Inkjet compositions and processes for stretchable substrates

A digital printing method for printing textiles, the textiles comprising fabric woven within a plane, the fabric comprising fibers extending outwardly from said plane, the machine comprising:

• wetting fabric to be printed with a wetting fluid, thereby to provide said fabric already wet prior to printing;
• printing with printing ink on said already wet fabric, the printing ink comprising a binder, a dispersed pigment, a property-sensitive agent and a carrier;
• receiving said wet fabric and mechanically exerting flattening pressure over a flattening area of said fabric after wetting, to flatten said outwardly extending fibers to cause said wetting fluid present in said wet fabric to cause said fibers to stick to said wet fabric prior to addition of said printing ink, thereby smoothing said fabric before said printing with printing ink, the binder serving to help said fibers to continue to stick to said wet fabric;
• and
• regulating said mechanically exerted flattening pressure applied to said fabric, thereby to regulate an extent to which said outwardly extending fibers are flattened towards said fabric.

A digital printing machine for printing textiles, the textiles comprising fabric woven within a plane, the fabric comprising fibers extending outwardly from said plane, the machine comprising:

• a. a wetting unit configured to wet fabric to be printed with a wetting fluid;
• b. a digital printing head configured for printing with printing ink on said fabric;
• and
• c. a mechanical heating unit, located between said wetting unit and said digital print head, said mechanical heating unit configured to receive said wet fabric and mechanically exert heat over said fabric after wetting, to flatten said outwardly extending fibers to cause said wetting fluid present in said wet fabric to cause said fibers to stick to said wet fabric prior to addition of said printing ink, thereby smoothing said fabric before said printing with printing ink.