Short answer: Digital textile printing is printing colourant onto fabric with inkjet technology, directly from a digital file. The ink type must suit the fibre, and fabric is often pretreated, then fixed with heat and sometimes washed off.
What two sources say about Digital textile printing
| Source page | Publisher | What the page says |
|---|---|---|
| Digital textile printing | Wikipedia | Defines it as any ink jet based method of printing colourants onto fabric, from garment designs to large rolls of polyester. Lists ink chemistries, fixing options, wash-off finishing and its late-1980s emergence as a possible successor to screen printing. |
| Selecting the right ink and fabric combination for digital printing | Advanced Textiles Association | Trade-association article saying each ink type must suit both fabric and printer. Describes pretreatment, heat fixation whose mechanism depends on ink, and wash-off for dye-based inks (the author works for an ink maker). |
Key points
- It covers any inkjet-based way of printing colourants onto fabric, from garment designs to large-format polyester rolls for flags and banners. [1]
- Ink chemistries listed include disperse, dye-sublimation, acid, reactive and pigment, and each must suit the fibre such as polyester, nylon, cotton or silk. [1, 2]
- Fabric is commonly pretreated with a coating that stops colours bleeding and supplies chemicals the dye needs to bond with the fibre. [2]
- Fixation by heat or steaming bonds the colourant to the fabric, and the mechanism depends on the ink. [1, 2]
- Dye-based inks are washed after fixing to remove unbound dye and coating residue; pigment inks skip this step but can feel stiffer and have a narrower colour range. [1, 2]
- It emerged in the late 1980s as a possible successor to analog screen printing. [1]
Digital textile printing compared with Dye-sublimation transfer printing
| Aspect | Digital textile printing | Dye-sublimation transfer printing | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process steps | Disperse inks can be printed directly onto fabric. | Image is first printed on transfer paper, then moved by a heat press. | [1] |
| Waste | Direct-to-media printing is presented as producing much less waste. | Transfer route adds a paper and heat-press step. | [1] |
| Fixing | Fixing can be by infrared, steaming or heat-press sublimation, depending on ink and fabric. | Heat-press sublimation is one of those fixing options. | [1] |
Where sources differ
Wikipedia lists five ink chemistries while the ATA article speaks of four basic ink types, and the ATA article was published in 2007 by an author working for an ink supplier. 'Digital textile printing' can include garment (DTG) and roll-to-roll fabric printing, which differ in scale.
Questions to ask a supplier about Digital textile printing
- [ ] Which ink type is used (reactive, pigment, disperse, acid), and is it suited to this fibre?
- [ ] How is the fabric pretreated and how is the print fixed and washed?
- [ ] What are the colourfastness results after fixing?
- [ ] How does the print feel (hand-feel) after processing?
- [ ] What file format and colour profile are needed for artwork?
Read next on this site
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- Pigment printing on cushion covers: how it works and what the sources say about cotton
More terms and explainers
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- Colourfastness
- Martindale test / rub count
- Non-woven wallpaper
- How to Read a Product Spec Sheet Before You Approve It
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Sources: [1] Wikipedia, fetched 2026-11-12; [2] Advanced Textiles Association, fetched 2026-11-12. As of 2026-11-12. General information, not legal, customs or tax advice. Wording is paraphrased from the pages linked; your written quote and contract govern.