A Brief Discussion On Digital Direct Inkjet Printing and Screen Printing

Digital direct-injection printing machines have many advantages over traditional manual printing, such as environmental protection, streamlined process, simple operation, low printing cost, rich and diverse printing patterns, realistic, bright colors, good printing effects, no hand feeling, breathable, comfortable to wear, etc. . So can traditional hand-printing be eliminated?

The answer is of course no.

The first is the difference in speed. Except for the preparatory work in the early stage, the speed of screen printing has been increased to print a four-color poster every 2 seconds during real mass production. The limitations in terms of speed cannot match this speed for the time being.

Secondly, in terms of technology, screen printing has the characteristics of thick ink layer, rich graphics and text levels, strong three-dimensional effect, and a wide range of printing materials; the most outstanding advantages of digital direct injection printers can be summarized as: one-piece printing, no plate making, Immediate printing, instant error correction, variable printing, on-demand printing. The different process characteristics of screen printing and digital direct-injection printing machines determine that their uses in the printing market will be different.

Digital direct printing machine also has its irreplaceable advantages

• Environmentally friendly production
• Streamlined steps, easy to use
• Flexible production and short cycle time
• Multiple and flexible color configurations

Environmentally friendly production

In the general environment, the environmental protection situation is becoming more and more severe. The country is becoming more and more strict on environmental protection. Many factories that do not meet environmental protection standards have been shut down for rectification.

Some small printing factories certainly cannot bear the environmental protection cost of screen printing wastewater. It is most suitable for such enterprises to choose digital direct-jet printing machines.

The production process of the digital direct-jet printing machine is environmentally friendly, the ink is environmentally friendly, the printing process is environmentally friendly, and there is no aqueous solution, so there is no need to invest in environmental protection costs.

Streamlined steps, easy to use

The screen printing process is complex and requires masters with many years of experience to ensure that alignment, color registration, and paste mixing are error-free. It relies too much on personnel and requires more supporting facilities and a larger delivery room area.

The digital operation process of digital direct-injection printing machines is the automated CNC equipment that factories are pursuing now. It is independent of personnel and improves work efficiency. The digital direct-injection printing machine is fully computer-controlled and prints automatically with the click of a mouse.

Traditional catwalk screen printing requires 12 people to print a garment with 5 sets of colors. It takes 4 people to trace the manuscript, produce the film, print the plate, and help with the frame, and 8 workers for printing. The processing fee charged to the customer starts at 8 yuan, and adds 1 yuan for an additional set of colors.

Digital direct-injection printing machine printing only requires 2 or 3 people to handle all the processes. One person who knows PS is responsible for drawing, editing and coloring, and two machine operators are responsible for loading and unloading the fabric. The processing unit price starts at 20 yuan.

A set of mobile screen printing machine plus supporting facilities needs to occupy an area of at least about 3000 square meters, and a digital direct-jet printing machine only needs 20 square meters.

Flexible production and short cycle time

Flexible mass production, short proofing cycle, and adaptable to flexible order taking.

The digital direct-injection printing machine does not require plate making and can be printed with pictures. New patterns, no matter how many colors there are, can be prototyped in two or three hours, and can be modified at any time to correct errors in time.

The cycle is short, which is in line with the current market demand for fast update, fast change and changeable market. You can seize hot items and orders in time.

Due to the complicated process of screen printing, the cycle of proofing alone takes about a week. If modifications are required, the production time will have to be delayed, which greatly reduces production efficiency. By the time mass production occurs, this design and color may no longer be popular.

Multiple and flexible color configurations

About multi-color pattern printing.

There are no restrictions on the types of colors for digital direct-injection printing machines, and there is no need for color registration and alignment, and the gradient color can achieve photo-level effects.

Screen printing needs toning, alignment, and color registration. It can only print 10 colors of printing at most. The effect is already very bad, the gradient color is not smooth, and it is easy to misplace and misplace.

Traditional manual screen printing requires complex processes such as plate making, screen making, and squeegeeing, and cannot produce more than six colors on the same piece of clothing, making it impossible to achieve photo-level printing effects.

Giftec Team