Vinyl printing
This process allows us to offer excellent results in all types of fabrics with basic designs as logos, images, ridges or almost all kinds of details. It is a process that is not intended to provide photo-quality results, but allows the use of basic colors in its design and a highly impressive finish.
Our equipment allows us to guarantee deliveries of all kinds of quantities and maintain designs so long as our clients require. The value for money of this system allows the wide distribution of different seasonal designs with attractive high for fans and followers of the club.
This technique allows the manufacture of all kinds of sportswear, whatever its composition, to apply our fully personalized and exclusive designs.
Right now we will define basically and quickly what is the vinyl process we use in our clothing.
What is Vinyl?
Vinyl is a plastic material in the form of fusible sheet which is manufactured with different finishes depending on the effect sought. In textile printing, we distinguish between two types of vinyl basically the cut and print and cut
Cut Vinyl
This marking system has a wide range of applications and advantages which we detail:
- Number of available materials: Bright colors, matt, fluorescent, metallic, holographic, flocked, frosted, etc …
- Ability to make a single garment.
- Great strength of the material to washing.
- Ideal to number sports teams.
Also has some inconvenients:
- You can not print multiple colors.
- It is difficult to cut out letters and small drawings.
Printing and cutting vinyl
This system combines the advantages of classic transfer: opacity, elasticity, resistance to washing, photo-quality printing. Also not fotolitos or screens, just a perfect drawing and very short delivery are needed. This is ideal for complicated garment when printing under silkscreen system in photo quality: Bags, Ties, Caps, Raincoats, umbrellas, etc … It is also preferred by the advertising agencies in their very small works for TV, hostesses, presentations of products, etc …
Using a continuously printing plotter on special white fusible or translucent vinyl in 720 d.p.i. photo quality. Then another cutter plotter handles with great fidelity cut or printed logos which finally ironed on clothes.
Delivery times are generally short or very short. For washing, please use warm water and washing inside out to avoid friction in the washer.
How is it performed?
Preparing the image
This is not like a send an image to a printer, we must tell the machine where to cut and where not. We need to send the plotter, shapes, contours, profiles and holes that will appear to our finish, to be cut on chosen vinyl.
Importantly, this vinyl is cut by the stamped adhesive party will therefore design should we on mirroring. Once prepared the file is sent to the plotter.
Cutting plotter
The plotter is a flat printer which instead of pencil or pen carrying a blade precision.
Its operation is simple, the blade moves along a horizontal guide rollers as they move forward or backward the vinyl vertically, achieving pinpoint fidelity in cut. The most widely used for application in textile plotter is called drag cutting blade which is in a format that allows you to rotate freely with the edge always cutting in the direction of movement.
Depending on the type of vinyl that we use we apply more pressure to the machine to cut the supports with textures and less pressure for spot colors. Similarly will change the blade and its cutting angle between 45and 60, according to the particular characteristics of each.
The cut vinyl is a very thin support composed with two layers much thinner, one has the color or texture and the other transport the plastic sheet, which is removed once printed. The plotter has such precision that only cuts one of the color layer leaving intact the conveyor layer.
This means that before being printed should be removed all should not appear in our design, this is called ‘’the emptying’’ of the vinyl.
Peeling or emptying
This is an absolutely manual labor that requires good eyesight, pulse and patience, it is done with a fine punch with which is withdrawn from vinyl all areas we do not want to appear on the printing.
Depending on the design we have some details will be difficult to comply 100% because, if they are very small and there are many, the task of emptying will be impossible, besides cutting precision is so thin that in some vinyl is difficult to know where is the area to empty.
Once is done, we have our design mirroring on the conveyor support, ready to go to the iron.
Types of textile
This personalization technique is perfect for on smooth garments, shirts, sweatshirts, polo shirts, aprons, scarves, shirts, hats, bags, all kinds of fabric with a smooth surface, is not valid for those fabrics with lots of texture and lint as fleeces and towels or clothes too elastic.
Another feature to consider is that the fabric allows ironing.
Ironing
Once ready the garment and presented the vinyl with the conveyor layer upwards begins the process of ironing. Each vinyl has diferent ironing conditions in terms of temperature, time and pressure to ensure a perfect fusion in each cloth.
After this process, remove the conveyor layer, which depending on the case, should be hot or cold. After removing the conveyor, the garment is already personalized or ready to add more details to finalize the proposed design.
Care recommendations
This technique achieves fantastic results of quality and durability, only two conditions should consider which are applicable to many clothes, wash inside out at a temperature of about 40 degrees.
Need more information?
If you want to know more about how we make our processes of sublimation and the spectacular results we offer, please contact us.