How to choose the right type of ink for your digital textile prints？

1.Acid dyes
Acid dyes are generally adopted by businesses that are printing for fashion. They were developed to work with protein fabrics in fabrics-for example，those found in silk and wool. As such，they are useful for printing on to only a limited range of materials. 
The fabric used must first be pretreated to allow proper absorption of the dye and also limit any lateral bleeding when it touches the fabric. The dye is printed directly on to the textile but often appears dull and subdued until the post-treatment process has been applied.
Acid dyes require a'wet' finishing process，which involves steaming and washing. During the steaming process the dye is 'fixed' on to the textile. It will change colour during this phase and colours are often much more vivid and bright once the fabric comes out of the steamer.
Afterwards，the prints need to go through a washing process-this removes any excess dye that hasn't been fixed and also the pretreatment that was initially put on to the textile.

2.Reactive dyes
Reactive dyes were developed to work with cellulose fabrics in fabrics-for example, those found in cotton and linen. Reactive dyes can be printed on to a much wider fabric range than acid dyes and can even be used to print protein-based textiles as well. They are often used by people printing for fashion or home furnishings.

3.Pigment inks
Having said that，pigment inks have come a long way since they were first used in digital textile printing. Developments with the ink，along with pre-and post-treatment options mean that pigments are now a viable option for many applications and one of the fastest growing segments of the market. They are particularly favoured by those in the home furnishing and household textile sectors as they offer good lightfastness results.
Pigment inks are also looked on favourably as they use a'dry' finishing process，meaning they are 'fixed' using heat. This can be done in either a heat press or fixation unit. The colours generally won't change much during this process and once it's complete the fabrics are ready to be made into their end product(unless the fabric has been pretreated，in which case some may wish to wash this off beforehand) .

4.Disperse (sublimation) dyes
Sublimation inks used here are known as disperse dyes and can come in many different forms. Some are manufactured specifically to print directly onto the substrate(sometimes referred to as 'true disperse dyes)， others are for paper transfer and some are a hybrid of the two.

Your end application will determine which type of dye will best suit your needs. For example, direct disperse dyes can offer better lightfastness and ink penetration，so are favoured by flag printers. Transfer dyes offer crisper prints and a larger colour gamut，so are favoured by sportswear printers. Regardless of the dye type，they are all manufactured to work predominantly with synthetic fabric，in particular polyester.
When the fabric or paper is printed with disperse dyes the colours initially look dull and subdued. It is only during the post-processing that they will come alive. For sublimation this is normally a 'dry' process using heat，however direct disperse dyes can also be fixed using steam.
The term 'sublimation' refers to the process whereby a material transitions from being a solid to a gas then a solid again without entering the liquid phase. Sublimation printing is one of the most diverse methods of printing on the market and people from all sectors utilise it to create everything from personalised products through to exhibition signage.

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