Mainstream methods
The question that remains to be answered is how quickly these trends seen in Europe will reach the North American market at a mainstream scale.
“I see fabric graphics growing globally, but the Canadian market is a little bit behind,” says Miller Yao, director of Aclick, a fully digital large-format printing shop in Toronto that has introduced both direct-to-fabric printing and dye sublimation services under its XLprints banner. “Fabrics are better-looking, for sure, and easier to fold for transportation, as they can go into a small box and be handled without any special skills or extra manpower.”
Aclick recently added two durable aqueous ‘latex’ inkjet presses to its production department to support more direct-to-fabric printing for its clients, who include agencies acting on behalf of smaller print shops.
“We were getting customer inquiries for ‘greener’ printing,” says Yao, “so we invested in latex technology, which is even greener than other fabric printing processes, and we have gotten good results.”
The majority of Aclick’s output comprises indoor displays and backdrops, where Yao says fabric substrates show colour and details well, with no reflection, but there is still a noticeable quality difference between the permanently embedded inks of dye sublimation and the faster, less expensive direct-printed graphics of latex presses.
Curved graphic installations benefit from fabric substrates, which can stretch more easily than vinyl.
“Colourwise, I don’t think latex is there yet,” he says. “When you need a deep, dark black, a really bright red or certain other colours, the latex prints are not vibrant enough, so there are times when we have no option besides dye sublimation. The rest of the time, however, for 95 to 99 per cent of jobs, either way is fine.”
Yao favours latex printing for applications that do not need to be particularly vibrant or long-term, such as small logos on a backdrop for a single event or a lightbox for a one-time promotion (e.g. Boxing Day sales); and dye sublimation for recurring-use applications, such as trade show graphics that are shipped from city to city.
“After you wash a latex print, the colour comes off a little,” he says, “whereas dye sublimation cannot wash off, so it’s more durable.”
In the end, Yao and his colleagues actively explain the options to customers and, especially when considering a long print run, provide samples of both methods.
“Dye sublimation is more expensive, so we tell the client how it makes a difference, then we ask them to make the final decision,” he says. “Sometimes, the client doesn’t really notice a difference.”
With files from Epson, EFI, Tex Visions, Cheelo Graphics, Comhan Canada and Aclick. For more information, visit www.epson.com, www.efi.com, www.texvisions.com, www.cheelo.com, www.fabric-displays.com, www.comhancanada.ca and www.xlprints.ca.
