Tops printing creates locally coloured and white areas that recombing later blends into material for melange yarn. QL’s WPF-MTYH uses two oppositely spiralled printing rollers against one colour-felt roller: the raised lands apply colour and the grooves leave white areas.
Where this machine sits in the line, and what comes before and after
WPF-MTYH sits on the printing branch of the wool-tops mill’s top-dyed recombing route. After the first backwashing and drying pass, a companion gill combines and draws the tops into a thin sheet for local printing. WPF-ZS then steam-fixes the colour, followed by a second WPF-MTFX backwashing and drying pass, recombing and delivery.
Fixation is not the end of this branch. Second backwashing and drying precede recombing, so printing and fixation should not be shown as going straight to balling. The worsted mill’s in-house top-dyed route does not acquire this commercial-tops printing branch simply because the route names are similar.
What it changes in the fabric, top or yarn: handle, dimensional stability, lustre, cleanliness
WPF-MTYH changes the distribution of colour along the tops. A companion gill combines 6–14 tops and drafts them into a thin sheet, opening the fibre layer for printing. Two rollers act successively against the same colour-felt roller; colour transfers where the raised lands press, leaving white under the grooves.
Both rollers together produce a diamond grid; one produces diagonal stripes. Changing land width changes the printed area. These patterns control colour distribution in the tops before recombing blends the fibres, rather than preserving the same grid on finished fabric.
Why this machine is necessary: what happens without it, or with another method
The QL Twin-Roller Printing System carries out two printing nips in one sheet passage. Independently loaded rollers switch between single- and twin-roller printing. Automatic dye-liquor supply, circulation mixing and level holding support continuous printing.
Select WPF-MTYH together with the companion gill, WPF-ZS fixation and WPF-MTFX backwashing. WPF-MTYH performs local printing; fixation and washing are separate, connected operations.
Setting the parameters: temperature, tension, speed, time
WPF-MTYH operates at 0–35 m/min with a 500 mm printing-roller face and 6–14 tops combined at feed. Roller pattern and land width define the printed area, while one- or two-roller loading defines the print form. Establish loading pressure, speed, feed weight and subsequent fixation conditions for the fibre and target colour mixture.
Tops can feed from balls or cans. Give QL the fibre composition, incoming top condition, required colour-and-white proportion and existing gilling, fixation and backwashing equipment to review the complete section.
The questions customers ask most
- Does tops printing dye the whole top one colour? WPF-MTYH prints locally and leaves white areas for later blending.
- How do single and twin rollers differ? One produces diagonal stripes, while two cross them into a diamond grid; different land widths change the printed area.
- Can tops ship immediately after fixation? This top-dyed recombing branch continues through second backwashing, drying and recombing.
Which process routes it appears on
See the top-dyed recombing route and printing branch, then read about steam fixation and yarn twist-setting and tops backwashing and drying.