity of 10 to 30 mPa.s.

Surface tension: Different printing methods have different requirements on the surface tension of digital printing sublimation inks. The recommended ink surface tension for CIJ-type printing machines is 40-60 mN/m, and DOD-type printing machines are usually 40-50 mN/m.

Conductivity: CIJ type printing machine requires more than 750 S/m, DOD type printing machine has no requirement.

Particle size: digital printing sublimation inks are generally required to be controlled below 1 μm.

PH: It is required to be controlled at 4-8.

The Future Trends of Digital Printing Sublimation Inks

Digital printing in Europe has accounted for about 30% of the total printing, and it is expected to reach 50% in the next five years. As a big textile country, China's digital inkjet printing has great potential for development, and the most important part is the development of digital printing sublimation inks.

Given the current problems of ink, its development trend is as follows:

(1) Develop digital printing sublimation inks with high performance and high colorfastness.

Reducing the addition of additives, simplifying the process, and improving color fastness are the primary issues in the development of textile inkjet printing.

(2) Develop water-based, environmentally friendly, and low-cost digital printing sublimation inks.

Manufacturers of digital printing sublimation inks need to improve the stability and versatility of inks and reduce costs while reducing the environmental pollution.

(3) Develop more inks with independent intellectual property rights.

Only by mastering ink production technology with independent intellectual property rights, communicating with equipment manufacturers and users, and improving the adaptability of ink, can we reduce costs in a real sense.

In Conclusion

The development of digital printing sublimation inks with good versatility, good stability, high printing color fastness, good vividness, and high definition is the inevitable trend of the current inkjet printing development. As a reputable ink supplier, we can offer you the best 100ml digital printing sublimation inks. If you have any questions, please feel free to consult us.