Abstract:
A method facilitating preparation of textiles and/or garments to facilitate use of a direct-to-garment (DTG) printing process to apply graphics to the garments is provided. The method includes the application of a pretreatment during a textile and/or garment-making process to obviate the need to apply pretreatment to a finished garment immediately before DTG printing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 62/029,723, filed Jul. 28, 2014, which is incorporated by reference herein. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to making a garment for use in a direct-to-garment (DTG) printing process. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method facilitating preparation of textiles and/or garments to facilitate use of a DTG printing process to apply graphics to the garments. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of applying a pretreatment during a textile and/or garment making process to obviate the need to apply the pretreatment to a finished garment in the area to receive DTG printing immediately before DTG printing. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
       [0003]    DTG printing is a process using printers utilizing inkjet printing technology to directly decorate, imprint, or customize textiles for any number of purposes. Use of the DTG printing affords direct application of graphics to finished garments (such as t-shirts) more efficiently than traditional screen-printing processes. 
         [0004]    Unlike traditional screen-printing processes, DTG printing allows for the application of an infinite number of graphics (with an infinite number of colors) to garments with limited set-up requirements. Typically, traditional screen-printing processes have significant set-up requirements to facilitate the printing of graphics on garments. For example, a single screen is typically used to apply a single color. Therefore, if a graphic has multiple colors, then multiple screens must be used to facilitate the application of the multiple colors. Unlike DTG printing, traditional screen-printing processes afford limited flexibility. Thus, to be cost effective, traditional screen-printing processes lend themselves to producing large batches of garments with the same graphic printed thereon. In contrast, DTG printing affords the application of any number of different graphics directly to garments with limited set-up requirements. As such, it can be cost effective to produce small batches of garments using DTG printing. 
         [0005]    When using DTG printing processes, darker-colored garments require pretreatment to facilitate application of lighter-colored graphics thereto. Typically, for DTG printing, a pretreatment and then an underbase are applied to a darker-colored garment in order to apply a graphic to the darker-colored garment. The pretreatment is typically a liquid, but, for example, can also be a gel, gel film, or other medium. Thereafter, the ink of the graphic is applied over the pretreatment and underbase to the treated area of the darker-colored garment. 
         [0006]    For DTG printing processes, application of the pretreatment serves (1) to prevent the underbase from soaking into the fabric, and (2) to chemically react with and “gel” the underbase. As such, use of the pretreatment on a darker-colored garment affords better adherence of the underbase to the darker-colored garment. Furthermore, the underbase is typically white or lighter-colored ink, and the underbase provides a barrier between a darker-colored garment and ink of a graphic applied thereto. The underbase serves as a medium for facilitating good color retention, intensity, and wash fastness of a graphic, even a lighter-colored graphic, printed onto the darker-colored garment. As such, the use of the pretreatment and underbase affords use of lighter-colored ink (e.g., white or CMYK colors) to print graphics, even lighter-colored graphics, onto darker-colored garments. 
         [0007]    The pretreatment can also be used on lighter-colored garments for DTG printing processes, where use of the underbase is not necessary. Direct application of the pretreatment on a lighter-colored garment affords better adherence of ink of a graphic applied thereto. Furthermore, the use of pretreatment also facilitates good color retention, intensity, and wash fastness of a graphic printed onto the lighter-colored garment. 
         [0008]    The chemical reaction between the pretreatment and the underbase applied thereover serves in preventing graphic applied thereover from mixing with the underbase. By preventing such mixing, the potential appearance of smearing of the inks applied over the treated area can be prevented. Additionally, the pretreatment and underbase applied to darker-colored garments or the pretreatment applied directly to lighter-colored garments serve in preventing the inks of the graphic applied thereover from running or wicking through the fabric causing the graphic to appear blurred. As such, the use of the pretreatment and underbase on darker-colored garments or the direct application of the pretreatment to lighter-colored garments serves to facilitate application and creation of graphics on garments having crisper, brighter appearances. 
         [0009]    While traditional screen-printing processes have significant set-up requirements in comparison with DTG printing, the application of the pretreatment is not necessary and the application of the underbase can be accomplished during one of the steps of traditional screen-printing processes. To illustrate, the underbase can be applied to garments using conventional screens during traditional screen-printing process. As such, the application of the underbase can be incorporated into traditional screen-printing processes. 
         [0010]    The application of the pretreatment cannot be efficiently incorporated into DTG printing. Applying the pretreatment using DTG printing is cost prohibitive—ink cartridges for the printers for DTG printing are quite expensive, and use of printers for DTG printing typically is reserved for application of the underbase and graphics to garments. Thus, when using DTG printing for garments, the pretreatment must be otherwise applied to garments at least in the area to receive DTG printing via rolling, spraying, or other transfer method (including even screen printing), and the pretreatment must then be dried/cured/fixed to the garment. For example, the pretreatment previously has been applied to entire finished garments via a dipping or soaking process. Thereafter, DTG printing can be used to apply the underbase and graphics over the receptive surface provided by the pretreatment. The time required for application and drying/curing/fixing of the pretreatment can be a drawback of using DTG printing for garments. 
         [0011]    Therefore, there is a need for eliminating the time required for application and drying/curing/fixing of the pretreatment before being able to use DTG printing on garments. The present invention relates to a method of applying a pretreatment during a textile and/or garment-making process to obviate the need to apply the pretreatment in the area to receive DTG printing to a finished garment immediately before DTG printing. The method of the present invention serves in eliminating the need to apply the pretreatment in the area to receive DTG printing immediately before DTG printing. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    The present invention in a preferred embodiment contemplates a method for making a direct-to-garment printed garment, the method including the acts of supplying a pretreatment, providing a fabric for application of the pretreatment thereto, applying the pretreatment to the fabric, creating all or portions of a garment from the fabric after applying the pretreatment; and printing a graphic on the garment using a direct-to-garment printing process after creating the garment. 
         [0013]    The present invention in another preferred embodiment contemplates a method for treating a fabric with a pretreatment to facilitate printing of a graphic thereon, the method including the acts of applying the pretreatment to the fabric prior to making the fabric into a garment via at least one of a spraying process, a rolling process, a brushing process, a dipping process, and a soaking process, drying the pretreatment onto the garment prior to making the fabric into a garment via at least one of an air-drying process and a heat-drying process, creating all or portions of the garment from the fabric, and after creation of the garment, printing the graphic on the garment. 
         [0014]    The present invention in still another preferred embodiment contemplates a method for treating a fabric with a pretreatment to facilitate printing of a graphic thereon, the method including the acts of applying a dye of a preselected color to the fabric, and applying the pretreatment to the fabric, portions of the acts of dyeing and applying being performed simultaneously, after completion of the applying acts, drying the dye and the pretreatment on the fabric, after completion of the drying act, creating all or portions of a garment from the fabric, and after creation of the garment, printing the graphic on the garment. 
         [0015]    Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from review of the following specification, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0016]    The following description is intended to be representative only and not limiting. 
         [0017]    As discussed above, the present invention generally relates to making a garment for use in a DTG printing process. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of applying a pretreatment during a textile and/or garment-making process to obviate the need to apply the pretreatment to a finished garment immediately before DTG printing. The pretreatment is typically a liquid, but, for example, can also be a gel, gel film, or other medium. 
         [0018]    In one preferred embodiment, pretreatment is applied to finished fabrics (such as woven/knitted/milled fabrics) prior to the making of the finished fabric into a finished garment. For example, finished fabric is typically supplied to garment makers in rolls. The finished fabric is cut to shape using a pattern, and then the fabric is assembled into a finished garment. Prior to making the finished fabric into a garment, the pretreatment can be applied thereto using one of a spraying process, a rolling process, a brushing process, a dipping process, and/or a soaking process. Thereafter, the pretreatment is dried/cured/fixed onto the finished fabric. To illustrate, the pretreatment can be dried/cured/fixed using an air-drying process or a heat-drying (or curing) process. Once the pretreatment is has dried/cured/fixed, the pretreated finished fabric can be made into a finished garment. The entirety or portions of the finished garments can be made of the pretreated finished fabric, and all of the portions of the finished garments made of the pretreated finished fabric are ready for DTG printing. Furthermore, both the exteriors and interiors of the portions of finished garments made of the pretreated finished fabric are ready for DTG printing. As such, the need for applying the pretreatment to the garment immediately before DTG printing can be eliminated. Garments made with fabric already treated with the pretreatment are ready for DTG printing after making thereof. 
         [0019]    In another preferred embodiment, rather than applying the pretreatment to finished fabric, the pretreatment can be applied to unfinished fabrics (such as woven/knitted/milled fabrics) during the dyeing process. Dyeing is used to achieve coloration of the unfinished fabric. The dyeing process typically involves dipping and/or soaking the unfinished fabric to impart dye thereto, and the pretreatment can be added during the dipping and/or soaking process. Thus, the dye and pretreatment can be applied simultaneously to the unfinished fabric. Thereafter, the dye and pretreatment are dried to produce a pretreated finished fabric. As such, application of the pretreatment can be incorporated into the process of manufacturing finished fabric. Furthermore, the entirety or portions of finished garments can be made of the pretreated finished fabric, and all of the portions of the finished garments made of the pretreated finished fabric are ready for DTG printing after making thereof. Moreover, both the exteriors and interiors of the portions of finished garments made of the pretreated finished fabric are ready for DTG printing. 
         [0020]    In yet another preferred embodiment, the pretreatment can be applied to natural fibers (e.g., cotton) and synthetic fibers (e.g., polyester) used to make fabric. To illustrate, thread, yarn, or other fibers used in producing fabric can be treated prior to the fabric-making process (e.g., knitting, weaving, or milling). The pretreatment can be applied before, during, or after the dyeing process of the natural and synthetic fibers. Furthermore, such fabric can be manufactured of the pretreated natural fibers, the pretreated synthetic fibers, or a combination of the pretreated natural and synthetic fibers. As such, the pretreatment can be applied prior to the fabric-making process to produce a pretreated finished fabric. Furthermore, the entirety or portions of finished garments can be made of the pretreated finished fabric, and all of the portions of the finished garments made of the pretreated finished fabric are ready for DTG printing after making thereof. Moreover, both the exteriors and interiors of the portions of finished garments made of the pretreated finished fabric are ready for DTG printing. 
         [0021]    By applying the pretreatment to finished fabric, incorporating application of the pretreatment into the process of manufacturing finished fabric, or applying the pretreatment to fibers prior to the fabric-making process, finished garments made from fabric according to these processes require no further processing to facilitate DTG printing. That is, prior to producing a finished garment, the pretreatment can be applied so that the fabric used to make the entirety or portions of the finished garment is prepared for DTG printing. Thus, the method the present invention serves in eliminating the need to apply the pretreatment immediately before DTG printing. As such, the number of steps needed to afford DTG printing on garments can correspondingly be reduced. 
         [0022]    Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.