Printing fabric on latex 360

[ktyler1320]

We are attempting to print on fabric to make rope bags for our company. The ink scratches off when we run a fingernail over it. What can I try to change to avoid this from happening? It's just black lettering and instructions printed on a 60" piece of fabric that will be cut and sewn into bags.

Thank you for any help.
Kim

 

[dypinc]

What are your Media settings?

 

[ktyler1320]

What are your Media settings?

We are using a generic textile setting and I've tried using different dpi and pass settings and turned the temperature up thinking maybe it wasn't getting enough heat but it still comes off when I rub it.

 

[dypinc]

It is possible it's the coating on the fabric that is the problem. What other media, especially fabric have you tried?

 

[ktyler1320]

I guess maybe it could be, this is the first kind of fabric we have tried. It's an outdoor fabric that the bags have to be made with.

 

[TrustMoore_TN]

Just my $.02 - We print dye sub for exhibit graphics and have been following the progress of Latex on Fabric as a solution to eventually replace the equipment we have now and streamline the process. The ink rub off is our biggest beef at this time. Coatings are the key to latex inks staying on the fabric, and there are several companies I've talked to that are developing solutions alongside HP to come up with solutions. The one I've been most impressed with so far is TVF fabrics. Even with some of the coatings they are developing now, they have recommended heat setting it (with a flatbed or rotary heat press) which "reduces" the rub off. For us, that's not enough because our fabric graphics are used at multiple tradeshows and folded up for shipment to each show. If we have a large fabric graphic with lots of white or light colors and it encounters enough friction to abrade against itself on the printed side, there's going to be ink rub off and that doesn't work for us. In the right situation with the right fabric formulated to be run on a latex, I think that printing on Latex is fine for fabrics, and you can see some beautiful examples online and at the industry shows.

In your situation to make rope bags, I don't think that you'll be able to make even a coated fabric work without some rub off at this time. If you're set on having printed fabric to make the bags, I would simply outsource the printing of the fabric to a wholesale dye sub printer. I can get fabric printed and sublimated and left on the roll for us to do the finishing for $3.00/sq ft. locally in Atlanta. Basic finishing would cost me $4/sq ft. Merritt has competitive pricing as well, but the shipping costs from the Northeast didn't make the project they quoted for me feasible.

Let me know if I can be of any further help/advice.

 

[nate]

We are attempting to print on fabric to make rope bags for our company. The ink scratches off when we run a fingernail over it. What can I try to change to avoid this from happening? It's just black lettering and instructions printed on a 60" piece of fabric that will be cut and sewn into bags.

Thank you for any help.
Kim

Latex printing has come a long way but it still isn't dye. We run fabric all day through our 3 meter / 126" dye sublimation setup despite the fact of having many HP latex machines in our shop. There is a time and place for everything, and, while you can get away with printing latex on to fabrics for short term/easy handling type projects, it's still best in my opinion to use the correct tool for the correct job.

 

[ktyler1320]

Just my $.02 - We print dye sub for exhibit graphics and have been following the progress of Latex on Fabric as a solution to eventually replace the equipment we have now and streamline the process. The ink rub off is our biggest beef at this time. Coatings are the key to latex inks staying on the fabric, and there are several companies I've talked to that are developing solutions alongside HP to come up with solutions. The one I've been most impressed with so far is TVF fabrics. Even with some of the coatings they are developing now, they have recommended heat setting it (with a flatbed or rotary heat press) which "reduces" the rub off. For us, that's not enough because our fabric graphics are used at multiple tradeshows and folded up for shipment to each show. If we have a large fabric graphic with lots of white or light colors and it encounters enough friction to abrade against itself on the printed side, there's going to be ink rub off and that doesn't work for us. In the right situation with the right fabric formulated to be run on a latex, I think that printing on Latex is fine for fabrics, and you can see some beautiful examples online and at the industry shows.

In your situation to make rope bags, I don't think that you'll be able to make even a coated fabric work without some rub off at this time. If you're set on having printed fabric to make the bags, I would simply outsource the printing of the fabric to a wholesale dye sub printer. I can get fabric printed and sublimated and left on the roll for us to do the finishing for $3.00/sq ft. locally in Atlanta. Basic finishing would cost me $4/sq ft. Merritt has competitive pricing as well, but the shipping costs from the Northeast didn't make the project they quoted for me feasible.

Let me know if I can be of any further help/advice.

Could you let me know where we can look into getting the fabric printed and sublimated and left on the roll? We are in Louisiana. This is what the rope bag looks like http://www.datrex.com/index/catalogdetail/pdt_id/109, it's an orange outdoor material that we have black printing on. We currently order them from another company but was hoping to be able to move them in house now that we have the printer for our signs that we sell. Thank you.

 

[nate]

Could you let me know where we can look into getting the fabric printed and sublimated and left on the roll? We are in Louisiana. This is what the rope bag looks like http://www.datrex.com/index/catalogdetail/pdt_id/109, it's an orange outdoor material that we have black printing on. We currently order them from another company but was hoping to be able to move them in house now that we have the printer for our signs that we sell. Thank you.

We would certainly be happy to take a look at this for you. Dye Sublimation is one of our specialties. Give Georgia a call at 801-305-1655 or email sales@abacatalog.com

Thanks for looking.

 

[TrustMoore_TN]

Could you let me know where we can look into getting the fabric printed and sublimated and left on the roll? We are in Louisiana. This is what the rope bag looks like http://www.datrex.com/index/catalogdetail/pdt_id/109, it's an orange outdoor material that we have black printing on. We currently order them from another company but was hoping to be able to move them in house now that we have the printer for our signs that we sell. Thank you.

Planet Tradeshow - Northwest of Atlanta. Mike Rogers 770-213-2010
Good Luck!

 

[ProColorGraphics]

The items I have done are not meant for long term, but I have had decent luck by turning up the optimizer a little and then cranking the heat!! I doubt it will handle a wash, but it doesn't seem to rub off right away.

 

[ktyler1320]

Thank you all for the replies and help. Here is a close up of the bag I took because you can't see it very well on the website.