Flock printing
By Brit München
Flocking creates velvety motifs with an extremely graphic effect on fabric, but also on other materials.
A method was already used 3,000 years ago in China, which could be described as the forerunner of today’s flock printing process. In those days a resin was applied to textile carrier materials, onto which natural fibres were then scattered. This was seen to be a way of upgrading garments and other objects.
The first definite evidence of mechanical flocking is found in the Middle Ages, to be more precise in the 12th Century. In a monastery in Nuremberg a flocking technique was used to produce wall decorations with the help of natural fibres ground in a mortar. The technique was then forgotten again until the 19th Century. Here again the method was initially implemented to make wall carpets as part of the interior decorating, whose exclusivity can still be marvelled today in many French castles. At the same time electrostatics and the fact that small parts could be moved with the help of electrical energy was discovered and thus the theoretical basis for electrostatic flocking had been discovered. The first attempts to support mechanical flocking using electrostatics, were carried out in the 1930s, above all in the USA. After the Second World War this technique asserted itself in Europe. German engineers succeeded in developing a system using direct current voltage – the basis for modern-day electrostatic flocking. Today almost any surface can be decorated per electrostatic flocking using highly technological systems and sophisticated materials.
How it works
Flock printing works according to a similar principle as screen printing, however here a so-called dispersion adhesive is initially applied to the material using a template instead of ink in the form of the print motif. Whereby the adhesives used are aligned to match the material to which the flocking is to be applied. As with the screen print method a print carousel is used for flock printing, the textile to be flocked is mounted onto the arm of the carousel. The flock comprises of millions of fibres cut up into short pieces 0.5, 1, 2 mm or more in length, with a fibre thickness of 0.9, 1.7, 3.3, 6.6 dtex or more. The flock can be made out of cotton, rayon, polyamide, polyester or acrylic, whereby polyamide (nylon) is the material implemented most frequently. In the textile area a fibre thickness of 6.6 dtex is usually used (for a flock height of 1 mm) or 3.3 dtex (for a flock height of 0.5 mm). During the printing process the flock is initially stored in a flock container, which is positioned above the textile that is to be flocked. The textile is mounted onto a metal palette, which is connected to an electronic device. The flock container is also connected to the electrostatic device, its base comprises of a metal screen. The high-voltage generator (electrostatic device) then sends approx 90 kV voltage into the flock container. As a result an electrostatic field is established between the screen and the metal palette, the flock shoots through the screen of the container directly onto the textile. Since the flock has conductive properties, it shoots straight down into the bed of adhesive. The superfluous flock, which doesn’t land on the textile, is collected and reused. After the flocking process the textile is placed on a trolley and rolled into the drying oven; larger companies use a belt dryer. During the drying process the flock fibre becomes permanently attached to the adhesive. After the drying process the superfluous flock is vacuumed up electrostatically.
Flocking creates velvety motifs with an extremely graphic effect on fabric, but also on other materials.
A method was already used 3,000 years ago in China, which could be described as the forerunner of today’s flock printing process. In those days a resin was applied to textile carrier materials, onto which natural fibres were then scattered. This was seen to be a way of upgrading garments and other objects.
The first definite evidence of mechanical flocking is found in the Middle Ages, to be more precise in the 12th Century. In a monastery in Nuremberg a flocking technique was used to produce wall decorations with the help of natural fibres ground in a mortar. The technique was then forgotten again until the 19th Century. Here again the method was initially implemented to make wall carpets as part of the interior decorating, whose exclusivity can still be marvelled today in many French castles. At the same time electrostatics and the fact that small parts could be moved with the help of electrical energy was discovered and thus the theoretical basis for electrostatic flocking had been discovered. The first attempts to support mechanical flocking using electrostatics, were carried out in the 1930s, above all in the USA. After the Second World War this technique asserted itself in Europe. German engineers succeeded in developing a system using direct current voltage – the basis for modern-day electrostatic flocking. Today almost any surface can be decorated per electrostatic flocking using highly technological systems and sophisticated materials.
How it works
Flock printing works according to a similar principle as screen printing, however here a so-called dispersion adhesive is initially applied to the material using a template instead of ink in the form of the print motif. Whereby the adhesives used are aligned to match the material to which the flocking is to be applied. As with the screen print method a print carousel is used for flock printing, the textile to be flocked is mounted onto the arm of the carousel. The flock comprises of millions of fibres cut up into short pieces 0.5, 1, 2 mm or more in length, with a fibre thickness of 0.9, 1.7, 3.3, 6.6 dtex or more. The flock can be made out of cotton, rayon, polyamide, polyester or acrylic, whereby polyamide (nylon) is the material implemented most frequently. In the textile area a fibre thickness of 6.6 dtex is usually used (for a flock height of 1 mm) or 3.3 dtex (for a flock height of 0.5 mm). During the printing process the flock is initially stored in a flock container, which is positioned above the textile that is to be flocked. The textile is mounted onto a metal palette, which is connected to an electronic device. The flock container is also connected to the electrostatic device, its base comprises of a metal screen. The high-voltage generator (electrostatic device) then sends approx 90 kV voltage into the flock container. As a result an electrostatic field is established between the screen and the metal palette, the flock shoots through the screen of the container directly onto the textile. Since the flock has conductive properties, it shoots straight down into the bed of adhesive. The superfluous flock, which doesn’t land on the textile, is collected and reused. After the flocking process the textile is placed on a trolley and rolled into the drying oven; larger companies use a belt dryer. During the drying process the flock fibre becomes permanently attached to the adhesive. After the drying process the superfluous flock is vacuumed up electrostatically.
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