Ink-jet printing of textiles under the microscope

Jet printing of textiles with equipment based on the charged drop, piezo and bubblejet technologies, which were originally developed for paper reprographics, is now fairly common, particularly for making sample prints in a rapid response environment. However, compared with conventional screen printing, these systems impose some limitations in the number and gamut of shades that can be produced and in fabric preparation, productivity and cost. The underlying principles of the formation of the coloured pixels which make up the printed design using a jet printer have been studied both at the microscopic level and colorimetrically. A wider appreciation of the reasons for the present limitations of jet printing systems for textiles should help overcome misunderstandings between designers, specifiers and their customers alike.