JP7703314B2 - Fabric transfer printing method and fabric transfer printing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for transfer printing on fabrics and an apparatus for transfer printing on fabrics.

Patent document 1 discloses a method for transfer printing of cellulose or cellulose-blend fibers.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 134978/1983

In the transfer printing method of Patent Document 1, a transfer paper for sublimation transfer, on which a desired design has been printed, is superimposed on a pretreated cellulosic cotton fabric, and then the fabric is heated with water vapor and pressurized, thereby transferring the design printed with an ink containing a reactive dye from the transfer paper to the cotton fabric.
In this transfer printing method, a design printed with ink containing reactive dyes is transferred and fixed to the cotton fabric, which is the receiving fabric, by simultaneously applying heat and pressure to the superimposed transfer paper and cotton fabric.

There is a demand for a method to more appropriately perform transfer printing from transfer paper.

One aspect of the present invention is
A transfer printing method comprising a transfer paper on which a design is printed with an ink containing a reactive dye, and a transfer step of transferring the design printed on the transfer paper to the fabric by pressing the transfer paper against the fabric,
Further, after the transfer step, a fixing step is provided in which the pattern transferred to the fabric is fixed by a heat treatment of the fabric,
The transfer paper and the fabric are continuously transported ,
During the transport of the transfer paper, printing is performed on the transfer paper , and the printed transfer paper and the fabric to which a printing assistant has been applied are pressed together,
After the transfer paper is detached from the fabric, the fixing step is carried out ,
the heat treatment is a wet heat treatment in which the fabric to which the design has been transferred is steam-heated in the presence of the printing assistant;
In the transfer step, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together at room temperature, which is lower than the heating temperature in the wet heat treatment, to transfer the design to the fabric.

The present inventors have thoroughly investigated the reason why the accuracy of a pattern transferred to a fabric decreases when the transfer of the pattern to the fabric by pressing the transfer paper and the fabric together and the fixation of the pattern to the fabric by steaming are performed simultaneously.
the result,
(a) The moisture contained in the fabric is evaporated by the high temperature of the steaming treatment for fixing the reactive dye to the fabric, and the reactive dye is taken up by the evaporated moisture.
(b) They discovered that a part of the reactive dye migrates along the grain of the fabric together with the evaporated water, causing a phenomenon known as "color bleeding," resulting in a decrease in the precision of the pattern.
Therefore, we discovered that by transferring the design and fixing the transferred design separately, rather than simultaneously, in order to suppress the evaporation of moisture during transfer, we could improve the problem of "color bleeding." This allows for more appropriate transfer printing from the transfer paper to the fabric.

In other words, by separating the transfer process from the fixing process, it is possible to prevent defects (color bleeding) that occur when the two processes are performed together.

One aspect of the present invention is
The heat treatment is a wet heat treatment in which the fabric to which the design has been transferred is steam-heated;
In the transfer step, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together at a temperature equal to or lower than the heating temperature in the wet heat treatment, thereby transferring the design to the fabric.

By separating the transfer step from the fixing step, it is possible to suppress defects (color bleeding) that occur when the two steps are performed together.
When the pressure bonding and the vapor heat treatment are performed separately, the time for pressure bonding the transfer paper and the fabric can be made shorter than when the pressure bonding and the vapor heat treatment are performed simultaneously, so that evaporation of moisture contained in the fabric can be suppressed.
In addition, by shortening the pressing time, the distance that the evaporated water travels along the weave of the fabric is shortened, which can suppress "color bleeding." This allows for more appropriate transfer printing from the transfer paper to the fabric.

One aspect of the present invention is
In the wet heat treatment, the fabric to which the design has been transferred is steam-heated in the presence of a printing assistant.

The accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric can be ensured while still allowing for proper color development.

One aspect of the present invention is
The heat treatment is a dry heat treatment for heating the fabric to which the pattern has been transferred,
In the transfer step, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together at a temperature equal to or lower than the heating temperature in the dry heat treatment, thereby transferring the design to the fabric.

As a result of extensive research, the inventors of the present invention have found that, instead of using steam heat treatment, a dry heat treatment in which the fabric to which the pattern has been transferred is heated can also be used to satisfactorily fix the transferred pattern to the fabric.
Vapor heat treatment requires equipment for supplying steam, such as a boiler and piping, and fuel to operate the boiler, which results in a large-scale facility. Dry heat treatment allows for a smaller facility than vapor heat treatment, so the facility installation and operating costs can be reduced compared to vapor heat treatment.

In addition, the time required for the transferred pattern to adhere to the fabric is shorter with dry heat treatment than with steam heat treatment, which makes it possible to reduce the time required to produce fabric with a transferred pattern.

One aspect of the present invention is
In the dry heat treatment, the fabric to which the design has been transferred is heated in the presence of a printing assistant.

The accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric can be ensured while still allowing for proper color development.

One aspect of the present invention is
The method includes a coating step of coating the printing assistant by spraying, which is performed before the fixing step.

The printing assistant may be applied to either the fabric or the transfer paper, but the printing assistant can be easily applied by applying it by spraying.
In addition, since the printing assistant can be easily applied, it becomes possible to apply the printing assistant immediately before the transfer step. When the printing assistant is applied to the fabric or the transfer paper in advance, there is a concern about the influence of the change in the printing assistant over time, but with the present invention, transfer printing can be performed without causing such a concern.

One aspect of the present invention is
The coating step is carried out prior to the transfer step.

If the printing aid is applied to the fabric in advance, the color of the fabric may change over time, which may affect the quality of the fabric after transfer printing. By applying the printing aid just before the fixing step, this can be effectively prevented.

Furthermore, if a printing assistant is applied to the fabric immediately before it is superimposed on the transfer paper, the moisture content of the fabric can be adjusted to an optimum moisture content for transferring the pattern, and then the transfer paper and fabric can be pressed together.
This allows the pattern to be transferred to the fabric under optimal conditions, ensuring the accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric.

One aspect of the present invention is
In the transfer step, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together at a temperature of 100° C. or less, thereby transferring the design to the fabric.

Color bleeding can be suppressed by lowering the heating temperature during the transfer process to below 100°C, a temperature at which transfer is possible but at which moisture does not evaporate and steam is not generated.

One aspect of the present invention is
In the transfer step, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together with moisture present therebetween, thereby transferring the design to the fabric.

The presence of moisture is necessary to transfer a pattern printed with ink containing reactive dyes to fabric. By configuring as described above, the amount of moisture can be adjusted to an optimum level for transferring the pattern.

One aspect of the present invention is
The moisture is applied to the fabric side.

Moisture may be applied to the transfer paper, but applying moisture to the transfer paper may cause the ink to bleed. Therefore, applying moisture to the fabric side to which the design is transferred can prevent the ink from bleeding, allowing for more appropriate transfer printing.

One aspect of the present invention is
A transfer printing method comprising a transfer step of transferring a design printed on a transfer paper with an ink containing a reactive dye to a fabric to which moisture has been applied by pressing the transfer paper against the fabric, the transfer step comprising:
The method further includes a fixing step of subjecting the fabric to which the design has been transferred to a moist heat treatment using steam to fix the design transferred to the fabric,
In the transfer step, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together under transfer conditions that allow the pattern to be transferred to the fabric and do not cause the steam to act on the fabric, thereby transferring the pattern to the fabric;
the transfer paper and the fabric are continuously transported, and during the transport of the transfer paper and the fabric , printing is performed on the transfer paper and the printed transfer paper is pressed against the fabric to which a printing assistant has been applied ,
After the transfer paper is detached from the fabric, the fixing step is carried out ,
In the transfer step, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together at room temperature, which is lower than the heating temperature in the moist heat treatment and does not cause the moisture to evaporate and generate steam.
The design is transferred to the fabric .

By separating the transfer process from the fixing process, defects (color bleeding) that occur when the two processes are performed together can be reduced.

One aspect of the present invention is
a transfer paper on which a pattern is printed with ink containing a reactive dye, and a transfer device which transfers the pattern printed on the transfer paper to the fabric by pressing the transfer paper against the fabric;
a fixing device for fixing the transferred pattern to the fabric by performing a heat treatment on the fabric;
a feeding means around which the transfer paper having a continuous roll shape is wound;
a winding means for the transfer paper;
Between the feeding means and the winding means, a printing device that prints on the transfer paper and the transfer device are provided .

By transferring the design and fixing the transferred design separately, defects (color bleeding) that occur when transferring and fixing the design simultaneously can be reduced.

One aspect of the present invention is
The fixing device is a moist heat treatment device that steam-heats the fabric to which the design has been transferred,
In the transfer device, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together at a temperature equal to or lower than the heating temperature in the moist heat treatment device, thereby transferring the design to the fabric.

By separately transferring the pattern to the fabric and fixing the transferred pattern to the fabric, it is possible to suppress defects (color bleeding) that occur when transferring the pattern to the fabric and fixing the transferred pattern to the fabric are performed at the same time.
In addition, since the time required for pressing the transfer paper and the fabric to transfer the pattern can be shortened, the amount of moisture contained in the fabric that evaporates during pressing can be reduced, which also helps to prevent bleeding.

One aspect of the present invention is
The fixing device is a dry heat treatment device that heats the fabric to which the pattern has been transferred,
In the transfer device, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together at a temperature equal to or lower than the heating temperature in the dry heat treatment device, thereby transferring the design to the fabric.

Instead of the steam heat treatment, the fabric to which the design has been transferred may be subjected to a dry heat treatment in which the fabric to which the design has been transferred is heated, whereby the transferred design can be satisfactorily fixed to the fabric.
Vapor heat treatment requires equipment for supplying steam, such as a boiler and piping, and fuel to operate the boiler, which results in a large-scale facility. Dry heat treatment allows for a smaller facility than vapor heat treatment, so the facility installation and operating costs can be reduced compared to vapor heat treatment.

In addition, the time required for the transferred pattern to adhere to the fabric is shorter with dry heat treatment than with steam heat treatment, which makes it possible to reduce the time required to produce fabric with a transferred pattern.

The present invention allows for more efficient transfer printing from transfer paper.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a transfer printing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a transfer printing device according to a first modified example. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a transfer printing device according to a second modified example.

[Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a transfer printing device 1 according to an embodiment.
The transfer printing device 1 is a device for transferring and printing a design printed on a transfer paper 2 onto a fabric 7 .
Here, the term "design" in this specification does not only mean the "pattern" or "pattern" of a printed design, but also includes letters, pictures, and the like.

The fabric 7 is a woven material made of vegetable fibers such as cotton and rayon.
The fabric 7 may be made of vegetable fibers or a blend of vegetable fibers and synthetic fibers such as polyester.
Furthermore, the fabric 7 may be made of animal fibers such as silk or wool, or a blend of animal fibers and synthetic fibers such as polyester.
The fabric 7 preferably has a basis weight of 60 to 480 g/m ² , and more preferably 60 to 200 g/m ² .

As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer printing device 1 includes a printing device 10, a pretreatment device 20, a pressure device 30 (transfer device), a steaming device 40 (fixing device), a cleaning device 50, and a drying device 60.

The printing device 10 prints a design for transfer printing onto the transfer paper 2 .
The printing device 10 may be any device capable of printing a pattern for transfer printing onto the transfer paper 2. The printing method may be appropriately selected from inkjet printing, gravure printing, offset printing, screen printing, and the like.
In this embodiment, a printing device 10 that uses an inkjet printing method is used.

There are no particular limitations on the transfer paper 2, so long as the desired design can be printed on the ink-receiving layer. In this embodiment, the transfer paper 2 is a sheet-like substrate having an ink-receiving layer on its surface.

The base material of the transfer paper 2 may be any material that can provide an ink receiving layer, and may be selected appropriately from paper such as art paper, coated paper, print base paper, and tissue paper, and films such as polyethylene, polypropylene, cellophane, and aluminum foil.
In this embodiment, since the printing device 10 employs an inkjet printing method, the transfer paper 2 is a dye-sublimation inkjet textile transfer paper.
An example of such a transfer paper is TRS95-1620 manufactured by Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd.

When the fabric 7 is made of vegetable fibers, the ink used for printing the design preferably contains a reactive dye as a coloring component.
As the reactive dye, vinyl sulfone dyes, monochlorotriazine dyes, dichlorotriazone dyes, trichlorotriazine dyes, etc. can be appropriately used.

When a pattern is to be transfer-printed onto the fabric 7 using plant fibers, the ink may contain only reactive dyes as the coloring component.
When the fabric 7 is a blend of vegetable fibers and synthetic fibers, the ink may further contain other dyes, such as disperse dyes or pot dyes, that have a high affinity with both the reactive dye and the synthetic fibers as a coloring component.
If the ink contains a disperse dye or a vat dye in addition to a reactive dye, it can perform good printing on fabrics made from blends of vegetable and synthetic fibers.

Reactive dyes include SPC-0357, Rc210, Rc300, Rc400, Rc500, and MLRc500 manufactured by Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd.

The pretreatment device 20 applies a pretreatment agent to the fabric 7 before the pattern is transferred and printed.
The pretreatment agent is an aqueous solution containing a dyeing assistant (textile printing assistant), and functions as a pH adjuster for favorably fixing the pattern to the fabric 7 .
When the fabric 7 is made of vegetable fibers, it is preferable that the pretreatment agent contains at least one dyeing assistant selected from the following:
Sodium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, trisodium phosphate, disodium hydrogen phosphate, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, sodium tetraborate, trimethylamine, triethanolamine, methylamine and dimethylamine.

The amount of dyeing assistant applied to the fabric 7 is preferably 1 to 6 parts by weight, more preferably 2 to 4 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the fabric.

In the present embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the dyeing assistant is applied to the fabric 7 by spraying the pretreatment agent, which is an aqueous solution containing the dyeing assistant, onto the fabric 7.
The dyeing assistant may be applied to the fabric 7 by immersing the fabric 7 in a pretreatment agent that is an aqueous solution containing the dyeing assistant.

In this embodiment, the moisture content of the fabric 7 to which the dyeing assistant has been applied is preferably 55 to 65 owf, and more preferably 55 to 60 owf.
Therefore, a heater for heating the fabric 7 after pretreatment or a sprayer for spraying moisture onto the fabric 7 after pretreatment may be provided between the pretreatment device 20 and the pressure device 30 so that the moisture content of the fabric 7 to which the dyeing assistant has been applied is adjusted to within the above range.
Here, "owf" is the parts by weight of water per 100 parts by weight of fabric. 60owf means 60 parts by weight of water per 100 parts by weight of fabric.

The pressure device 30 is equipped with a pair of pressure rollers 31, 31. Between the pair of pressure rollers 31, 31, the transfer paper 2 on which a pattern has been printed by the printing device 10 and the fabric 7 to which a dyeing assistant has been applied by the pretreatment device 20 (fabric 7 after pretreatment) are supplied in a superimposed state.

In the pressure device 30, the pre-treated fabric 7 and the transfer paper 2 on which a pattern is printed are overlapped in front of a pair of pressure rollers 31, 31.
The transfer paper 2 is superimposed on the fabric 7 with the printed surface of the design in contact with the fabric 7 after pretreatment.

The pair of pressure rollers 31 , 31 pressurize (pressure-tightly adhere) the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 held between the pair of pressure rollers 31 , 31 , thereby transferring the design printed on the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7 .
The pair of pressure rollers 31, 31 can be rotated around rotation axes X1, X2 parallel to each other by a drive mechanism (not shown).
The pair of pressure rollers 31, 31 rotate around the rotation axes X1, X2 while pressing the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 together, so that the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 are sent out to the steam heating device 40 side.

As viewed from the pressure device 30, a feed roller 21 for the transfer paper 2 is provided on the printing device 10 side, and a take-up roller 22 for the transfer paper 2 is provided on the steam heating device 40 side.
The transfer paper 2 before the pattern is printed is wound around the pay-out roller 21, and the transfer paper 2 after the pattern has been transferred to the fabric 7 is wound around the take-up roller 22.
A control device (not shown) rotates the winding roller 22 in conjunction with the rotation of the pair of pressure rollers 31, 31 to wind up the transfer paper 2, so that the transfer paper 2 with a pattern printed on it is continuously supplied between the pair of pressure rollers 31, 31.

As viewed from the pressing device 30, a payout roller 71 for the fabric 7 is provided on the upstream side of the pre-treatment device 20. A take-up roller 72 for the fabric 7 is provided on the downstream side of the drying device 60.
The fabric 7 before pre-treatment is wound around the pay-out roller 71 .
After being pulled out from the pay-out roller 71, the fabric 7 passes through the pre-treatment device 20, the pressure device 30 (transfer device), the steaming device 40 (fixing device), the cleaning device 50, and the drying device 60 in that order, and then is wound around the take-up roller 72.
A control device (not shown) rotates the winding roller 72 in conjunction with the rotation of the pair of pressure rollers 31, 31 to wind up the fabric 7, thereby continuously supplying the fabric 7 between the pair of pressure rollers 31, 31 immediately after pre-treatment.

Here, in a conventionally known transfer printing device, the pressure device has a steaming function, and high-temperature steam is applied to the transfer paper 2 pressed between pressure rollers 31, 31, thereby transferring the pattern by pressure and performing a steaming treatment (steam heating) of the transferred pattern in parallel.
This is because the transfer of the pattern to the fabric 7 by pressing and the fixation of the pattern to the fabric 7 by steaming are carried out at approximately the same time, thereby suppressing the expansion of the scale of the equipment required for the transfer printing of the pattern.

The present inventors have found that when a pattern is transferred onto a fabric 7 by a conventionally known transfer printing method in which the transfer of the pattern onto the fabric 7 and the fixing of the pattern are carried out simultaneously, the following phenomenon occurs.
(a) As the density of the pattern increases, the accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric 7 decreases.
(b) The accuracy of the pattern decreases as the thickness of the fabric 7 increases.
(c) The accuracy of the pattern decreases as the unevenness of the fabric 7 becomes more noticeable.

For example, if the fabric 7 is chino cloth (cotton twill), which is thick and has noticeable unevenness, the phenomenon of dye flowing along the weave of the fabric 7 (a phenomenon known as "color bleeding") becomes noticeable, reducing the accuracy of the pattern, especially at the edges of the pattern.

The inventors of this invention thoroughly investigated the causes of the decrease in pattern precision in conventional transfer printing methods, and found that lowering the heating temperature improves the pattern precision but decreases the pattern density, and that raising the heating temperature reduces the pattern precision but increases the pattern density.

Here, pressure is required for the transfer of the pattern, and the presence of an appropriate amount of moisture and high temperature are required for the fixation of the transferred pattern in order to cause the reactive dye to react with the constituent material of the fabric 7.
When a large pressure and a high temperature are applied simultaneously to the superposed transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7, the pattern on the transfer paper 2 is transferred to the fabric 7, and then the reactive dye contained in the transferred pattern reacts by exposure to high temperature in the presence of moisture and is fixed on the surface of the fabric 7.

The present inventors have noted that reactive dyes are highly soluble in water and that "bleeding" occurs along the weave of the fabric, and have considered the following possibilities.
(a) Due to the high temperature used to fix the reactive dye to the fabric, the moisture contained in the fabric 7 is vaporized by the high temperature, and the reactive dye is taken up by the vaporized moisture (moisture vapor: steam).
(b) A phenomenon known as "bleeding" occurs when some of the reactive dye migrates along the grain of the fabric along with the evaporated water.

Therefore, in order to prevent the evaporation of moisture during transfer, the transfer of the design and the fixing of the transferred design were carried out separately rather than at the same time, and the transfer of the design was carried out at a temperature lower than the steaming temperature and by applying only pressure, and it was found that this improved the "bleeding" problem.

Therefore, in the transfer printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a steaming device 40 is separately provided between the pressure device 30 and the cleaning device 50 in order to perform the transfer of the pattern and the fixing of the pattern separately.
Then, in a pressure device 30, the overlapping transfer paper 2 and fabric 7 are pressed together at a temperature at which the pattern can be transferred and at which moisture vapor is not generated, preferably at a temperature below the steaming temperature, more preferably at 100°C or below, and even more preferably at room temperature (25°C) or close to room temperature, so that only the transfer of the pattern to the fabric 7 is carried out.

Furthermore, in the steaming device 40 downstream of the pressure device 30, the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred is subjected to a steaming treatment (steaming treatment: wet heat treatment) in the presence of a printing assistant, causing the reactive dye contained in the ink that constitutes the transferred pattern to react with the fabric 7, thereby fixing the pattern to the fabric 7.

The pressure (pressure) applied to the overlapping transfer paper 2 and fabric 7 in the pressure device 30 is preferably 1.0 MPa to 2.0 MPa, and more preferably 1.6 MPa. The pressure application time is at least 2 seconds.

A steaming device 40 is provided downstream of the pressurizing device 30 in the conveying direction of the fabric 7. The steaming device 40 is a steamer that exposes the fabric 7, onto which the pattern has been transferred, to high-temperature steam.
Exposing the fabric 7 to high-temperature water vapor (steaming treatment: moist heat treatment) is carried out to cause the reactive dye contained in the ink that constitutes the design to react with the fabric 7, thereby penetrating and fixing the design into the fabric 7 and causing the dye to develop color.

The conditions for the steaming treatment in the steaming apparatus 40 are as follows.
The steaming temperature is preferably from 90°C to 110°C, more preferably 104°C.
The steaming time is preferably 10 to 20 minutes, more preferably 15 minutes.
The steam pressure is from 5 psi to 15 psi, more preferably 8 psi.
An example of the steaming device 40 is a product called "Steamjet" manufactured by Jackquard Inkjet Fabric.

A cleaning device 50 is provided downstream of the steaming device 40 in the conveying direction of the fabric 7 .
The cleaning device 50 cleans the fabric 7 after the steaming treatment to remove excess substances such as dyeing assistants remaining on the fabric 7 and unreacted reactive dyes.

A drying device 60 is provided downstream of the cleaning device 50 in the transport direction of the fabric 7 .
The drying device 60 blows hot air or the like onto the washed fabric 7 to evaporate the moisture remaining in the fabric 7 and dry the fabric 7.

In this way, in the transfer printing device 1, in the pretreatment device 20, the pretreatment agent is sprayed onto the fabric fed from the feed roller 71, and the printing aid is applied to the fabric (pretreatment process). In the printing device 10, a pattern is printed on the transfer paper fed from the feed roller 21 using ink that uses reactive dyes (printing process).

The transfer paper 2 on which a pattern has been printed by the printing device 10 and the fabric 7 to which a dyeing aid has been applied by the pretreatment device 20 (the fabric 7 after pretreatment) are overlapped just before the pressure device 30, and then supplied to the pressure device 30 in the overlapped state.
In the pressure device 30, the superimposed transfer paper 2 and fabric 7 are pressed between a pair of pressure rollers 31, 31, and the design printed on the transfer paper 2 is transferred to the pre-treated fabric 7 (transfer process).

Then, in a steaming device 40 downstream of the pressure applying device 30, a steaming process (steaming process) is carried out on the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred, causing a reactive dye contained in the ink constituting the transferred pattern to react with the fabric 7, thereby fixing the pattern to the fabric 7 (fixing process).
After the steaming treatment, the fabric 7 is washed in a washing device 50 to remove excess substances such as dyeing assistants remaining on the fabric 7 and unreacted reactive dyes (washing step).
After washing, the fabric 7 is dried in a drying device 60 (drying process) and then wound up on a winding roller 72 .

The transfer printing device 1 carries out a transfer printing method including the pretreatment process, printing process, transfer process, fixing process, cleaning process, and drying process. With this transfer printing method, the transfer of the pattern from the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7 and the fixing of the pattern to the fabric 7 are carried out continuously with shifted timing, and the fabric 7 with the fixed pattern is continuously produced.

The effects of the transfer printing method according to the first embodiment will be described below.
The transfer printing method according to this embodiment was carried out using chino cloth (Yamatomi Shoten Co., Ltd.) as fabric 7, and the reflection density at a duty of 100% for each color of the solid printed pattern and the allowable duty (%) at which color bleeding does not occur were confirmed (see Tables 1 and 2 below).

Here, 100% duty means a state where the pixels are completely filled with ink droplets, and corresponds to the printing condition that results in the highest density. The reflection density was measured using a commercially available optical densitometer.
An example of the optical densitometer is the Fluorescence Spectrodensitometer FD-7 manufactured by Konica Minolta, Inc.
The allowable duty (%) without bleeding means the upper limit duty (%) at which bleeding does not occur, and if the allowable duty is exceeded, bleeding will occur in the fabric 7 after the steaming treatment. For example, an allowable duty of "50" means that 50% of the area in a pixel is printed so that ink droplets fill the entire area, and the higher the allowable duty (%), the higher the density can be.

The symbol "C" in Tables 1 and 2 refers to the case of printing where only ink droplets containing a cyan (blue) reactive dye land within a pixel (monochrome). The symbol "M" refers to the case of printing where only ink droplets containing a magenta (red) reactive dye land within a pixel (monochrome). The symbol "Y" refers to the case of printing where only ink droplets containing a yellow (yellow) reactive dye land within a pixel (monochrome). The symbol "K" refers to the case of printing where only ink droplets containing a black (black) reactive dye land within a pixel (monochrome).

"MY" refers to the case of printing in which ink droplets containing a magenta (red) reactive dye and ink droplets containing a yellow reactive dye are deposited within a pixel (mixed colors).
"CY" refers to printing in which ink droplets containing a cyan (blue) reactive dye and ink droplets containing a yellow reactive dye are deposited within a pixel (mixed colors).
"CM" refers to printing in which ink droplets containing a cyan (blue) reactive dye and ink droplets containing a magenta (red) reactive dye are deposited within a pixel (mixed colors).
"CMY" refers to the printing process in which ink droplets containing a cyan (blue) reactive dye, ink droplets containing a magenta (red) reactive dye, and ink droplets containing a yellow reactive dye are deposited within a pixel (mixed colors).
Examples of inks containing such reactive dyes include various inks manufactured by Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd. (SPC-0357 BL-A, SPC-0357 CA, SPC-0357 BY-A, SPC-0357 KD).

The conditions of the main devices included in the transfer printing apparatus 1 when the evaluations shown in Tables 1 and 2 were carried out are as follows.
In the pretreatment device 20, a pretreatment agent (a 3% aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate) was sprayed onto the fabric, and the fabric 7 with the moisture content adjusted to 60% owf was supplied to the pressurizing device 30 as the pretreated fabric 7.

In the pressure applying device 30, the superimposed pre-treated fabric 7 and the transfer paper 2 with the printed pattern were pressed together with a pressure of 1.6 MPa for 2 seconds at room temperature (25°C) and 100°C, thereby transferring the pattern to the fabric 7.
As a comparative example, the steam heat treatment was not performed and the compression bonding was performed at 150° C. for 60 seconds.

In the steaming device 40, the steaming treatment was carried out for 15 minutes at a steam pressure of 8 psi and a steaming temperature of 100°C. The steaming temperature of 100°C corresponds to an intermediate temperature in the above-mentioned preferred steaming temperature range of 90°C to 110°C. The steaming time of 15 minutes corresponds to an intermediate time in the above-mentioned preferred steaming time range of 10 minutes to 20 minutes.

The following points were confirmed from Tables 1 and 2.
(a) The presence or absence of a vapor heat treatment affects the color density. When vapor heat treatment is performed (method: pressure bonding + steaming), the reflection density at a duty of 100% is higher than when vapor heat treatment is not performed (method: pressure bonding only). In other words, the color of the transferred design is better when vapor heat treatment is performed (see Table 1).
(b) Under the same steaming conditions (100°C, 15 min), the reflection density at 100% duty is higher when the temperature during compression is higher than when it is lower. In other words, the color development of the transferred pattern is better when the temperature during compression is higher (see Table 1).

(c) Whether or not the steam heat treatment is performed does not have a significant effect on the allowable duty (%) at which color bleeding does not occur (see Table 2).
(d) Under the same steaming conditions (100°C, 15 min), the lower the temperature during compression (compression bonding), the better the allowable duty without bleeding (see Table 2).
For example, in the case of ink containing a magenta (red) reactive dye, the allowable duty (%) at which bleeding does not occur has increased from 50 to 70.
In the case of a mixture of an ink containing a cyan (blue) reactive dye and an ink containing a yellow reactive dye, the allowable duty (%) at which bleeding does not occur has increased from 30 to 50.

In addition, the numerical value of the allowable duty (%) at which color bleeding does not occur in the case of color mixing means the allowable duty (%) at which color bleeding does not occur for each color.
Therefore, for example, if the allowable duty (%) without bleeding of mixed colors (CM) is "50", this means that the proportion of cyan (blue) ink droplets and the proportion of magenta (red) ink droplets in a common pixel are each 50%.
That is, even in the case of mixed colors, an allowable duty (%) without color bleeding comparable to that in the case of a single color is realized.

As described above, by performing a steam heat treatment (moist heat treatment), the color development of the transferred design can be improved, and by performing the transfer of the design and the fixing of the transferred design separately rather than at the same time, "color bleeding" can be suppressed.
In addition, when the transfer of the pattern and the fixation of the transferred pattern are carried out separately rather than at the same time, the allowable duty (%) without bleeding can be increased by carrying out the pressing at a temperature lower than the steam heat treatment temperature, preferably close to room temperature.
This makes it possible to increase the density of the pattern while suppressing color bleeding, thereby improving the accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric 7 and enabling the pattern to be appropriately transferred and printed from the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7.

As described above, the method for transfer printing on a fabric according to this embodiment has the following configuration.
(1) A transfer printing method having a transfer step in which a transfer paper 2 on which a design has been printed with ink containing a reactive dye is pressed against a fabric 7 to transfer the design printed on the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7.
The transfer printing method further includes a fixing step of fixing the transferred design to the fabric 7 by heat treatment of the fabric 7 to which the design has been transferred after the transfer step.

The present inventors have thoroughly investigated the cause of the decrease in accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric 7 when the transfer of the pattern to the fabric 7 by pressing the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 together and the fixing of the pattern to the fabric 7 by steaming are performed simultaneously.
the result,
(a) The moisture contained in the fabric 7 is evaporated by the high temperature of the steaming treatment for fixing the reactive dye to the fabric 7, and the reactive dye is taken up by the evaporated moisture.
(b) It was found that a part of the reactive dye moves along the weave of the fabric 7 together with the evaporated water, causing a phenomenon called "color bleeding" and reducing the precision of the pattern.
Therefore, in order to suppress the evaporation of moisture during transfer, the transfer of the pattern and the fixation of the transferred pattern are carried out separately rather than at the same time, thereby improving the "color bleeding" problem.
This allows the transfer printing of the pattern from the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7 to be carried out more appropriately.

In other words, by separating the transfer process from the fixing process, it is possible to prevent defects (color bleeding) that occur when the two processes are performed together.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(2) The heat treatment is a steam treatment (moist heat treatment) in which the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred is steam-heated.
In the transfer process, the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 are pressed together at a temperature equal to or lower than the heating temperature in the steam heat treatment (moist heat treatment), thereby transferring the design to the fabric 7 .

When the pressure bonding and the vapor heat treatment are performed separately, the time for pressure bonding the transfer paper and the fabric can be made shorter than when the pressure bonding and the vapor heat treatment are performed simultaneously, so that evaporation of moisture contained in the fabric can be suppressed.
In addition, by shortening the compression time, the distance that the evaporated moisture travels along the weave of the fabric is shortened, thereby suppressing "bleeding."
That is, by separating the transfer step from the fixing step, it is possible to suppress problems (color bleeding) that would occur if the two steps were carried out together.

In addition, by performing the steaming process, the transferred design can be fixed to the fabric 7 while also developing color. This allows for more appropriate transfer printing from the transfer paper to the fabric.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(3) In the steam treatment (wet heat treatment), the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred is heated with steam in the presence of a printing assistant.

The accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric 7 can be ensured while allowing the transferred pattern to be colored appropriately.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(4) The method includes a coating step of applying an aqueous solution of a printing assistant by spraying, which is performed before the fixing step.

The printing assistant may be applied to either the fabric 7 or the transfer paper 2, but the printing assistant can be easily applied by applying it by spraying.
Furthermore, since the printing assistant can be easily applied, it becomes possible to apply the printing assistant immediately before the transfer step. If the printing assistant is applied in advance to the fabric 7 or the transfer paper 2, there is a concern about the influence of changes in the printing assistant over time, but with this method, transfer printing can be performed without causing such concerns.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(5) The coating step is carried out before the transfer step.

If the printing aid is applied to the fabric 7 in advance, the color of the fabric 7 may change over time, which may affect the quality of the fabric after transfer printing. By applying the printing aid immediately before the fixing step, this can be effectively prevented.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(6) In the transfer process, the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 are pressed together at a temperature of 100° C. or less and above room temperature (25° C.) to transfer the design to the fabric 7.

"Color bleeding" occurs when steam generated during transfer takes in reactive dye and flows between fibers. Here, although the generation of steam can be suppressed by lowering the temperature, a lower temperature makes it difficult to transfer the pattern (transfer of dye) to the fabric 7.
There is a trade-off between "color bleeding" and dye transferability. In addition, "color bleeding" and dye transferability are related to the pressure during the transfer process, the amount of moisture at that time, the heating temperature, the weaving method of the fabric (weaving density), and other factors, so they are not performed under general conditions.
Since there is a trade-off between "bleeding" and dye transferability, excellent dye transferability can be achieved by transferring at the highest temperature possible that suppresses "bleeding."
Therefore, as described above, by lowering the heating temperature in the transfer step to a temperature of 100° C. or less at which transfer is possible but at which moisture does not evaporate and steam is not generated, it is possible to suppress bleeding.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(7) In the transfer process, the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 are pressed together with moisture present, thereby transferring the design to the fabric 7.

The presence of moisture is necessary to transfer a pattern printed with ink containing reactive dyes to the fabric 7. By configuring as described above, the amount of moisture can be adjusted to an optimum amount for transferring the pattern.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(8) Moisture is applied to the fabric 7 side.

Moisture may be applied to the transfer paper 2 side, but applying moisture to the transfer paper 2 side may cause the ink to bleed. Therefore, by applying moisture to the fabric 7 side to which the pattern is transferred, ink bleed can be suppressed and transfer printing can be performed more appropriately.

Furthermore, if a printing assistant is applied to the fabric 7 immediately before it is superimposed on the transfer paper 2, the moisture content of the fabric 7 can be adjusted to an optimum moisture content for transferring the pattern, and then the transfer paper and the fabric can be pressed together.
Since the pattern can be transferred to the fabric 7 under optimal conditions, the accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric 7 can be ensured.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(9) A transfer printing method including a transfer step in which a transfer paper 2 having a pattern printed thereon with ink containing a reactive dye is pressed against a moistened fabric 7 to transfer the pattern printed on the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7.
The transfer printing method further includes a fixing step in which the fabric 7 to which the design has been transferred is subjected to a wet heat treatment in which the fabric 7 is heated with steam to fix the design transferred to the fabric 7 .
In the transfer step, the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 are pressed together under transfer conditions that allow the pattern to be transferred to the fabric 7 and do not allow steam to act on the fabric 7, thereby transferring the pattern to the fabric 7.

By separating the transfer step from the fixing step, it is possible to suppress defects (color bleeding) that occur when the two steps are performed together.
Furthermore, by lowering the heating temperature in the transfer process to a level where transfer is possible but steam is not effective, "bleeding" can be suppressed.
Here, "without the action of steam" refers to a condition in which the moisture applied to the fabric is unlikely to evaporate due to the pressure acting on the fabric in the transfer process.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(10) The transfer of the design by pressing is carried out at a temperature equal to or lower than the processing temperature of the steaming treatment and for a time shorter than the steaming treatment time.

When the pressure bonding and the vapor heat treatment are carried out separately, the time required for pressure bonding the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 is only the time required for transfer, and is therefore shorter than when the pressure bonding and the vapor heat treatment are carried out simultaneously.
This can suppress evaporation of the moisture contained in the fabric 7. Also, by shortening the pressing time, the distance that the evaporated moisture travels along the weave of the fabric 7 can be shortened, thereby suppressing "color bleeding." This allows for more appropriate transfer printing from the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(11) The transfer of the design by pressing is carried out at room temperature.

The transfer of the pattern can be performed at room temperature. When the transfer of the pattern by pressing is performed at room temperature, the evaporation of the moisture contained in the fabric is suppressed, and the occurrence of "color bleeding" can be sufficiently suppressed. This allows the transfer printing of the pattern from the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7 to be performed more appropriately.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(12) The moisture content of the fabric 7 to which the dyeing assistant has been applied is preferably 55 to 65 owf, and more preferably 55 to 60 owf.
"owf" is parts by weight of water per 100 parts by weight of fabric. 60owf means 60 parts by weight of water per 100 parts by weight of fabric.
The printing assistant is applied to the fabric 7 before it is superimposed on the transfer paper 2 .

When a printing assistant is applied to the fabric 7 immediately before being superimposed on the transfer paper 2 using an aqueous solution of the printing assistant, the moisture content of the fabric 7 is adjusted to an optimum moisture content for transferring the pattern, and the fabric 7 can be pressed against the transfer paper 2.
This allows the pattern to be transferred to the fabric 7 under optimal conditions, ensuring the accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric 7.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(13) In the steaming treatment, the upper limit of the steaming temperature is 110° C., more preferably 104° C., and the upper limit of the steaming time is 20 minutes, more preferably 15 minutes.

The conditions of the vapor treatment need to be adjusted depending on the type of the vapor treatment device 40 used, but the above-mentioned conditions are highly versatile.
When the steaming treatment is carried out under such conditions, the transferred pattern can be properly fixed to the fabric 7 and the transferred pattern can be satisfactorily colored.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(14) The printing assistant is at least one selected from the following:
Sodium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, trisodium phosphate, disodium hydrogen phosphate, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, sodium tetraborate, trimethylamine, triethanolamine, methylamine and dimethylamine.
The amount of the dyeing assistant applied to the fabric 7 is preferably 1 to 6 parts by weight, more preferably 2 to 4 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the fabric.

This configuration allows the pattern transferred to the fabric 7 to be colored appropriately.

The present invention can also be specified as a transfer printing device for fabric.
(15) The transfer printing device 1 comprises:
a pressure device 30 (transfer device) for transferring the design printed on the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7 by pressing the transfer paper 2, on which a design is printed with ink containing a reactive dye, against the fabric 7 after pretreatment;
The apparatus further includes a steaming device 40 (fixing device) for carrying out a heat treatment (steaming treatment) of steam heating the fabric 7 onto which the pattern has been transferred, thereby fixing the transferred pattern to the fabric 7.

By transferring the design to the fabric 7 by pressing the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 together, and then fixing the design to the fabric 7 by heat treatment (steaming treatment), rather than simultaneously, it is possible to improve "color bleeding."

In addition, "bleeding" occurs when steam generated during transfer takes in the reactive dye and flows between the fibers. Although the generation of steam can be suppressed by lowering the temperature, a lower temperature makes it difficult to transfer the pattern (transfer of the dye) to the fabric 7.
Since there is a trade-off between "bleeding" and dye transferability, by lowering the temperature to the maximum temperature at which "bleeding" does not occur, that is, to a temperature at which transfer is possible but at which moisture does not evaporate and steam is not generated (a temperature below the heating temperature in the steaming device 40), it is possible to suppress "bleeding" while achieving excellent dye transferability.

The fabric transfer printing device according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(16) In the steaming device 40 (fixing device), a wet heat treatment is carried out by steam heating the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred.
In the pressure device 30 , the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 are pressed together at a temperature equal to or lower than the heating temperature in the steaming device 40 , thereby transferring the design to the fabric 7 .

By separately transferring the pattern to the fabric 7 and fixing the transferred pattern to the fabric 7, defects (bleeding) can be suppressed compared to the case where the transfer of the pattern to the fabric 7 and fixing of the transferred pattern to the fabric 7 are performed at the same time.
Furthermore, by carrying out the steaming treatment, the transferred design can be developed in color while being fixed to the fabric 7. This allows for more appropriate transfer printing from the transfer paper to the fabric.

The transfer printing device for fabric according to this embodiment has the following configuration.
(17) The fabric 7 is in the form of a strip, and is continuously unwound from the unwinding roller 71, passes through the pre-treatment device 20, the pressure device 30 (transfer device), and the steaming device 40 (fixing device) in that order, and is then continuously wound up around the winding roller 72.
The transfer paper 2 is in the form of a strip, and is continuously fed from a feed roller 21, and is superimposed on the pre-processed fabric 7 just before the pressure device 30 (transfer device), and then passes through the pressure device 30 (transfer device) while superimposed on the fabric 7, and is then wound up continuously around the winding roller 22.
The transfer paper 2 is superimposed on the fabric 7 with the surface on which the design is printed being in contact with the fabric 7 after pretreatment.

With this configuration, it is possible to continuously transfer the pattern from the belt-shaped transfer paper 2 to the belt-shaped fabric 7 while suppressing "color bleeding."
This makes it possible to improve the production efficiency of the fabric 7 to which the pattern is transferred, while ensuring the accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric 7.

The transfer printing device for fabric according to this embodiment has the following configuration.
(18) The pressure device 30 (transfer device) has a pair of pressure rollers 31, 31.
The design printed on the transfer paper 2 is transferred to the fabric 7 when the transfer paper 2 passes between a pair of pressure rollers 31, 31 while being superimposed on the fabric 7 after the pretreatment.

This configuration makes it possible to continuously transfer the pattern from the strip of transfer paper 2 to the strip of fabric 7 while suppressing "color bleeding."

The transfer printing device for fabric according to this embodiment has the following configuration.
(19) The transfer printing apparatus 1 has a pretreatment device 20 that pretreats the fabric 7 .
The pretreatment device 20 applies the printing assistant to the fabric 7 by spraying an aqueous solution of the printing assistant onto the fabric 7 before it is superimposed on the transfer paper 2, or by immersing the fabric 7 before it is superimposed on the transfer paper 2 in the aqueous solution of the printing assistant.

The transfer of a pattern printed with ink containing a reactive dye to the fabric 7 requires the presence of moisture.
When a printing assistant is applied to the fabric 7 immediately before being superimposed on the transfer paper 2 using an aqueous solution of the printing assistant, the moisture content of the fabric 7 is adjusted to an optimum moisture content for transferring the pattern, and then the fabric 7 can be pressed against the transfer paper 2.
This allows the pattern to be transferred to the fabric 7 under optimal conditions, ensuring the accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric 7.
Here, the moisture content of the fabric 7 to which the dyeing assistant has been applied is preferably 55 to 65 owf, and more preferably 55 to 60 owf.

The transfer printing device for fabric according to this embodiment has the following configuration.
(20) The transfer of the design by pressing is carried out at a temperature equal to or lower than the processing temperature of the steaming treatment and for a time shorter than the steaming treatment time.

When the pressing and the steaming are carried out separately, the time required for pressing the transfer paper and the fabric to transfer the design is shorter than when the pressing and the steaming are carried out simultaneously.
This can suppress evaporation of moisture contained in the fabric.
In addition, by shortening the compression time, the distance that the evaporated moisture travels along the weave of the fabric can be shortened, so that even if the moisture contained in the fabric evaporates during compression, the range in which the evaporated moisture travels is limited to a narrow range.
This makes it possible to suppress the occurrence of "color bleeding," and therefore allows the transfer printing of the pattern from the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7 to be carried out more appropriately.

The fabric transfer printing device according to the embodiment has the following configuration.
(21) In the steaming treatment, the upper limit of the steaming temperature is 110°C, more preferably 104°C, and the upper limit of the steaming time is 20 min, more preferably 15 min.

When pressure bonding and steam heat treatment are performed simultaneously, the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 are exposed to a steam heat environment of 150° C. for 60 seconds while being in close contact with each other at a pressure of 1.6 MPa, for example.
When the compression bonding and the vapor heat treatment are carried out separately under the same pressure conditions, the pressure application time required to transfer the design by compression is 2 seconds, which is significantly shorter than the time required when the compression bonding and the vapor heat treatment are carried out simultaneously.

Therefore, by performing the pressure bonding and the steaming separately, the transfer of the pattern can be completed in a shorter time. When the pattern is transferred, the evaporation of the moisture contained in the fabric 7 can be suppressed, so that the reactive dye is prevented from dissolving in the evaporated moisture and moving along the weave with the evaporated moisture. This can effectively prevent the fabric from bleeding after the transfer printing.
Furthermore, the transferred pattern can be properly fixed to the fabric 7 and the transferred pattern can be satisfactorily colored.

[Modification 1]
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a transfer printing apparatus 1A according to the first modified example.
The transfer printing apparatus 1A is an apparatus for transferring and printing a design printed on a transfer paper 2 onto a fabric 7, similar to the above-described transfer printing apparatus 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer printing apparatus 1A includes a printing device 10, a pretreatment device 20, a pressure device 30 (transfer device), a sublimation transfer press machine 45 (fixing device), a cleaning device 50, and a drying device 60.
The transfer printing apparatus 1A differs from the above-described transfer printing apparatus 1 in that a sublimation transfer press machine 45 is provided instead of the above-described steaming device 40.
The sublimation transfer press 45 is provided between the pressure device 30 and the cleaning device 50 .

In the transfer printing apparatus 1A, a sublimation transfer press 45 downstream of the pressure device 30 performs a dry heat treatment on the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred, causing a reactive dye contained in the ink constituting the transferred pattern to react with the fabric 7, thereby fixing the pattern to the fabric 7.
Here, the dry heat treatment is a treatment in which the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred is heated in an environment that does not include moisture or steam other than the moisture that has been added to the fabric 7 before the heat treatment, without adding moisture from the outside. In the above-mentioned steam heat treatment, the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred is heated while moisture steam is added from the outside.

The sublimation transfer press 45 is a press that applies high temperature and high pressure to the fabric 7 onto which the design has been transferred.
The high temperature and pressure applied to the fabric 7 causes a reactive dye contained in the ink constituting the design to react with the fabric 7, causing the design to penetrate and fix into the fabric 7 and causing the dye to develop color.

The conditions for the dry heat treatment in the sublimation transfer press 45 are as follows.
The heating temperature is preferably from 100°C to 150°C, and more preferably from 115°C to 125°C.
The pressing pressure is from 0.1 MPa to 0.5 MPa, and more preferably 0.2 MPa.
The treatment time is preferably from 1 to 10 minutes, more preferably from 3 to 5 minutes.
As an example of the sublimation transfer press 45, a sublimation transfer press MP-1000 manufactured by Asahi Textile Machinery Co., Ltd. is exemplified.

The effects of the transfer printing method according to the first modified example will be described below.
The transfer printing method according to variant example 1 was carried out using cotton broadcloth (Yamatomi Shoten Co., Ltd.) as fabric 7, and the reflection density at a duty of 100% for each color of the solid printed pattern was confirmed (see Tables 3 and 4 below).

The printing device 10 used was a JV-33-160 manufactured by Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd.
As the reactive dye (reactive dye ink), Rc400 manufactured by Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd. was used.

In Table 3, the symbol "C" refers to the case of printing where only ink droplets containing a cyan (blue) reactive dye are deposited within a pixel (monochrome). The symbol "M" refers to the case of printing where only ink droplets containing a magenta (red) reactive dye are deposited within a pixel (monochrome). The symbol "Y" refers to the case of printing where only ink droplets containing a yellow (yellow) reactive dye are deposited within a pixel (monochrome). The symbol "K" refers to the case of printing where only ink droplets containing a black (black) reactive dye are deposited within a pixel (monochrome).

The conditions of the main devices included in the transfer printing apparatus 1 when the evaluations shown in Tables 3 and 4 were carried out are as follows.
In the pretreatment device 20, a pretreatment agent (a 3% aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate) was sprayed onto the fabric, and the fabric 7 with the moisture content adjusted to 60% owf was supplied to the pressurizing device 30 as the pretreated fabric 7.
The pressurizing device 30 used was a small heat press machine HC300-05 manufactured by AS ONE Corporation.
In the pressure device 30, the overlapping pre-treated fabric 7 and the transfer paper 2 with the printed pattern were pressed together at 100°C and a pressure of 1.6 MPa for 2 seconds, thereby transferring the pattern to the fabric 7.

In the sublimation transfer press 45, a sublimation transfer press MP-1000 manufactured by Asahi Textile Machinery Co., Ltd. was used to perform a dry heat treatment on the fabric 7 to which the pattern was transferred.
In addition, since the dry heat treatment depends on two parameters, temperature and time, the optimal treatment conditions for both values were determined through experiments.
Specifically, the results were evaluated when the heating time was fixed at 5 minutes and the heating temperature was varied (Table 3), and when both the heating time and the heating temperature were varied (Table 4). In both Tables 3 and 4, the pressing pressure was fixed at 0.2 MPa.
The evaluation of the finished product was carried out based on the reflection density of each color CMYK at 100% solid, measured using a fluorescent spectrodensitometer FD-7 manufactured by Konica Minolta, Inc.

From Table 3, the following points were confirmed.
(a) When the heating time was fixed at 5 minutes, good reflection density was obtained for all of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) in the heating temperature range of 100° C. to 175° C. (Table 3).
(b) Considering the results for yellow (Y) and black (K), the heating temperature is more preferably in the range of 120° C. to 150° C. (Table 3).

Here, when the processing temperature of the dry heat treatment becomes high, alkali burning occurs, in which the fabric yellows due to the alkali (textile printing assistant) and heat. In the case of Table 3, when the processing temperature of the dry heat treatment became 125° C. or higher, the phenomenon of alkali burning was observed.
In addition, the color development changed drastically when the processing temperature of the dry heat treatment was between 75° C. and 100° C., and the color development was better on the 100° C. side than on the 75° C. side (the reflection density value was higher).
Therefore, in Table 4, the treatment temperature of the dry heat treatment was narrowed down to the range (temperature region) of 100° C. to 125° C., and the relationship between the treatment temperature of the dry heat treatment and the treatment time of the dry heat treatment was examined in detail.

As a result, the following points were confirmed from Table 4.
(c) In the heating temperature range of 100° C. to 125° C., except for cyan (C), good reflection density was obtained by heating for at least 5 minutes (Table 4).
(d) When the heating temperature was in the range of 115° C. to 125° C., heating for at least 1 minute provided a nearly satisfactory reflection density (Table 4).

In addition, alkali burning also occurs if the processing time of the dry heat treatment is extended.
Therefore, when the heating temperature is in the range of 115° C. to 125° C., the heating time is preferably between 3 and 5 minutes (Table 4).

In this way, even when dry heat treatment is used instead of steam heat treatment, the color development of the transferred design can be improved. Also, by transferring the design and fixing the transferred design separately rather than simultaneously, "bleeding of color" can be suppressed.
This makes it possible to improve the color development of the pattern while suppressing color bleeding, thereby improving the accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric 7 and enabling the pattern to be appropriately transferred and printed from the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7.

In view of the above, the processing temperature of the dry heat treatment according to the first modification is preferably 100°C to 150°C, and more preferably 115°C to 125°C.
The treatment time for the dry heat treatment is preferably from 1 to 10 minutes, and more preferably from 3 to 5 minutes.
It should be noted that these temperature ranges and processing times are merely an example for the transfer printing apparatus 1A according to the modified example, and may be changed as appropriate depending on the configuration of the transfer printing apparatus.
The processing temperature and processing time of the dry heat treatment are set through experiments etc. to a low temperature and a short time at which color can be developed (satisfying the threshold value of the reflection density adjustment).

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the modified example has the following configuration.
(22) A transfer printing method having a transfer step of transferring a pattern printed on transfer paper 2 with ink containing a reactive dye to fabric 7 by pressing the transfer paper 2 and fabric 7 together.
The transfer printing method further includes a fixing step of fixing the transferred design to the fabric 7 by dry heat treatment (heat treatment) of the fabric 7 to which the design has been transferred after the transfer step.

By transferring the pattern to the fabric and fixing the transferred pattern to the fabric at different times rather than simultaneously, color bleeding can be suppressed compared to when the transferring of the pattern to the fabric and fixing of the transferred pattern to the fabric are performed simultaneously.
Also, by performing a dry heat treatment instead of the steam heat treatment, the transferred design can be fixed to the fabric 7 and colored at the same time. This allows the transfer printing from the transfer paper to the fabric to be performed more appropriately.

In addition, the time required for the transferred pattern to adhere to the fabric and develop color is shorter with dry heat treatment than with steam heat treatment, making it possible to reduce the time required to produce fabric with a transferred pattern.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the modified example has the following configuration.
(23) In the dry heat treatment, the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred is heated in the presence of a printing assistant.

The accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric can be ensured while allowing the pattern transferred to the fabric to be colored appropriately.

The transfer printing apparatus 1A for fabric according to the modified example has the following configuration.
(24) A pressure device 30 (transfer device) that transfers a pattern printed on a transfer paper 2 with an ink containing a reactive dye to a fabric 7 by pressing the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 together;
and a sublimation transfer press 45 (fixing device) that performs a dry heat treatment (heat treatment) on the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred, thereby fixing the transferred pattern to the fabric 7.

If the design is fixed using a vapor heat treatment, equipment for supplying steam, such as a boiler and piping, as well as fuel to run the boiler and tanks to store the fuel, are required, which results in a large facility.
The sublimation transfer press 45, which performs dry heat treatment, does not require a boiler or piping, so the equipment can be made smaller than when performing steam heat treatment. Also, since it is only necessary to prepare a power source to drive the sublimation transfer press 45, the equipment scale can be reduced compared to when performing steam heat treatment.
This allows the installation and operating costs of the equipment to be reduced compared to when steam heat treatment is performed.

[Modification 2]
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a transfer printing apparatus 1B according to the second modification.
The transfer printing apparatus 1B is an apparatus for transferring and printing a design printed on a transfer paper 2 onto a fabric 7, similar to the above-described transfer printing apparatuses 1 and 1A.

As shown in FIG. 3, the transfer printing apparatus 1B includes a printing device 10, a pretreatment device 20, a pressure device 30 (transfer device), an oven 46 (fixing device), a cleaning device 50, and a drying device 60.
The transfer printing apparatus 1B differs from the transfer printing apparatuses 1 and 1A in that it includes an oven 46 instead of the steaming device 40 and the sublimation transfer press machine 45 described above.
The oven 46 is provided between the pressure device 30 and the cleaning device 50 .

In the transfer printing device 1B, the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred is subjected to a dry heat treatment in an oven 46 downstream of the pressure device 30, causing the reactive dye contained in the ink that constitutes the transferred pattern to react with the fabric 7, thereby fixing the pattern to the fabric 7.

The conditions for the dry heat treatment in the oven 46 are as follows.
The heating temperature is preferably from 100°C to 150°C, and more preferably from 115°C to 125°C, as in the case of the first modified example.
As in the case of the first modification, the treatment time is preferably from 1 to 10 minutes, and more preferably from 3 to 5 minutes.
An example of the oven 46 is a thermocoloring machine for inkjet printers, FHS-1900BX, manufactured by Ueno Yamaki Kogyo Co., Ltd.

The effects of the transfer printing method according to the second modification will be described below.
The transfer printing method according to variant example 2 was carried out using cotton broadcloth (Yamatomi Shoten Co., Ltd.) as fabric 7, and the reflection density at a duty of 100% for each color of the solid printed design was confirmed (see Table 5 below).

The printing device 10 used was a JV-33-160 manufactured by Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd.
As the reactive dye (reactive dye ink), Rc400 manufactured by Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd. was used.

The conditions of the main devices included in the transfer printing apparatus 1B when the evaluations shown in Table 5 were carried out are as follows.
In the pretreatment device 20, a pretreatment agent (a 3% aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate) was sprayed onto the fabric, and the fabric 7 with the moisture content adjusted to 60% owf was supplied to the pressurizing device 30 as the pretreated fabric 7.
The pressurizing device 30 used was a small heat press machine HC300-05 manufactured by AS ONE Corporation.
In the pressure device 30, the overlapping pre-treated fabric 7 and the transfer paper 2 with the printed pattern were pressed together at 100°C and a pressure of 1.6 MPa for 2 seconds, thereby transferring the pattern to the fabric 7.

In the oven 46, a thermocoloring machine for inkjet printers FHS-1900BX manufactured by Ueno Yamaki Kogyo Co., Ltd. was used to dry heat the fabric 7 to which the pattern was transferred.
In addition, the dry heat treatment was performed with a fixed heating time of 5 minutes and heating temperatures of 115° C. and 150° C. (Table 5), and the products obtained were evaluated.
The evaluation of the finished product was carried out based on the reflection density of each color CMYK at 100% solid, measured using a fluorescent spectrodensitometer FD-7 manufactured by Konica Minolta, Inc.

From Table 5, the following points were confirmed.
(a) When the heating time was fixed at 5 minutes, good reflection density was obtained for yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) at both heating temperatures of 115° C. and 150° C. (Table 5).

In this way, the color development of the transferred design can be improved even when the dry heat treatment is performed using the oven 46. In addition, by transferring the design and fixing the transferred design separately rather than simultaneously, "color bleeding" can be suppressed.
This makes it possible to increase the density of the pattern while suppressing color bleeding, thereby improving the accuracy of the pattern transferred to the fabric 7 and enabling the pattern to be appropriately transferred and printed from the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7.

Based on the above, the processing temperature for the dry heat treatment in variant 2 is preferably 115°C to 150°C, and more preferably 150°C.

The method for transfer printing a fabric according to the second modification has the following configuration.
(23) A transfer printing method comprising a transfer step of transferring a pattern printed on transfer paper 2 with ink containing a reactive dye to fabric 7 by pressing the transfer paper 2 against fabric 7.
The transfer printing method further includes a fixing step of fixing the transferred design to the fabric 7 by dry heat treatment (heat treatment) of the fabric 7 to which the design has been transferred after the transfer step.

By transferring the pattern to the fabric and fixing the transferred pattern to the fabric at different times rather than simultaneously, color bleeding can be suppressed compared to when the transferring of the pattern to the fabric and fixing of the transferred pattern to the fabric are performed simultaneously.
Also, by performing a dry heat treatment instead of the steam heat treatment, the transferred design can be fixed to the fabric 7 and colored at the same time. This allows the transfer printing from the transfer paper to the fabric to be performed more appropriately.

In addition, the time required for the transferred pattern to adhere to the fabric is shorter with dry heat treatment than with steam heat treatment, which makes it possible to reduce the time required to produce fabric with a transferred pattern.

The fabric transfer printing apparatus 1B according to the second modification has the following configuration.
(25) A pressure device 30 (transfer device) that transfers a pattern printed on a transfer paper 2 with an ink containing a reactive dye to a fabric 7 by pressing the transfer paper 2 and the fabric 7 together;
and an oven 46 (fixing device) for performing a dry heat treatment (heat treatment) on the fabric 7 to which the pattern has been transferred, thereby fixing the transferred pattern to the fabric 7.

With this configuration, the equipment scale can be reduced compared to when steam heat treatment is performed.
Furthermore, the installation and operating costs of the equipment can be reduced compared to the case of performing steam heat treatment.

In the above-described embodiment and modified examples 1 and 2, the individual steps in the transfer printing device (printing the design onto the transfer paper, transferring the design onto the fabric, and fixing the transferred design onto the fabric) are performed continuously in an in-line process. However, each step in the transfer printing device may be performed individually in a batch process.

In the above-described embodiment and modified examples 1 and 2, the temperature, pressure, time, and the like are exemplified as processing conditions in the pressure device 30 (transfer device) that transfers the design from the transfer paper 2 to the fabric 7 .
The processing conditions are determined appropriately depending on the thickness of the fabric to be printed, the type of material constituting the fabric, the amount of moisture added to the fabric, etc., and are not limited to those shown in the above embodiment and variants 1 and 2.
For example, it is preferable to lower the moisture content of the fabric 7 as the pressure applied when transferring the pattern increases.

In the above-described embodiment and modified example, from the viewpoint of the load of water treatment, a 3% aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate is used as a pretreatment agent for imparting moisture to the fabric.
The pretreatment agent may be any agent having water retention properties, such as urea, etc. Addition of such an agent having water retention properties can also enhance the color development of the transferred design.

In the above-described modified examples 1 and 2, the sublimation transfer press 45 and the oven 46 are used as the heat source for the dry heat treatment. However, a furnace can also be used as the heat source for the dry heat treatment as long as it can provide the fabric 7 with a predetermined temperature and amount of heat.
When the oven 46 is used, it is not necessary to protect the device from dyeing with base paper or the like, so that the fixing process can be carried out in a clean environment.

As mentioned above, in variants 1 and 2, the process for fixing the transferred pattern to the fabric is changed from wet heat treatment to dry heat treatment, which shortens the time required for fixing the transferred pattern to the fabric from 104°C and 15 minutes in the case of steam heat treatment to 115°C and 5 minutes in the case of dry heat treatment. This increases the productivity of fabric with the transferred pattern by three times.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the aspects shown in these embodiments. Modifications can be made as appropriate within the scope of the technical concept of the invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1, 1A, 1B Transfer printing device 2 Transfer paper 7 Fabric 10 Printing device 20 Pretreatment device 21 Pay-out roller 22 Take-up roller 30 Pressurizing device 31 Pressurizing roller 40 Steaming device 45 Sublimation transfer press 46 Oven 50 Cleaning device 60 Drying device 71 Pay-out roller 72 Take-up roller X1, X2 Rotating shaft

Claims (2)

A transfer printing method comprising a transfer paper on which a design is printed with an ink containing a reactive dye, and a transfer step of transferring the design printed on the transfer paper to the fabric by pressing the transfer paper against the fabric,
Further, after the transfer step, a fixing step is provided in which the pattern transferred to the fabric is fixed by a heat treatment of the fabric,
The transfer paper and the fabric are continuously transported ,
During the transport of the transfer paper, printing is performed on the transfer paper , and the printed transfer paper and the fabric to which a printing assistant has been applied are pressed together,
After the transfer paper is detached from the fabric, the fixing step is carried out,
the heat treatment is a wet heat treatment in which the fabric to which the design has been transferred is steam-heated in the presence of the printing assistant;
The transfer printing method for fabric , wherein in the transfer step, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together at room temperature, which is lower than the heating temperature in the moist heat treatment, thereby transferring the design to the fabric . A transfer printing method comprising a transfer step of transferring a design printed on a transfer paper with an ink containing a reactive dye to a fabric to which moisture has been applied by pressing the transfer paper against the fabric, the transfer step comprising:
The method further includes a fixing step of subjecting the fabric to which the design has been transferred to a moist heat treatment using steam to fix the design transferred to the fabric,
In the transfer step, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together under transfer conditions that allow the pattern to be transferred to the fabric and do not cause the steam to act on the fabric, thereby transferring the pattern to the fabric;
The transfer paper and the fabric are continuously transported ,
During the transport of the transfer paper and the fabric , printing is performed on the transfer paper , and the printed transfer paper and the fabric to which moisture has been applied are pressed together,
After the transfer paper is detached from the fabric, the fixing step is carried out ,
In the transfer step, the transfer paper and the fabric are pressed together at room temperature, which is lower than the heating temperature in the moist heat treatment and does not cause the moisture to evaporate and generate steam.
A method for transfer printing onto fabric, comprising transferring the design onto the fabric .

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