Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By:
MD.AZMERI LATIF BEG
ID: 142-32-257
Course Title: Apparel Wash, Dyeing &
Finishing.
Course Code: AWF-514
M. Sc in Textile Engineering
Department of Textile
Engineering
Flock Printing
4/18/2015 5
Flock Print process
• This process involves
printing of glue on the
fabric first, applying the
fiber flock on the gel
printed by keeping the
fabric on special
(electrotable statically
charged).
• It requires a little high
time curing than
for prints.
normal at 160C will120
seconds
be sufficient for curing.
Flock Printing technique
Printing technique consisting of the application of flock (very
short fiber) to the surface of a fabric by means of an adhesive.
The flock may be contained in the adhesive paste, may be
dusted onto it, or applied electrostatically to hold it erect. Used
to print various small designs onto the fabric, such as dots and
figures, especially on light-weight or sheer fabric.
Indofil is very well known for flock binder in India & Bangladesh
Indofil FBSV
: premium flock binder
Indofil FB SV plus
: GOTS approved flock binder
Indofil SVM 49
: Regular flock binder
Indofil K-87
: Premium flock binder for special requirements
Indofil NFBS
: Flock binder
Screen Print of Adhesives
Many of the adhesives have the consistency of plastisol ink. Care should be exercised
to select a stencil emulsion or film that is compatible with the adhesive to be printed.
Proper application of the adhesive is the most important part of the process. A very
heavy deposit of adhesive is required, but at the same time the adhesive should not be
'squeegeed' through the substrate. Care should also be exercised not to apply a thin
coating. Less adhesive does not give proper adhesion characteristics for the fibres,
which will result in low wear resistance. In order to achieve the proper deposit of
adhesive, the screen should be made from a 24 to 43 threads/cm (60 to 110
threads/inch) monofilament mesh. Tension should be at 20 N/cm. Extra face coats of
emulsion on the print side of the screen may be required for mesh counts greater than
36 threads / cm (96 threads/in). Printing should be off-contact, using a 65 durometer
ball-nose squeegee. If you experience difficulty getting the proper coverage, do not
thin the adhesive to make it more printable. This will only create a thinner deposit by
allowing the adhesive to soak into the substrate. A better solution is to slow the
squeegee stroke down to allow the adhesive time to flow through the screen and on to
the substrate. The flock adhesion can be tested by subjecting the substrate to the
standard textile wash test. If the flocking fibres come loose or fall off, the adhesive
may be too thin or the adhesive was improperly cured. If the adhesive is properly
applied, then the curing temperatures should be adjusted until the substrate passes the
wash test. This is the only safe way to ensure proper curing of the adhesive.
Electrostatic Flocking of Textiles
Electrostatic flocking equipment for T shirt and other textiles is available in
three configurations: an automatic carousel for multicolour flocking, a single
station flocking unit that usually attaches to one station of a garment press, or
a portable hand-held unit for lower volumes. The cost of the equipment varies
from hundreds or a few thousand pounds for hand-held units to tens or
hundreds of thousands of pounds for automatic multicolour systems.
All of the equipment operates using the same basic procedure, and is explained
by a law of physics stating that opposing electrical charges attract each other.
In flocking, the electrical charge is generated by the use of two electrodes: a
high voltage, direct current grid connected to a power generator, and a
grounded substrate. An electrostatic charge is generated that propels the fibres
at a high velocity on to the adhesive coated substrate. This causes the
flocking fibres to penetrate and imbed in the adhesive at right angles to the
substrate.
This forms a high density uniform flock coating or layer. Controlling the
electrical field by increasing or decreasing either the applied voltage or the
distance between the electrodes and the substrate controls the speed and
thickness of the flocking.
Multi colour flocking technique
For high level flock prints, multi colour flocking is desired.
There are several possibilities:
a)Flocking and drying of one colour, then flocking of the second colour
next to it (only possible with simple motifs, very time consuming).
b)Flocking of one colour onto the entire motif space, drying, then flocking
of the second colour onto the already existing flock layer, etc. (very time
consuming, flock onto flock is not very stable and the flocked area is stiff).
c) Textile printing of several colours and flocking of the last colour only
(this
can create some very interesting effects).
d) Multi colour flock transfers (see special description).
e)MC-technique. Here, the adhesive is printed in form of the entire motif
and the flock is applied into the adhesive colour after colour through a
screen stencil (fabric 15 S, metallized polyester screen. Very nice motifs are
achieved by this method. However, a lot of equipment is necessary as a
carousel is recommended to have the individual screens fixed in exactly the
same distance of the 1.1 fold flock length suspended freely).
Multicolour flocking equipment has one print station for
applying the adhesive and multiple stations for applying the
flock. It uses a flat metal screen that is coated with an
emulsion and exposed with each of the design elements, the
same as it would be for screen printing. The flock is placed on
the metal screen, which acts as the high voltage electrode,
and a rotating brush precisely dispenses the flocking
material.
When the screen is lowered to the proximity of the adhesive
coated substrate, the flocking fibres are propelled into the
adhesive, as determined by the stencil on the metal screen.
Since the electrostatic field strength is controlled, and because
the metal screen and the adhesive-coated substrate are
brought close together, the flocking material is prevented
from attaching to the adhesive except where the stencil is
located, regardless of the size of the adhesive coated
Hand held units the hand held units are comprised of a metal plate, a
generator and a flocking head. The metal plate must be grounded, and
it can be placed where convenient. It is the equivalent of the platen on
a textile press. The generator creates the electrostatic charge, and is
wired to a canister that contains the loose fibres. A metal screen is
mounted halfway inside the canister opening. The open end of the
canister is then passed over the adhesive coated substrate, drawing
flock fibres from the canister through the screen. The electrostatic
charge propels the fibres toward the grounded metal plate. The
adhesive coated substrate intercepts the fibres and flocking occurs. The
substrate is then cured in a conventional dryer, and the loose fibres are
removed by shaking, vacuuming or by using compressed air. Operation
of these units requires a degree of skill to obtain the desired results. If
the flocking head is held too far from the substrate poor coverage of
flocking fibres will occur.
The operator must also hold the unit perpendicular to the
substrate to prevent the flocking fibres from imbedding in the
adhesive at an angle other than perpendicular to the
substrate. Hand held units are also messier than automatic
systems and leave behind more fibres.
Curing the flocking is also an area that needs to be
investigated. Since few screen printers use water-based
adhesives, they may not have the proper curing equipment.
Water-based adhesives require the use of dryers that have
multiple independent heating zones with changeable air flow
rates. Even plastisol and catalysed adhesive may require
additional time to fully cure.
Application Environment
Having a controlled atmosphere for flocking operations is
generally regarded as another essential ingredient for
success. Ideally, the flocking area should have a relative
humidity of 60% and a temperature of 20C (68F). A small
variation in temperature or a change in the percentage of
relative humidity can result in a 3 to 4 factor change in the
conductivity or electrical sensitivity of the flock and the
substrate. These changes will have an adverse affect on the
process, and will result in flock balling, reduced adhesion and
density of the flocking, and an excessive use of flock. Flocking
fibres are very sensitive to humidity and temperature
conditions.
When a new batch of flock fibres is opened, the fibres will
give off or receive moisture based on the surrounding
environment. Less than 30% relative humidity in the
production area will lead to fibres that won't accept a charge.
Relative humidity in excess of 65% causes the flock to stick
together and flow poorly through the metal screen or plate.
For best results the flocking operation should be located in an
atmospheric controlled room. As stated earlier, in the
adhesives section, to ensure that your flocked designs have
received a proper cure, sample prints should be subjected to
the standard textile wash test.
Flocking Machines & Flocking Equipment
M&R’s Machine company invented flocking machines and
accessory flocking equipment simplify the application of
screen printing flock and the cleanup of excess T-shirt
flocking material. M&R flockers make it easy to add tightly-
registered multi-color T-shirt flocking capability to most
M&R automatic textile presses. They’re activated by the
print carriage and they’re compatible with M&R’s print-
start/print-finish feature, M&R’s patented Optical No-
Shirt Detector, and M&R’s Skip-Shirt foot pedal. Unlike
some competing T-shirt flocking machines, M&R flockers
do not require printhead removal.
Use:
A highly reliable and affordable device suitable for the
flocking of especially small-lot products, textiles, small items,
interior accessories, and the like.
Flocking is a value-added alternative decorating method for
achieving that unusual look. It only costs slightly more than
producing a standard screen print, and in conjunction with
textiles, it is certainly less expensive than embroidery. Also
with the advanced state of adhesive technology nearly any
material can be flocked, making it easy to add new products to
your textile production capabilities. Wallpaper, greeting cards,
mouse pads, book and album covers, and posters can all be
flock printed. The successful use of electrostatic flocking
depends on tight control over the process and the
environment. Detailed production records should be kept, so
the process can be repeated. Retention of production samples
is also an important factor for repeat jobs, product reliability,
and quality control information. While the process requires
the use of special equipment, with practice a quality product
can be produced.
Conclusion
Flocking is a value-added alternative decorating method for
achieving that unusual look. It only costs slightly more than
producing a standard screen print, and in conjunction with
textiles, it is certainly less expensive than embroidery. Also with
the advanced state of adhesive technology nearly any material
can be flocked, making it easy to add new products to your
textile production capabilities. Wallpaper, greeting cards, mouse
pads, book and album covers, and posters can all be flock
printed. The successful use of electrostatic flocking depends on
tight control over the process and the environment. Detailed
production records should be kept, so the process can be
repeated. Retention of production samples is also an important
factor for repeat jobs, product reliability, and quality control
information. While the process requires the use of special
equipment, with practice a quality product can be produced.
Reference:
http://www.flocking.biz/process.html
http://www.indiamart.com/classic-prints/textile-t-shirt-
printing-services.html
http://www.flocking binder.biz/process.html
http://www. Textile flockung_e/flock motif.html
https://www.spreadshirt.com/help-c1328/
http://impressions.issshows.com/screen-printing-
process/Flock-Printing-A-Closer-Look-
8287.shtml#sthash.upROHSOS.dpuf
http://www.garmentprinting-120202065211-phpapp02