Thermal ink jet printing of textiles

The flexibility and performance of ink jet technology as used for paper printing has long been a goal for textile printing. In the past there have been many attempts to develop a commercially viable ink jet textile printer. Due to technology limitations and market expectations none of these early implementations have enjoyed significant market placement. Advancements in ink jet printing technology and changes in the textile printing market combine to make ink jet printing of textiles more feasible and attractive than ever before. We have investigated ink jet printing for textiles and have implemented a prototype full width ink jet textile printer. This paper discusses some of the paths chosen in the development process and describes the results of our experimentation.