Apparel production, home textile production and customized workers, often due to pigment printing fabric ironing problems – afraid of ironing improper damage to the print, not ironing and affect the finished product leveling. As the mainstream of textile printing process, mastering its ironing skills can reduce fabric loss, this article will explain whether pigment printed fabrics can be ironed, precautions and procedures to solve this practical problem.
Pigment printing is one of the mainstream methods of textile printing, refers to the insoluble pigment particles, with the help of special pigment adhesive attached to the surface of the fabric fibers, forming patterns and colors of the printing process, different from the penetration of dye printing coloring, pigment printing belongs to the surface of the coloring process, no need for chemical modification of fibers, suitable for all kinds of textile fabrics.
With its own process advantages, pigment printing fabrics wholesale have a very high usage rate in the field of apparel, home textile and workwear. In the apparel industry, the printing patterns of casual wear and sportswear are mostly utilized in this process. Home textile category, curtains, pillows, bedding color printing often use pigment printing. Enterprise workwear, school uniforms, team uniforms, etc., due to the needs of mass production, also widely used pigment printing fabrics.
Eco-friendly pigment printed fabrics can be ironed, but the core premise is to control the ironing temperature.
As long as the combination of the fabric itself, the fiber material, choose the right ironing temperature, control the pressure, while taking into account the thickness of the fabric, pigment print fabric ironing is safe, not only to make the fabric back to flat, but also will not cause damage to the print layer.
Different fiber materials of pigment printed fabrics, heat resistance is different, corresponding to the ironing temperature threshold is also a clear distinction, the practice should be strictly followed:
Practical advice: no need to set the high temperature directly before ironing, start from the low-temperature gear, according to the leveling needs of the fabric gradually increase the temperature, can avoid high temperature damage to the greatest extent.
This is the first step to protect the pigment printing layer, iron the fabric with the printing side facing inward and the reverse side facing outward, which can fundamentally reduce the direct contact between the high temperature of the iron and the printing layer, and avoid the softening and cracking of the pigment binder due to direct heat, and at the same time, it can also prevent the soleplate of the iron from rubbing directly on the surface of the printing, which can cause the pigment particles to fall off.
After turning the surface of the fabric, and then lay a layer of clean cotton ironing cloth or ordinary cotton cloth as a protective layer, this step can further isolate the high temperature, to avoid the iron’s local high temperature directly on the fabric. At the same time, the cotton protective layer can effectively prevent the hardening of the pigment adhesive layer due to high temperature, but also to avoid the surface of the fabric appears glossy print, so that the fabric after ironing to maintain the original texture.
According to the fiber composition of the fabric, select the iron on the corresponding ironing mode, cotton fabrics choose cotton mode, polyester and synthetic fabrics choose chemical fiber or synthetic mode, blended fabrics can choose between the two modes.
On the use of steam: according to the degree of fabric crease discretionary use, but remember not to steam directly to the printing layer of the jet, the high temperature and pressure of the steam will be directly impact on the pigment adhesive layer, easy to cause the printing off, cracking.
Ironing to keep the iron lightly pressed on the surface of the fabric can be, with the iron’s own weight to complete the leveling work, do not press hard, repeated rubbing. Excessive pressure will directly squeeze the pigment printing layer on the surface of the fabric, resulting in cracking of the adhesive layer, the pigment particles fall off, especially at the corners of the printing pattern, it is more important to iron lightly and slowly to prevent damage.
Before formal ironing, find the corners of the fabric, inside seams and other hidden positions, according to the selected temperature, mode of test ironing for a few seconds, after cooling down to check the test ironing area of the print layer and the state of the fabric. If there is no dark color, print cracking, fabric hardness, etc., that the ironing parameters are appropriate. If the above problems, you need to immediately reduce the temperature to re-test, which is the most secure trial and error method to avoid extensive ironing damage.
Once the temperature, pressure and other key factors are ignored and the pigment printed fabrics for upholstery are ironed incorrectly, the pigment binder layer and the printing layer will be damaged immediately, and the texture of the fabric itself will also be affected, the specific problems are mainly in these categories:
Many practitioners only focus on how to avoid ironing damage, but ignore the positive effects of correct ironing on pigment printing fabrics, reasonable ironing can not only make the fabric more flat, but also further enhance the product texture and service life.
Pigment printed fabrics have become a common choice in the textile industry due to their many advantages, and mastering the correct ironing method is the key to prolonging the service life of these fabrics and maintaining the printing effect. As long as you follow the temperature control core, take protective measures, and operate according to the step-by-step guide, you can easily realize the flat finishing of fabrics and avoid ironing damage.
If you are a garment processing factory, home textile manufacturers or workwear customizers, daily large quantities of wholesale pigment printed fabrics will be processed, it may be worthwhile to collect this ironing strategy to share with the front-line operators, so that professional operation to guard the quality of the product. If you have encountered other pigment printing fabric processing problems in practice, you can also combine the actual scene to further study the appropriate solution, so that the advantages of pigment printing fabrics for bedding can be fully realized.
