Kornit’s Digital Printing Glossary
Ink Bleeding Definition
Ink Bleeding Definition
In digital textile printing, mixing of two dissimilar colors in two adjacent printed dots before they dry and absorb into substrate is referred to as ink bleeding. Unless it is done for effect, ink bleeding reduces print quality. Prior art applied this term to the phenomenon of single-color ink following the fibers of the fabric. The amount of ink bleeding is affected by numerous factors, including the fabric type, fabric’s characteristics of ink absorption and its capillary action, ink type and properties (speed of ink drying), and printing technology (i.e. nozzle design and spacing with inkjet printers). In printing to polyester, this is referred to as dye migration, which occurs when dye from polyester fabric bleeds into the ink that is screen-printed on the garment. An example of this is white ink that turns pink after having been printed on a red polyester t-shirt. In digital textile printing, this problem is often “activated” by the high temperatures typically required to cure imprinted pieces; Kornit’s NeoPoly technology for printing to dark polyester and poly blends is the first DTG solution capable of curing at lower temperatures, thus avoiding dye migration issues.
Visit Kornit Digital to learn how the brand’s best-in-class digital textile print systems minimize ink bleeding, to ensure precise, durable, high-quality impressions.
