Sublimation Workshop, Cairo 2010

September 28, 2010

Sensient Imaging TechnologiesMorges, Switzerland

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Table of content

Presentation of Sensient

Sublimation transfer printing

History

Principle

Substrate selection

Dye selection

Sensient sublimation ink ranges

Inkjet: a viable production process

S4 Subli standard inkjet sublimation ink series

Characteristics

Complementors

FAQ

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Sensient Corporation

Headquarter: Millwaukee (WI), USA

>3500 employees

70 locations in 30 countries

> 1.5 billions US$ turnover

Fields of activity:

Food & Beverage

Pharmaceuticals

Cosmetics

Personal &Home Care

Display Imaging

Industrial Colors

Inkjet &Specialty Inks

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Sensient Imaging Technologies

Inkjet &Specialty Inks

Inkjet Inks California (desktop inks)

Inkjet Inks UK (desktop inks)

Leipzig (dyes for LCD displays)

Specialty Inks Switzerland (textile inks)

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SIT – Specialty Inks and Colors Switzerland

Sensient Imaging Technologies S.A.

Specialty Inks (Morges, Switzerland)

1988 Foundation of ECS (SICPA division)

Traditional sublimation inks

& Desensitizing inks

1992 Starting research on inkjet sublimation inks

1998 First commercial product for piezo heads

2002 Acquisition by Sensient

Today: Traditional sublimation inks (any printing technique)

Inkjet sublimation inks

Inkjet pigmented inks for textile

Desensitizing inks

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Theory: Sublimation

Sublimation Transfer printing

≠

Transfer printing

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Sublimation printing history

Invention by SUBLISTATIC in France, mid sixties

Development starts in fashion goods

Penetration in home furnishing in the mid eighties

Non-textile applications in development

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Sublimation transfer printing: how it works

Sublimation transfer printing process (SIT-Specialty Inks’ specialty for more than 20 years, as well in traditional as in inkjet

printing processes)

Phase 2

210°C, 30s

Phase 1 Phase 3

Substrate

Ink layer

Paper

Substrate

Ink layerPaper

Substrate

Ink layer

Paper

Substrate

Ink layer

Paper

Substrate

Ink layerPaper

Substrate

Ink layer

Paper

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Sublimation transfer printing (2)

Paper: before transfer Transferred fabric

Paper: after transfer

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Sublimation transfer printing: A to Z

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Substrate selection

Selected disperse dyes can sublimate and have affinity for

selected substrates:

Man-made fibers:

polyester (PES)

(polyacryl (PAN))

(polyamide (PA 6.6))

coated or laminated materials polymers

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Dye selection = Sensient core expertise

Only certain dyes are suitable for the production of heat transfer paper

Selection criteria

Sublimation curve

Fastnesses

Shade (Core range)

-70

-50

-30

-10

10

30

50

70

90

-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 a

bSubli Yellow 781

Fluo Red 775

Subli Red 770

Subli Orange 770

Subli Blue 770

Subli Blue 774 Subli Blue 824A

Fluo Yellow 776

Subli Black 774

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Dye selection: sublimation curve

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Dye selection: Fastnesses and shade

Fastnesses

Substrate dependent

Concentration dependent

Selection according to the “weakest link in the chain”

Independent on the printing technique

Shade

A minimum of number of dyes must give the maximum number of shades

Such a selection is called a core range

Result of a time-consuming screening of the sublimation dyes

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Subli Inks - Fastnesses

The light fastnesses have been measured at the maximal recommended dye concentration and a dilution of 1:9 (B: bluer).All other fastnesses have been measured at the maximal recommended dye concentration

Light Water Washing Persp. Persp. Rubbing Rubbing Dry clean.

INKJET OFFSET (severe) (60°C) (acid) (alkali) (dry) (wet)

BAFIXAN SENSIENT ISO 105 ISO 105 ISO 105 ISO 105 ISO 105 ISO 105 ISO 105 ISO 105

/B02 /E01 /C03 /E04 /E04 /X12 /X12 /D01

max. / 1:9 ch./st. ch./st. ch./st. ch./st. ch./st.

Yellow 3GE Subli Yellow 781 S4, Elvajet Yellow 617001A 6-7 / 5-6 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 / 4-5 4 4-5 4 / 5

Subli Orange 770 S4, Elvajet Orange 5-6 / 4 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 / 4 4 / 4 4 4-5 4 / 5

Red BF Subli Red 770 S4, Elvajet Magenta 637001A 6 / 6 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 / 4-5 4 4-5 4 / 5

Blue 2RL Subli Blue 774 S4, Elvajet Blue 6-7 / 5 4 / 4-5 4 / 4 4 / 4-5 4-5 / 4-5 4 4-5 4 / 5

Blue RSD Subli Blue 770 S4, Elvajet Cyan 647002A 5 / 5 4 / 4-5 4 / 4-5 4 / 4-5 4 / 4-5 4 4-5 4 / 5

Subli Black 774 S4, Elvajet Black 6B / 5 B 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 / 4-5 4-5 4-5 4-5 / 5

Subli Black 797 Elvajet D. Black 677005A 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 4-5 4-5 5 / 5

Products

SCREEN

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Examples of application

Applications of transfer printing: Soft signage Home furnishing Carpets Apparel Sportswear Skis and snowboards Ceramic tiles Mouse pads … any polyester coated substrate.

Cotton, Silk : No PVC: No

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Examples of application: Textile

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Examples of application: hard substrates

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Examples of application: 3D

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Sensient sublimation ink ranges

Sensient offer sublimation inks for all types of printing techniques

Traditional printing Inkjet printing

Rotary screen Flatbed Offset

Bafixan

Teraprint

Subli

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Inkjet Sublimation: a viable production process

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

Average run length per colour way [in meters] [1]

[1] Stork report, 2002

Market Trend : Mass customization

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Economics: IJ vs Traditional

Digital vs. traditional printing square meter cost comparison

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Sensient sublimation Inkjet ink ranges

S4 Subli Epson, Mimaki, Roland, Mutoh

S4 Fluo Epson, Mimaki, Roland, Mutoh

S4 IWS7 Epson, Mimaki, Roland, Mutoh

Elvajet SE 100 Epson, Mimaki, Roland, Mutoh

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S4 Subli inks = standard sublimation inks

S4 Subli Yellow 781 = Y

S4 Subli Orange 765

S4 Subli Red 770 = M

S4 Subli Red 770 light = Lm

S4 Subli Blue 770 = C

S4 Subli Blue 770 light = Lc

S4 Subli Blue 774

S4 Subli Black 774 = K for textile

S4 Subli Black 795 = K for flags, banners and sportswear

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S4 Subli inks – Complementors chart

Ink

PaperPrinter

RIP Fabric

Press

ColdenhoveQualimageBeaver

Georg Otto FriedrichBerger3P Textiles

MontiTransmaticKlieverikLemaire

WasatchErgosoftOnyxScanvecCaldera

EpsonRolandMimakiMutoh

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FAQ

The color on the paper is not right.

We can judge a color only after transfer.

Standard transfer condition

Temperature: 210°C, Time: 30s

These settings are standard for 100% PES fabrics. Depending on the substrate (fabric or hard substrate), other conditions may be more appropriate. In case of fragile substrate, it is indeed possible to reduce the temperature and still obtain an optimal transfer by increasing the transfer time.

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FAQ

Release is bad.

Control paper side. The rough side is usually to be used.

Control press or calendar temperature.

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FAQ

Suitability for outdoor application

The light fastness reachable by the dye-sub inks is in general limited. Thus a UV-protector is recommended and it is in any case necessary to test whether the end product fulfils the requirements of the application. No extrapolation for outdoor fastness should be drawn from the light fastness rating performed according to the ISO105-B02 norm, which attempts to reproduce indoor light conditions.

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FAQ

Which substrates are suitable for transfer?

100% PES fabric is the optimal substrate for sublimation transfer printing. However other synthetic materials (Polyamide, Polyacryl …) can be applied as long as testing has shown their suitability.

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Thank you