Direct-to-Fabric Printing with Hybrid Sublimation Inkjet Printers

Dye-sublimation newcomers learn that the process typically requires printing a mirror image of the graphic to a transfer paper, then using a heat press or rotary calendar to release the image to the polyester fabric or poly-coated substrate. The paper transfer method is ideal for short runs of a huge variety of products, including decorative wall panels, apparel, and photo gifts.

But the growing demand for large dye-sub fabric graphics for retail displays, trade show exhibits, and backdrops has led print service providers to ask: Wouldn’t it be faster and more efficient to print 10'-wide graphics directly to the fabric? Indeed, it is.

The direct-print alternative to the paper-transfer sublimation process goes by several names: direct-to-fabric, direct-print sublimation, or disperse direct printing. What’s important is that hybrid sublimation printers can use the same water-based disperse ink for either paper-transfer sublimation or direct-to-fabric printing on treated polyester fabric.

Over the past couple of years, interest in direct-to-fabric printing has been rising, partly to cut costs and improve efficiency and partly to meet the growth in demand for PVC-free alternatives to billboard-sized prints.

Many graphics producers have upgraded from 64"-wide sublimation inkjet printers to faster hybrid sublimation printers that can print either on transfer paper or directly to rolls of polyester fabrics that are 126" or wider.

Although technologically advanced hybrid sublimation printers can output thousands of square feet of transfer paper per hour, bottlenecks occur when the transfer paper must be reloaded onto the rotary heat calendars that transfer the inks to the fabrics. The speed of the paper transfer process is affected by the fabric type and ink density required for the application.

Pros and Cons

The direct-to-fabric process jets a water-based disperse ink directly onto a fabric. Depending on how the fabric is treated or coated, the inks can penetrate deeper into the fabric than the transfer process. Instead of fusing only to the top surface of the fiber, the dyes may color the whole fiber.

There are two major drawbacks to this: 1) The printed colors on direct-print soft signage fabrics may not be as wash-resistant as fabrics decorated with paper-transfer sublimation; and 2) The direct-print graphics might not be as sharp as fabrics that use both the heat and pressure of a rotary calendar to transfer the inks from a coated paper to the fabric.

Applications

Direct-print sublimation was first used primarily to print flags that would be viewed from both sides. Today, the direct-print process can be used for a wider array of temporary-use graphics, including retail displays, exhibits, silicone-edge-graphic (SEG) frames, fence banners, building wraps, event backdrops, and space dividers.

For the Serta Simmons showroom in the International Market Center in Las Vegas, 40 VISUALS created a mix of backlit and non-lit SEG fabric graphics. The 9x3' backlit SEG displays reinforced the Serta Simmons branding and highlighted the elegance and features of their bedding. | Credit: 40 VISUALS

Direct-print sublimation is particularly popular for backlit graphics that require high levels of ink saturation to prevent pinholes and ensure proper light diffusion.

Fisher Textiles offers a selection of fabrics treated for direct disperse printing. Their DD 7707 Soft Knit, for example, can not only be used for exhibit graphics but also for home furnishings, photographic backdrops, and table covers.

40 VISUALS used direct-print sublimation and Verseidag fabrics to custom SEG frames to make five 6-ft. wide SEG circular backlit frame displays for the hallways and common areas of the Asimov biotechnology company in Boston, MA. The images are enlargements of microscopic images that have been converted into decorative art. | Credit: 40 VISUALS

VorTex Fence Mesh D150 from Ultraflex provides a direct-print fabric alternative to PVC mesh materials. Fence Mesh can be used for fence graphics, outdoor banners, and flying banners.
New applications for direct-print soft signage will emerge as creative soft signage producers continue to explore new possibilities.

Hybrid Sublimation Equipment

Because hybrid sublimation printers can print either on transfer paper or directly to polyester fabrics, they give graphics producers the versatility to produce a wide range of products for signs, displays, cut-and-sew apparel, home furnishings, art, and decor.

Hybrid sublimation printers that are 3.2 meters wide or more include the Agfa Avinci, Durst P5 TEX and TEX iSUB, EFI FabriVU and FabriVu 340i+, DGI FT-3204X and FH-3204, and the HP Stitch S1000.

At the 2024 PRINTING United Expo, Mimaki USA introduced its new TS330-3200DS production digital textile printer for both soft signage and interior fabrics. The unit’s removable platen mechanism makes it easy for operators to switch between paper transfer and direct-to-fabric printing.

Inline Fixation

Most super-wide hybrid systems are designed for use with offline heat calendars built for both sublimation image transfer and the fixation of inks in direct-to-fabric graphics.

But the inline fixation units on the Durst P5 TEX iSUB and EFI FabriVU 340i+ printers apply enough heat to produce high-intensity colors by fusing the colorants with the softened fibers of the polyester fabrics.

These inline fixation options make direct-print sublimation much more efficient — especially for higher-volume retail soft signage jobs or short-turnaround, fixed-deadline trade show projects.

Inline fixation can save energy, floor space, labor, and time. It eliminates the need to unload bulky rolls of printed fabric from the printer and reload it onto the rotary heat calendar. And it eliminates the expense and extra floor space required to install multiple calendars for faster printer throughput.

Durst estimates that the contactless, infrared (IR) inline fixation system on their P5 TEX iSUB printer can reduce energy costs by up to 60%, and reduce energy use by up to 40%.

EFI notes that inline fixation for direct-print fabrics enables rush jobs to be immediately ready for sewing and shipping. Smaller, more diverse projects without rush deadlines can still be printed on transfer paper and sent to a separate calendar for the transfer.

Print service providers have different reasons for buying printers with or without inline fixation.

In 2022, XL Digital Imaging in Dallas experienced a spike in orders for soft signage. So, they upgraded from their smaller dye-sub printer and calendar to a 3.2-meter EFI FabriVu 340i+ soft signage printer with inline fixation.

“The inline fixing unit heats up in 15-20 minutes instead of the three to four hours it was taking our calendar to warm up,” says XL Imaging President Raj Persad. “I also like that it is easier to proof the colors. We can see how the colors will turn out as the fabric comes out of the heater. We don’t have to wait for it to go through the calendar.”

When MacroArt (now a U.K.-based branch of the global brand-environments company Moss) upgraded to the Durst P5 TEX iSUB, they changed a two-step process to a very fast one-step process. This doubled their capacity to produce high-quality, sustainable graphics for exhibitions, live events, sports, and retailing.

MacroArt Managing Director Michael Green was pleased with the color consistency and sharpness of Durst’s contactless fixing technology.

According to a Durst spokesperson, nearly all of Durst’s fabric-printer buyers choose the P5 TEX iSUB model with inline fixation instead of the P5 TEX model without the fixing unit. Most calendars can’t run at speeds needed to prevent production bottlenecks. So, high-volume shops may need to buy or operate more than one calendar.

40 VISUALS, a company that fabricates signage and displays for leading brands and retailers, has used direct-disperse textile printers for SEG frame systems for almost a decade. To maximize efficiency, all three of their textile inkjet printers are equipped with built-in calendars to fix the inks to the substrates. The latest addition to 40 VISUALS’ textile-printer fleet is the ATPColor OneTex sublimation printer. It is designed primarily for direct-disperse printing. With an integrated onboard calendar, all sublimation settings are managed right on the printer’s interface. It is distributed by Global Imaging.

Growing Variety of Direct Print Fabrics

Companies such as TVF, Fisher Textiles, Aberdeen, Ultraflex, and other companies offer coated fabrics that can work not only with paper transfer sublimation and direct disperse printing, but also with printers that use latex or UV-curable inks.

Although direct-print sublimation can work on materials that are suitable for UV, latex, and paper transfer sublimation, the best results may require slower printing speeds to lay down the higher levels of ink needed to achieve the most vibrant colors. This may require a longer drying time as well.

To streamline soft-signage production for larger projects, soft-signage textile producers have developed fabrics treated exclusively for direct disperse printing. Some have coatings designed to pull the dyes in the ink through to the backside of the fabric at faster print speeds. The treated fabrics for direct disperse printing may also be engineered to prevent shrinkage or direct-print issues such as ink migration or bleeding.

Treated fabrics optimized for direct-to-fabric sublimation printing increase the cost of the material slightly, says Timothy Mitchell, senior manager of customer experience for Mimaki USA. “But if the fabric travels through the printer reliably, and the fabric is evenly treated, direct printing can reduce the cost by eliminating the need for paper,” Mitchell says.

If the demand for direct-print sublimation grows, some fabrics originally coated for multiple print processes may be offered with a coating exclusively for the direct disperse printing process. This may expand opportunities for faster direct-to-fabric printing of materials for window treatments, upholstery, and durable indoor tension-fabric structures.

“Unfortunately, some treated fabrics for direct disperse printing might not work well with the paper transfer method of sublimation printing systems,” says Danny Jimenez, senior print media sales consultant for textile supplier TVF. “To put more ink on the fabric, you would have to run the calendar slower to pull the inks from the paper’s coating to the surface of the treated fabric.”

Quality Control

One reason some soft-signage producers still prefer printing on paper first is because it enables them to detect errors in the print job before the image is transferred to the more costly final substrate. But each additional step in a production process introduces a certain failure rate. So even transfer paper dye-sub printing results in some waste.

PSPs experienced in paper transfer printing for brands and big visuals have all their processes dialed in, observes Jimenez. “They are not afraid of direct-to-fabric printing because they are confident they can develop similarly controlled processes for direct-print sublimation.”

Jimenez believes sublimation printing equipment has improved so much in terms of consistency and reliability that the risk of errors due to hardware issues is minimal. In many instances, errors requiring a reprint of the fabric are due to improperly prepared job files.

Paper Transfer Sublimation Is Still Best for Sportswear

Despite the efficiencies of direct-to-fabric sublimation printing for super-wide rolls, paper-transfer sublimation will continue to work best for smaller volumes of fabrics for cut-and-sew sportswear production.

Polyester sportswear apparel fabrics are typically more stretchy than soft signage textiles. Stabilizing stretchy fabrics for direct disperse printing is difficult without an expensive, high-tack belt-drive to feed the fabric through the printer.

Mitchell notes that the paper transfer sublimation process works for printing on stretchy fabrics and sportswear because the calendar press handles the image transfer quite effectively.

Looking Ahead

Fabric graphics producers in Europe seem to be far ahead of U.S.-based companies in the adoption of direct-print sublimation, Jimenez notes. But that may change if more fabrics optimized for direct disperse printing become available, and printing equipment developers help PSPs tweak their production workflows to achieve the best results.

All digital printing processes continue to be improved for higher-volume industrial production of specific types of products. Print providers who want to become much more efficient should focus on getting profiles, prepress, and post-press steps dialed in for each type of printed process they choose to offer.