10 best Textile Printing Techniques

Fabric printing refers to creating beautiful designs and patterns on textile surfaces. Here is a list of the most popular methods used to do this.

The beautiful swirls of patterns and designs on that pretty fabric you bought from the fabric store look seamless, effortless & easy. But fabric printing is anything but easy. It is challenging to achieve precision and perfection in details with durable and vivid colors on the surface of fabrics.

The different methods of printing on textiles are Screen printing, Digital printing, Sublimation printing, Heat transfer printing, Block printing, Rotary printing, Discharge printing, Foil printing, Pigment printing, Direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, Transfer printing, Reactive printing, Water-based printing, Flock printing, Plastisol printing, Foaming printing, burnout printing, Embossed printing, Resist printing, and Photographic printing.

If you are looking for ways to print on T-shirts, which is a subject in itself, check out this post on the Types of shirt printing.

In the production process of textiles, patterns and designs are usually printed in the final stages. When you read about it, the printing process is simple enough – dyes or pigments are used to make those designs. But to make them stick there, separately without a mess, yard after yard – that is the tricky part.

The three most important types of textile printing methods are:

Direct printing: involves printing directly onto the fabric’s surface with dyes/pigments.
Discharge printing: involves removing colors from specific areas from an already dyed fabric by applying appropriate chemicals.
Resist-printing: involves applying a special resist-paste on the fabric in patterns and then dyeing the fabric so that the paste-applied areas will resist dyeing and appear as the base color. Batik and tie and dye are examples of this type of fabric printing.

Printing onto fabric is done in various methods involving different processes; some important ones are described below.

Engraved Roller printing

In engraved roller printing, the fabric is passed through design-engraved rollers in the printing machine in which dye is applied to the fabric. This is how most printed fabric is made – the rolls of fabric you buy to make clothes. The same high-quality print is made throughout the whole lot in the same way, which is an advantage of this printing. A separate roller is used for different colors. After it is printed, the fabric is passed through processes of drying and steaming to set the dye. You can print as much as 120000 yards of fabric in a day with a single machine and any intricate pattern you have in mind with precision and perfection.

Screen printing

Screen printing is a direct fabric printing method in which screens / mesh/ films are used to transfer patterns onto the fabric. It involves the use of a porous mesh screen which is stretched over a frame. In screen printing, a design stencil is made of porous nylon fabric. The areas which do not have prints are covered, and then the screens are placed on the fabric. A wooden squeegee is used to work the color through the porous screen onto the fabric.

Stencil printing

Stencil printing involves using stencils cut in the shape of the designs. The stencils are made of metal, wood, paper, or plastic. The dye/color is applied to the spaces cut inside the stencil.

Block printing

Block printing is the method of creating prints with a block of wood, copper, or other material bearing a design. Metal or wooden blocks are carved in the design and dye is applied to the carved design. This is then pressed and applied to the face of the fabric.
Spray printing: As the name suggests, controlled spraying uses specialized sprayers to transfer dye onto the fabric. A spray gun is used to force the color onto the fabric through screens.

Heat transfer or thermal transfer printing

This method involves a printing machine and a heat press machine to transfer designs on fabric. This is one of the most inexpensive methods used in the garment printing business – think thousands of t-shirts printed this way with logos and messages. In this printing process, the printing is done on paper first, and then this design on the paper is transferred to the fabric surface by passing the paper and fabric through hot rollers.

Direct to garment digital printing (DTG)

DTG is the process in which a special inkjet printer with special ink is used to print straight on the fabric from the computer directly. The artwork and the dye are heat set with a heat press or tunnel dryer.

Printing with inkjet printers

This is a homemade version of the direct-to-garment printing. An ordinary inkjet printer is used to print on fabric pieces.

Sublimation transfer printing

This method involves a sublimation dye which is transferred to the fabric with heat. An upgrade of the earlier mentioned heat transfer method of printing.

Photo Printing

In this type of printing, the fabric is coated with a chemical (Liquid photo emulsion) that is sensitive to light, and then any photograph may be printed on it.

Which are the 3 most cost-effective methods of printing on fabric?

Screen printing, Heat transfer method, and inkjet printing. Screen printing is the most inexpensive if you have a lot to print.

Out of these, which method is the most enduring/long-lasting method?

Screen printing

Which is the latest way of printing on fabrics which is also durable?

Sublimation printing gives very long-lasting results with vivid colors and good precision. It is becoming very popular.

If you want to design fabric of your own, which methods are recommended?

Sublimation, direct-to-garment digital printing, and screen printing- all of them have their own advantages and disadvantages.

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