Digital printing for silk and luxury fabrics
Print premium silk direct on the HY-Series with acid or compatible reactive ink, then steam and wash the fabric.
Recommended machine configurations
Every line below is rendered from published product frontmatter, not a separate specification copy.
HY-1808
Sampling, lower volume
- Print width
- 1800 mm
- Printheads
- 8 × Ricoh Gen6
- 2-pass reference
- 170 m²/h
- Ink systems
- Reactive / Disperse / Pigment
HY-1816
Production workhorse
- Print width
- 1800 mm
- Printheads
- 16 × Ricoh Gen6
- 2-pass reference
- 330 m²/h
- Ink systems
- Reactive / Disperse / Pigment
HY-2232
Continuous multi-shift
- Print width
- 2200 mm
- Printheads
- 32 × Ricoh Gen6
- 2-pass reference
- 650 m²/h
- Ink systems
- Reactive / Disperse / Acid / Pigment
Acid ink appears in the published HY-2232 model specification. Confirm the exact chemistry configuration for HY-1808 and HY-1816 at quotation.
Ink route and finishing chain
Start with the material selector, then keep each chemistry on its own published finishing route.
Silk
- Process
- Direct-to-fabric
- Ink options
- Reactive / Acid / Pigment
- Published width range
- 1.8 m / 2.2 m
Reactive silk route
Use on compatible silk constructions
- Pre-treat
- Steam
- Wash
- Dry
Acid silk route
Fibre-specific route for premium silk
- Pad
- Steam
- Wash
- Dry
Finished-product applications
Existing application photography shows the materials and end products this route is intended to qualify.
Blank silk Printed silk 
Related production guides
Use the full guides for chemistry, workflow and machine-selection detail before quotation.
How to Choose the Right Fabric Printing Process for Your Textile Material
Choose reactive for cotton/linen/rayon, disperse for polyester, acid for silk/wool/nylon, and qualify pigment for blends or a no-wash workflow.
Read the guide
R2R Ink Workflows: Reactive, Pigment and Disperse Printing
Reactive targets cellulose, pigment uses a surface binder across qualified fabrics, and disperse diffuses into polyester. Choose by fabric, process and fastness tests.
Read the guide
How to Choose the Right Fabric Printing Machine: HY-1808 vs HY-1816 vs HY-2232 vs HY-2632
Compare HY-1808, HY-1816, HY-2232 and HY-2632 by width, heads and qualified output; the 2.2m HY-2232 and 2.6m HY-2632 reach 650 m²/h at 2-pass.
Read the guide
Pigment vs Reactive Printing: How to Choose
Choose pigment for a qualified heat-fix, no-wash route or reactive for a qualified cellulose route with steaming and washing. Test the same fabric first.
Read the guideSilk and luxury fabrics questions
Which ink is the primary choice for premium silk?
Acid dye is the fibre-specific route for silk and supports vivid color with a good hand. The fabric and finishing standard still need sample qualification.
Can reactive ink also be used on silk?
Yes, the published HY-Series workflow lists reactive ink for compatible silk constructions. Chemistry and sellable output should be confirmed on the target fabric.
What finishing does silk printing require?
Reactive silk uses pretreatment, printing, steaming, washing and drying. Acid silk uses padding, printing, steaming, washing and drying.
How should a silk producer choose an HY-Series model?
Use HY-1808 for lower-volume qualification, HY-1816 for sustained 1.8 m production and HY-2232 for higher-head 2.2 m production. Final output must be qualified on the fabric.
Can a machine frequently switch between acid and reactive ink?
Frequent chemistry switching is not recommended. Any conversion route must be confirmed with engineering before ordering.
Qualify this solution on your production job
Send the fabric, target width, output and finishing capability for a configuration review.