From Ink Drop to Water-Free Printing — Full Brief of HONGSAM® RCT® Technology & JETALL® Latex Solution

25 Years of Ink R&D: How HONGSAM RCT Technology Redefines Water Consumption & Process for Digital Textile Printing

The textile printing industry has long been trapped by two persistent bottlenecks. The first is water. Traditional printing processes require padding, steaming, washing and soaping. Each procedure consumes massive volumes of water, and wastewater treatment remains a heavy environmental burden for printing factories. The second limitation lies in substrate compatibility. Reactive printing works well on cotton, and disperse printing suits polyester. However, when it comes to smooth, non-absorptive materials such as PU, microfiber leather and TPU, conventional inks frequently fail to deliver stable adhesion, scratch resistance and anti-cracking performance.

This solution is brought to you by HONGSAM Digital Technology Co., Ltd., a manufacturer specializing in inkjet inks with 25 years of R&D heritage. Centered on the selfdeveloped RCT Technology, paired with the JETALL Water-Based Eco Latex Ink, HONGSAM has successfully realized water-free printing and multi-media printing simultaneously.

1. Technology Origin: What Is RCT, and Why HONGSAM?

RCT stands for Rapid Colour Technology, an independent intellectual property core technology for pre-treatment-free digital textile printing. The RCT water-free digital printing system was officially launched in December 2018.

To understand RCT, we need to clarify why conventional printing relies heavily on water and pre-treatment:

· Conventional reactive / disperse routes: Fabrics must be fully padded with pre-treatment coating before printing, then cured under high temperature in a steamer, followed by washing and soaping to remove loose colour. Such workflows feature lengthy procedures, high water consumption and heavy wastewater discharge.

· Conventional pigment routes also require full-surface pre-treatment spraying. Heavy ink coverage easily leads to stiff hand feel and watermark residues.

The revolutionary breakthrough of RCT lies in converting the pre-treatment agent itself into a printable ink. HONGSAM developed a dedicated reactive functional fluid (OP Fluid). Instead of spraying it across the entire fabric surface, the printhead deposits OP fluid only on graphic areas in a pixel-precise manner. The OP fluid and subsequently overprinted colour ink react in-situ while wet, forming a binding film to encapsulate and lock pigments. The whole workflow eliminates padding, steaming, washing and soaping. The finished print is ready once dried.

In short: RCT is not a single ink type. It is a pixel-controlled in-situ reactive inkjet framework, with three core control dimensions: positional control (deposition only on graphic zones), dosage control (adjust crosslinking and coverage via grey scale), and sequence control through wet-on-wet printing. Built upon this framework, HONGSAM has developed functional ink series compatible with cotton, polyester, nylon and leather substrates.

Why is wet-on-wet printing the core? Traditional dry printing applies one layer then dries it before the next layer, relying merely on physical lamination. RCT enables direct contact between OP fluid and colour ink under wet conditions to trigger thorough crosslinking, delivering superior fastness, sharp print edges and eliminating watermarks caused by full-surface pre-treatment spraying.

HONGSAM holds national invention patents for textile pigment inks and serves as the primary drafter of the national industrial standard for textile pigment inkjet inks. The foundation of RCT is accumulated over two decades of independent formulation research and standard-setting capacity.

2. Product Portfolio: 5 Textile Ink Series + 1 Latex Solution for Almost All Fibres

HONGSAM adopts a “5+1” product matrix covering most printing scenarios. All series have obtained the OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT international eco-certification.

3. Highlight: JETALL Water-Based Eco Latex Ink

The latex solution represents the most advanced application of HONGSAM RCT technology, launched in 2022, optimized for dense, lowabsorption substrates.

1. Wide Substrate Compatibility: Direct highdefinition printing on PU, microfiber, TPU, PVC leather, fly-knit fabrics, sun protective textiles and down jacket materials, filling the technical gap where smooth substrates are difficult to print with conventional processes.

2. No Pre-Treatment, No Steaming, No Washing: Inheriting RCT pixel-wise OP deposition and wet-on-wet workflow. It is a water-free printing process with no wastewater discharge; prints are finished after thermal drying.

3. Vivid Colour, Scratch & Weather Resistance: Pigments are fully encapsulated within crosslinked waterborne acrylic latex film, delivering excellent scratch resistance and flex resistance. Ideal for high-abrasion scenarios including footwear, luggage and sofa leather.

4. Low-VOC & Odour-Free: Pure water-based formulation, low VOC, non-toxic, satisfying strict VOC requirements for interior decoration and commercial spaces.

5. Premium End-Use Matching: High-end custom home textiles, automotive interiors, eco commercial signage and luxury leather apparel.

4. Qualifications & Certifications: Verifiable Credentials for Global Customers

International Certifications

· OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT: Certified for pigment, disperse, acid, reactive and latex ink series, a mandatory passport for European and American export orders.

· EU REACH SVHC (201 Substances) Screening and OEKO-TEX® Standard 100: Comply with EU market access rules and safety requirements for skin-contact textiles.

· GOTS Certification (Pigment Ink Grade): Compatible with organic cotton production systems.

Domestic Testing & Standard Participation

· SGS Full Test to GB 18401-2010 National General Safety Technical Code for Textile Products: JETALL latex ink passes the standard. Test reports can be issued for Class B (direct skin contact) and Class C (non-direct skin contact).

· Lead participant in drafting 9 national and industrial standards, 8 of which have been officially promulgated, covering pigment, disperse, acid and reactive inkjet inks, as well as the mandatory national standard Limits of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Content in Inks. The industrial standard for latex inkjet inks is under approval.

Honours & Enterprise Qualifications

· Multiple ink series selected into the Energy Saving & Emission Reduction Recommended Catalogue of China Dyeing & Printing Association (5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 16th, 17th batches).

· Recognized as Specialized, Refined, Differential & Innovative Enterprise by China National Textile and Apparel Council and Henan Province; Key Pre-IPO Enterprise of Henan Province.

· Second Prize of Science and Technology Progress Award from CNTAC for the project Key Technologies for Preparation of Digital Jet Printing Inks and Its Industrial Application, jointly developed with Zhengzhou University.

· NEEQ Listed Company (Stock Code: 430616), promoted to the Innovation Layer in 2023.

5. R&D Foundation & Technical Reserve: The Source of Innovation

· R&D Platform: Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center for Inkjet Materials, approved by Henan Development and Reform Commission. It accommodates 16 laboratories, environmental ageing chambers and over 560 test printers.

· R&D Team: More than 80 R&D staff, including chief scientists, PhD supervisors from Zhengzhou University, former 863 Program principal investigators and NSFC project leaders. Long-term industry-university-research cooperation with Jiangnan University, Donghua University, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, Zhengzhou University and China Textile Academy.

· Intellectual Property: 19 granted invention patents (12 national invention patents, 8 focused on textile digital printing), and 73 registered trademarks. Products are supplied to over 100 countries worldwide.

· Production & Service Network: More than 2,000 SKUs, over 1,000 distributors, annual production capacity over 20,000 tons, supporting largescale stable supply and localized technical support.

6. Application Scenarios: Who Benefits from RCT Solutions

· Apparel & Home Textiles: Reactive direct-to-fabric for cotton and silk; high-temperature disperse for polyester; pigment ink for blends, supporting small-batch quick response orders without washing.

· Leather, Luggage & Footwear: Direct printing on PU, microfiber and TPU with excellent flex and rub fastness, replacing traditional leather printing.

· Outdoor & Functional Garments: High light-fastness acid ink for nylon outdoor wear; latex ink for waterproof and down fabrics.

· Interior & Commercial Space: Wallpaper, soft upholstery, backlit fabrics with ultra-low VOC for indoor environmental compliance.

Closing Remarks

Founded in 2001, HONGSAM has devoted 25 years to inkjet ink development. From national invention patents and standard leadership to the RCT pre-treatment-free water-free printing technology, HONGSAM keeps exploring one core question: How to achieve brilliant, durable prints on diversified substrates with less water and lower energy consumption?

If you are challenged by excessive water consumption, limited substrate adaptability and unstable fastness performance, the JETALL Latex Solution powered by RCT Technology may be the disruptive alternative you are looking for.

HONGSAM Digital Technology Co., Ltd. National HighTech Enterprise | NEEQ Listed (430616) Official Website: www.ink4you.com | International Website: www.hongsam.cn Hotline: +864008810850