One of the real issues we’ve had at work recently is trying to print on Polyester fabrics as opposed to Nylon. The technology is available, as it is with Silk, but it is very different, and not as advanced. While our nylon printer uses Eight Colour Process (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, Orange, Red, Blue, and Grey) the polyester dyes are of a completely different stock, based on what allows for light fastness etc. The polyester machine uses only Six Colours, sometimes called Hexachrome printing.
The Hexachrome does not have a red dye, and as a result we’ve found Pantone 199 impossible to achieve, amongst others. The 199 is such a powerful red that no combination of Magenta or Orange can create it. All the reds which are printable this way are either too Pink or too Orange. Until the technology allows for Eight Colour process the poly machine is very limited in the sorts of projects it can be used for. This is a real shame as people prefer the polyester, which can be made from recycled materials, and would be the “greener” choice.
So anyway, here we have an example of demand for a technology which has yet to be developed fully.
(If anyone has comments or questions I'd love to hear them. I'm really updating as I learn - so I expect there will be room for editing now and again).
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