How Does Digital Printing Works? / An introduction to Digital Printing
Due to the fierce competition in the designing industry, every custom printing company is looking to improve their processes to maximize their output efficiency. Digital printing happens to be one of them. It is a relatively new method, which is being opted for by every other company due to its several benefits and tons of applications.
Let’s talk more about this creative technique and learn about its technology, design and printing process!
Technology
For a very long time, the conventional screen printing, or embroidery application, has been used on typical T-shirt design applications. These methods required creating separate stencils for each color and design. The final result was achieved by merging all the stencils together, which was a tedious and time-consuming process.
However, this is not the case with digital printing as there are no stencils to be prepared. This technology was first patented in 1968, and then further developed in the late 90s. In light of the technological advancement in last few years, this process is further expanded and the latest wide-format printers are able to handle to translate the design to different fabrics and items like a normal custom T-shirt, canvas, mugs, etc.
Design Process
Unlike other St. Louis screen printing companies that are old school, the designing process for modern digital T-shirt printing is fairly simple. All you need to do is create an electronic document file on the computer. The design is generally created using graphic designing software such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. You can also use an existing image or sketch by scanning it and incorporated it into your file.
The file format must be converted into raster files, also called bitmaps, like TIFF, GIF, BMP or JPEG. In layman terms, a raster image provides instructions to your printer by providing precise coordinates of the desired image or design.
The file size and quality, along with certain other properties are set so the proportions are accurate and according to the requirement of the client. That is it! Your file is ready.
Printing Process
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A specific type of ink is selected and formulated for each type of fabric, for instance, cotton, polyester, silk, etc.
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Using the rollers available in the machine, the fabric is put inside and then the ink is applied to the surface of the T-shirt surface using tiny droplets of ink.
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The fabric is finalized by putting into a heating or streaming process to embed the ink permanently.
Similar to other conventional techniques, these tees can withstand many washes. However, there are certain types of ink where you may experience some fading in the design of the garment after some washes. Therefore, it is imperative to find a good service provider to ensure highest quality product.
If you are looking for a St. Louis custom screen printing and embroidery company, try us. We produce highest quality workmanship in the state, particularly for embroidery, which are made using latest technologies rather than old silk-screening and old school techniques. What sets us apart from other competitors is the attention to detail, which results in a superior quality product. Their pricing is so competitive that they encourage customers to check prices from their St. Louis providers.