Mastering Direct Print to Dark Polyester

For the longest time, direct-to-garment (DTG) printing directly on 100% dark polyester and polyester-dominant blends was an impossible feat. There was no printer, textile ink, or pretreatment formula that could successfully lay down solid white ink and full quality prints on 100% dark polyester substrates while displaying exceptional wash fastness. It was a dream that came true the moment OmniPrint International (Booth 2210) debuted the FreeJet 330TX Plus DTG printer with GamutPlus inks & pretreatments.

“Unless you had an industrial $500,000 machine, there was no way in which you were going to print on athletic wear and other types of dark polyester garments,” explains Victor Pena, founder & CEO, OmniPrint.

The FreeJet 330TX Plus with GamutPlus supplies made its debut into the DTG print industry in 2016, causing a huge buzz with its capabilities for printing directly on a wide variety of garments, ranging from cotton to polyester and blends. The achievements in print quality and vibrancy won the FreeJet 330TX Plus SGIA’s “Product of the Year — DTG Printers” award for four years in a row, from 2016 to 2019. But how was dark polyester DTG printing achieved?

DTG printers traditionally implement water-based textile inks formulated to bond with pretreated cotton substrates, a tried and true formula since DTG’s inception. But 100% polyester substrates are very different from cotton; the main difference being that cotton is a natural fabric, while polyester is a man-made fabric basically made out of plastic. Because polyester is so different from cotton, all DTG inks and pretreatments at the time were completely incompatible.

This fact was kept in mind when GamutPlus pretreatments and inks were formulated. If normal pretreatments and inks weren’t going to work for dark polyester substrates, then a whole new formula of inks and pretreatments would need to be created. Thanks to the scientific and engineering magic from the R&D team at OmniPrint, the perfect formula of pretreatments and inks were created to be used with the newest model of the critically acclaimed FreeJet series, the 330TX Plus DTG printer. These exclusive new products were named GamutPlus, for the gamut of possibilities these products enable.

With GamutPlus inks and pretreatments, the FreeJet 330TX Plus DTG printer can successfully print a solid white underbase and vivid colors directly onto 100% dark polyester, while displaying wash fastness never before seen in the industry. This capability opens up a whole new possibility for revenue, with full-quality printing on softer blends, casual sportswear, and other types of polyester garments.

If you’d like to learn more about this technology, be sure to stop by at OmniPrint’s booth to witness DTG printing directly onto 100% dark polyester using the FreeJet 330TX Plus DTG printer and GamutPlus DTG inks & pretreatments.