Flock Printing: Process, Advantages, and Disadvantages at a Glance

Flock printing: what exactly is it?

Would you like to know exactly what flock printing is and what its advantages and disadvantages are? This article answers everything you need to know about flock printing.

spized | Trivia

November 13, 2024 |

Whats’ on this page

1. What is flock printing?

2. How does flock printing work in practice?

3. Advantages and disadvantages of flock printing

3.1 Advantages

3.2 Disadvantages

4. The sublimation printing process as a high-quality alternative

4.1 How the sublimation printing process works

5. Flock printing in sport: why is jersey flocking so popular?

What is flock printing?

Flock printing is a special form of screen printing in which dispersion adhesive is used instead of ink. Dispersion adhesive is wet so that the flock fibers can be scattered. In concrete terms, this means that in the flock printing process, the desired motif is cut out of colored films and then welded onto the jersey or textile.

How does flock printing work in practice?

Flock printing is a widespread process and is used by many manufacturers to enhance textiles and jerseys. The viscose fibers (the “flock”) are scattered in an electromagnetic field so that the familiar fluffy surface structure is created after curing. In practice, the printing process usually involves 5 steps:

First, the desired graphic must be converted into a vector graphic.
Now the flock printing film is clamped in the cutting instrument (cutting plotter).
The cutting plotter cuts the graphic according to the desired template.
In the penultimate step, the film is weeded by hand and “pressed” onto the object using a hot transfer press. The heat ensures that the adhesive on the underside of the film hardens and sticks to the textile.
Now the textile has to cool down for a while - then the flocked jersey is finished.

Advantages and disadvantages of flock printing

Advantages

With flock printing, the motif is cut out of colored foils and welded onto the jersey. This printing process gives the textile a plush-like surface. The printing foil is slightly thicker at an average of 0.5 mm, so that the motif can be easily placed on the fabric. Because the available color palette is limited with this printing process, monochrome texts, lettering or numbers achieve a respectable result with flock printing. Small, simple motifs and logos can also be presented well using this process. In addition, the fabric-like fiber material goes very well with cotton textiles - on other materials (e.g. polyester), which is often incorporated into sports jerseys, the flock tends to create an unfavorable visual contrast. Many providers offer the flock printing process in retail stores or online stores - so you will quickly find what you are looking for if you want to have your jersey flocked. Here are the advantages of the flocking process at a glance:

Good results for texts, numbers and simple logos.
The fabric-like fiber material is very suitable for cotton materials.
Availability is very high thanks to online stores and retailers.
Small print runs are financially affordable.

Disadvantages

Flock printing achieves solid results and is therefore a very popular process for enhancing jerseys or textiles. However, the flock printing process reaches its limits in some areas. We have summarized some of the disadvantages of flock printing for you here:

Limited color palette: In general, the flock printing process cannot process more than 3 colors per motif.
Limited design options: Even particularly large or intricate motifs are difficult to display attractively with flock printing.
Vector graphics: The motif must be provided as a vector graphic (file formats: .EPS, .AI, .SVG, or .CDR) - motifs in an ordinary PDF are not sufficient at this point because other programs are used for printing.
Durability: Most flock print jerseys are machine washable and will last a certain amount of time. At some point, however, the fibers reach the limit of their resilience so that they “break”. The result: the flock detaches from the jersey.
Wearing comfort: The flock film is very thick and less flexible. This is not really noticeable when worn on thick, heavy fabrics such as sweatshirts. On thin fabrics such as jerseys, however, the wearing comfort is significantly lower due to the thick flock film.
Time required: The flock printing process is very time-consuming, so you have to reckon with a production or delivery time of several weeks.
Price: With flock printing, each component (number, name, motif, text) is individually welded onto the jersey - this takes time, which, as you know, costs money. With flock printing, you therefore usually have to pay a surcharge for each individual flock component.

The sublimation printing process as a high-quality alternative

Although classic jersey flocking is a very common and popular process, it has a number of disadvantages in terms of durability, cost and design freedom. Is there even a cost-effective and high-quality alternative to having jerseys flocked? Yes, the sublimation printing process!

With sublimation printing, the colors are vaporized into the textile. This means there is no adhesive that comes off after a certain amount of time or multi-colored fibers that eventually fade. Sublimation printing is also completely digital. This means that there are no additional costs for the company for multiple flock components or complex designs. This means you can save a lot of money, especially with large print runs (e.g. for your sports club). In summary, the sublimation printing process has the following advantages:

Freedom of design: motifs, logos and coats of arms can be placed on the jersey easily and in high quality. There is no printing process that can keep up in terms of design.
Highest print quality: Complex patterns, multi-colored graphics or photographs can be reproduced with maximum color intensity.
Material properties: The textile retains its original material properties because no coating is left on the jersey during evaporation (compared to welding or gluing on).
Durability: The color intensity remains high even after numerous washes. - Delivery times: The sublimation printing process is completely digital, so the production time is significantly faster.
Water-based inks: Sublimation printing does not require any binding agents or solvents. Water-based inks are a much more environmentally friendly alternative.

Would you like to find out more about jersey printing or jersey flocking? Find out everything you need to know here.

Flock printing in sport: why is jersey flocking so popular?

Why is flock printing still so popular in sport, despite the disadvantages described and the alternatives available? This is mainly due to its popularity and high availability. Buying a jersey online is quick and there are numerous providers who offer individual flocking for a reasonable price. Even in retail stores, this can be quickly remedied - most sports shops around the corner have a flocking machine and offer custom flocking.

The costs also remain manageable with the standard flock components (player name, club name, number, crest). If a sports team wants to buy new jerseys, the cost per player is between 35 and 45 euros. Because in many sports clubs the teams, players and parents are more or less on their own when it comes to jerseys, the cost issue is not a major factor. In addition, the long delivery times are not relevant if the organization was started during the summer or winter break. Classic jersey flocking becomes more complicated when a multi-colored sponsor comes into play or additional components are to be printed on the jersey.

Flock printing on sports jerseys usually becomes an issue in teams after one or two seasons: when the flock slowly starts to peel off and the colors fade, everyone realizes that new jerseys are needed as quickly as possible. And then the decisive criteria (quality, durability, design, costs and delivery time) are discussed again, usually with a view to finding alternatives to classic jersey flocking.