Generally speaking, digital textile inkjet inks can be divided into Textile Pigment Inks and Textile Dye Inks.

Textile Pigment Inks: DTF ink, DTG ink, roll-to-roll fabric direct printing pigment ink
Textile Dye Inks: Sublimation ink, Dispersion ink, Reactive ink, Acid ink and Cationic ink

1. Digital Textile Pigment Inks - for digital printing of all fabrics

Pigment Ink is a suspension/dispersion solution or semi-solution, which is made by dispersing very fine pigment particles in water or organic solvents using dispersants.

Textile pigment inks are suitable for printing cotton, wool, silk, rayon, polyester, nylon, polyester/cotton, nylon/cotton, and other single or multi-fiber blended or interwoven fabrics.

Wide Application of Digital Textile Pigment Inks

1. Direct printing of T-shirts or film transfer printing of T-shirts
2. Digital printing of garment pieces, also can be called DTG printing (direct to garment)
3. Roll-to-roll digital printing of various fabrics to meet the market demand for bedding, curtain fabrics, sofa fabrics, wall coverings, etc.

4. Textile Pigment Inks can be used for almost all fabrics and has a wide range of applications. It can be used to print materials of handbags, shoes, bags, leather, curtains, sofa fabrics, wall coverings, etc.

Supporting Auxiliary Products
Pre-treatment liquid for light-colored fabric: used for pre-printing treatment of white and light-colored fabric.
Pre-treatment liquid for dark-colored fabric: used for pre-printing treatment of black and dark-colored fabric.
Post-processing liquid: for improving the color performance and fastness of printed pattern.
Nozzle protection liquid: for protecting the nozzle when the printer is not used for a long time.
Nozzle cleaning liquid: for cleaning the nozzle.

Ink guide liquid: used before filling ink to help the ink quickly enter the normal state.

2. Disperse Dye Inks

Disperse dye inks infuse into and actually dye the fabric, becoming part of the textile itself.

Disperse inks can be divided into low-energy and high-energy.

Low-energy Disperse Dye Ink - Sublimation Ink - for transfer printing of polyester fabric

Our commonly used “dye sublimation ink” is a low-energy dye dispersion ink, most typically used for transfer printing from paper to fabric. The carrier evaporates and the dye turns to gas when heated to a high temperature. The synthetic fibers “open” to receive the gas and when they cool, they close and encapsulate the colorant. The colorant then returns to a solid, actually dyeing the material.

At present, many inkjet inks manufacturers have launched sunlight-resistant sublimation inks and migration-resistant sublimation inks. The colors of thermal transfer inks are becoming more and more abundant, and many sublimation inks manufacturers have launched fluorescent sublimation inks in addition to basic colors.

High-energy Disperse Dye Ink - for digital direct printing of polyester fabrics

High energy disperse ink is suitable for digital printing of polyester fabrics such as cloth, clothing, bags, decorative fabrics, flag fabrics, banners, carpets, etc. High energy disperse ink is with resistance transference, high light fastness and stable color development, and can overcome blooming and color staining of low-temperature disperse ink. Compared with the conventional disperse ink, the washing intensity of high energy disperse ink is greatly reduced.

3. Reactive Dye Ink - for cotton, linen, rayon, nylon fabric, cellulosic material, etc.

Reactive Dye Ink is the most suitable and most commonly used dye ink for digital direct printing of cotton, linen, rayon, nylon fabric, cellulosic material, etc.

Printing principle: When the dyes in reactive inks are applied and fixed to pre-treated fabric, they create a chemical bond with the cellulose in that fabric.

Its disadvantage is that the process is particularly complex, the investment is large, so it is not suitable for small-scale printing.

4. Acid Dye Ink - for wool fabric, silk fabric, nylon fabric and other protein fibers or carpet

The dye component in acid digital printing ink is acid dye. Acid dye ink is bright, and suitable for digital printing of protein fibers such as silk and wool and textiles such as nylon; and digital printing of carpets, swimwear, decorative fabrics and fabrics based on the above fabrics.

Acid ink is used under acidic conditions, the pH value of acid ink itself is not acidic. Sometimes it can even be more stable than reactive dye inks because acid inks do not have the problem of hydrolysis.

5. Cationic ink - for modified polyester and acrylic fabric or carpet

Cationic dyes are named because they are in a cationic state in aqueous solution. Cationic dyes are mainly used in the dyeing and printing of acrylic fibers and modified polyester fibers. There are three types of carpet materials on the market: modified polyester, ordinary polyester, and nylon.

Usually, using acid ink for printing nylon fabric, and using disperse ink for printing ordinary polyester & modified polyester fabrics. Compared with ordinary polyester, modified polyester has better hygroscopicity, it is softer and easier to dye, so modified polyester is used more often. However, modified polyester is not resistant to high temperatures, and the color development temperature generally cannot exceed 140°C. If disperse dyes are used, the color development will be insufficient and the color will float. Cationic dye ink can solve the problem, it’s very suitable for printing modified polyester and acrylic fabric or carpet.

HONGSAM is a 24 years manufacturer of inkjet inks:

1. Textile Digital Printing Inks
-Textile pigment ink (DTF ink, DTG ink, Roll-to- Roll ink)
-Disperse dye ink (Sublimation ink, Direct printing ink) for polyester fabric
-Reactive dye ink
-Acid dye ink for silk and nylon fabric/carpet
-Cationic dye ink for carpet
2. Ad and Image Printing Pigment/Dye Inks, Ink Tank/Cartridge (For Photo, Art Paper, Canvas, Coated Paper, etc.)

3. Digital Printing Pigment/Dye Inks (For Corrugated Cardboard, Offset Paper, Coated Paper, etc.)