Pressing Equipments

Pressing
Pressing is the application of heat , moisture and
pressure to shape, mold or crease fabrics, garments
or garment parts in to the forms intended by their
designer
Pressing may be done during assembly to facilitate
other operations and improve quality or as a final
finishing process

In process pressing: It is also called as Under

Pressing , done while a garment is under

construction. Used to : crease, shape or smooth
components for more accurate seaming
Finish Pressing: adds final shape to seams and

garments

Elements of Pressing
Heat : It soften fibers and stabilizes and set the

desirted shape. Temprature must be selected to suit

the fiber and fabric type. Source of heat is generally a
heated surface and steam

Steam: (Moisture) is the fastest means of

transferring heat in to the fabric. Higher the

pressure, hoter and drier is the steam. Effective use
of steam reduces the time for pressing and the
amount of pressure required to shape the garment
Very much dependant on the type of fabric.
Excess moisture may cause shrinkage or bleeding

Pressure: Applied to alter shape and increase the

permanency of the molding or creasing. The amount

and type of pressure must be appropriate for the
fabric characteristics and style.
Too much pressure may distort fabric surfaces,
flatten texture and create permanent damage
Controlling the elements of heat, steam and pressure
to suit the materials and styling of garment is part of
quality pressing

Basic Difference b/w Ironing, Pressing and Finishing

Ironing: Involves relative movement or friction

between two flat surfaces

Pressing: Compression b/w two surfaces but no
relative movement or friction b/w them
Finishing: Finishing removes unwanted crease by
stretching but cannot impart a new crease

Types of Ironing , Pressing and Finishing equipments

Hand Irons: It is a manual molding operation in

which pressure and heat are applied with a flat

contact surface.
Iron vary in weight, shape, surface characteristics
depending on fabric, area to be pressed and quality
specifications of the the operation
Most extensively used equipment for
inline or final finishing

The iron pressing workstation consists of an iron,

powerline, bedbuck amd an iron support system

Buck: there are three types of iron tables available
Vaccum Table: Vaccum is sucked through table
surface to lay the garment flat on the surface as well
as suck the residual heta and moisture and heat from
the garment after ironing
Up Steam Table: steam comes from the table surface
thus moistening the garment, used for knitted
garment where ironing is not advisable

Blow Up Table: It irons without leaving any mark on

the garment. Offers cushioning effect to the

garments due to upward thrust of air from the table
which prevents ironing marks on the garments

Block or Die Pressing: a molding process that

establishes a products conformance to a form. It

may change the surface characteristics nad
dimensions of a product
Used by hat and glaove manufacturer
Crease patch pockets and pocket flaps
Shape and mold collars,collar stands and cuffs.

Form Pressing: used primarily for final pressing

in garment production or for renovating garments in

dry cleaning palnts.
Made in approximate shape of garments
Expandable/collpasible bags are the most common
type
Steam is forced from the inside of the form through
the garment while the form expands to fill all the
shape inside the garment

It soothes the garment but does

not set creases

Steam Tunnels:
Garments are dewrinkled within a chamber by
average pressure of circulating steam.
They operates intermittently , as racks of garments
are loaded and unloaded continuously with garments
carried by rail or conveyor
Steam tunnels are used for those garments that do
not need creasing or molding of any kind.

Buck Pressing machines

Manual operation via pedal
Electro-mechanical distance control: Variable
adjustment of the distance between the pressing
shapes during the pressing process to avoid marks
and shine on all types of fabric
Steam lower buck via pedal*: for presteaming or
finishing of velvet fabrics
Blowing lower buck*: for finishing of velvet fabrics

Integrated sequential timer control: for

steam/suction/blowing, dwell time between steam

and suction and head closing / semi-automatic
operation controlled via adjustable timer controls

Fusing
Fusing is a process of bonding fabric layers by

application of heat and pressure for a specific

amount of time.
The time required for fusing is called dwell time

The precision of fusing process depends on three

elements
Heat: Softens the resin
Pressure that spreads the resing and forces it onto
the fabric surface
Time: Needed for application of heat and pressure.
Cooling time is also necessary to set the resin

Temperature

There is a limited range of temperatures that are

effective for each type of resin. Too high a
temperature causes the resin to become too viscous,
which could result in the resin being forced through
to the right side of the cloth

Time

Time is the only time element of any value during the

fusing process is when the top cloth and fusible are
under pressure in the heating zone of the machine
.This timecycle for a particular fusible is determined
by :
Whether the fusible has a high or low melt resin.
If a high or heavy substrate is being used.
The nature of the top cloth being used, thick or thin,
dense or open.

Cooling Enforced cooling is used so that the fused

assemblies can be handled immediately after fusing.

Cooling can be induced by various systems.
Including water-cooled plates, compressed air
circulation and vacuum.

Pressure

When the resin is viscous ,pressure is applied to the

top cloth and fusibleassembly to ensure that :
Full contact is made between the top cloth and
fusible.
Heat transfer is at the optimum level.
There is an even penetration of the viscous resin into
the fibres of the top cloth.

Requirements ofFusing
The laminate produced by fusing should show the aesthetic

qualities required by the designer in the finished garment.

The strength of bond of the laminate must be sufficient to
withstand handling during subsequent operations in the
garment manufacturing process as well as the flexing which
takes place in wear.
Fusing must takes place without either strike-through or
strike back occurring. When the softened adhesive resin is
pressed into the garment fabric, it is important that itdoes
not go right through to the face side of that fabric, and that it
does not go back tothe outside of the interlining base cloth.

The fusing process must not cause thermal shrinkage in

the outer fabric. Fusing commonly takes place at around

150oc and at this temperature many fabrics may subject
to thermal shrinkage.
A further possible effect of the heat of the fusing process
is that of dye sublimation.Fabrics may change colour to a
level which is unacceptable and in a way which causes a
miss-match between the fused and unfused parts of the
garment.
Since the fusing process involves pressure, there is a risk
that pile fabrics may besubject to crushing during fusing.

Equipments used to fuse interlinings include:

Roller Press
Flat Bed Press
Continuous Press
Iron

Roller Press: These presses are used occassionally

for fusing interlinings for small parts with better

productivity and more consistency in heat, time and
pressure than iron.

Flat Bed Fusing Process: It consists of two horizontal

metal plates between which the fabric and interlining

laminate are sandwiched. In the simplest mode of
operation, the operator places the garment part face
down on the lower platen places, the inter lining
resin side down on the top of it in the correct
position, and closes the press.

Continuous Fusing Process:

These systems operate by passing the garment

part, with its interlining placed on it,past a heat

source and, either simultaneously or subsequently,
applying pressure. Heat is provided in one of three
ways:
With direct heating, the conveyor belt carries the
components to be fused into direct contact with a
heated surface, either a drum or curved plates.
With indirect heating, the components are carried
through a heated chamber.

With low temperature, gradient heating, the

components are carried through a pre-heating

zone. Heating is either direct or indirect. With this
approach the temperature reached at the glue line
is only just above that required to make the resin a
viscous fluid and in some cases fusing takes place
satisfactorily with a glue line temperature of only
120oc .This reduces the possibility of heat
shrinkage in the outer fabric andis a feature of
some of the most recent fusing presses.

High Freequency Fusing:

In the fusing press described so far, heat has been

provided by electric heating elements. This limits the
number of thickness of fabric which can be fused at once
because of the time taken for the heat to transfer
through the fabric to the resin. If multiple layers of
fabric and interlining could be stacked up and fused
simultaneously, productivity might be increased. Over a
number of years, attempts have been made to do this by
generating heat by means of high frequency energy, in
the same way as in a microwave cooker - See more at:

Hand iron:

Only those interlinings which can be fused at relatively

low temperatures, low pressures and in relatively
short times are at all suitable for fusing by hand iron.
There are a number of difficulties.The operator cannot
know the temperature at the glue line and cannot
apply pressure uniformly. The operator estimates the
time subsequently .Only small parts can be fused with
any degree of success ,and then only by pressing the
iron for a fixed time onto the fusible,covering the area
step by step and using steam to help the heat transfer.

PRE-DEVELOPMENT

POSTDEVELOPMENT

The Idea

Fabric is sourced and

approved by buyer

-Buyers need
-Merchandisers and
designer ideas
Ideas developed into
sketches
Fabrics and other
trims are ordered for
first sample
Cost estimation
(Quick-costing)

Fabrics and other

trims for sampling are
ordered
Pattern development
for sample

Sample developed &

reviewed

First pattern is
developed

Fit sample is
developed &
reviewed

First samplePrototype is
developed

Production pattern is
finalized

Proto sample
reviewed
Additions/changes
made as per buyers
need
Second Prptotype
is prepared

Grading details sent

by the buyer
Pattern is
graded
Sizeset developed
and reviewed

Additions/changes
made as per buyers
need

Buyer sends the

sealer sample-pre
production sample
finalized

Sample finalized &

Buyer places order

Production marker is
made

Garima Agarwal

PPC department sets

production schedule

Logistics decides the

line set-up
Production package is
forwarded to
production manager

PRODUCTION

Fabric in-housed and

inspected
Fabric sent to cutting
room-spread and
garments cut out

Cut garments go to
sewing operations
and assembled

Garments are given

final production
details and pressed

Final quality checks

and finishing

Tagging and packing

of the garments

Buyers QC inspection

Ready for shipment