Machinate: The Mimaki Tx2-1600 May 4

Machinate: The Mimaki Tx2-1600 May 4

Machinate: The Mimaki Tx2-1600 May 4

Today the team at Ponoko is talking about the Mimaki Tx2-1600, one of the many digital textile printers on the market that the team have had a good amount of experience with. There is a very brief description and history of textile printing available online at the Colour Museum.

In the old way, the image had to be divided into all the different colours that made it up, and each colour required a separate screen. This means every color added to a textile design, the amount of labor and cost go up by that number - which can be a big limitation for independent designers who need to stick to a budget.

Years ago inkjet printing brought color printing to the masses, and now it's happening with digital fabric printing. Main differences? The printing is done with dyes not inks, and because the image is comprised of pixels, there is no limit to the amount of color. It's just like CMYK - four color process with options for four extra colors.

Before printing you've got to test your printer and the dyes. There are two different sides of dye cartridge slots to cater for the different kinds of fabrics available - fiber reactive dyes are best for cellulosic or plant based fibers such as cotton, rayon, linen or hemp. Acid dyes are best for protein based fibers like wool and silk and for synthetic fibers like nylon and polyester.

Next, specially coated and paper-backed fabric on a roll is placed at the foot of the printer between two plastic ends that support the roll. In order to make sure that the fabric is aligned evenly, the edge of the paper lines up with a triangle on the printer, detected by a laser that keeps things on track. This laser is adjusted by a switch on a box attached to the bottom of the printer. The fabric is then carefully pulled in an over-under fashion through 3 cylinders to maintain the tension and then fed through the top and clamped down.

Before you get anything put onto the fabric, it's important to run test and make sure that all of the nozzles are clear. You do this via several rounds of putting it through a cleaning setting even a single lose fiber can clog a nozzle and ruin the print.

Now that you're sure your printing is perfect, you need an image file to print. As with any desktop inkjet printer, a variety of file types can be used, but tiffs give the best results. Fabric printers come with a software program for managing the printing queue, or if you prefer you can print straight from Photoshop. Using the Mimaki you can print 10 square meters an hour at 720dpi.

But the work isn't done yet. Next you need to lay it all out on a flat surface and peel off of the paper backing. The dye is also still only on the surface; it has not yet chemically bonded with the fibers. To make it bond, the fabric must be steamed between 120-140 degrees Celsius (250-280 degrees Farenheit) for 45 minutes to an hour depending on colors, fabric, and temperature.

Keep an eye out for any expansion to Ponoko's services that include a digital fabric printer, and you too can take advantage of the technology!

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