Printing

Introduction to Printing

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 What is Printing !!!
• Printing can be defined as the localized application of dye or
pigment in a thickened form to a substance, to generate a
pattern or design

• The printing paste which is applied to textile material

consist of dye, water, thickener and hydrocarbon solvent or
oil

• After printing paste is applied, the textile material is usually

steamed
– To enable the dye molecule to migrate from the surface
of the fibre to enter into the fibre polymer system
– Steaming swells the fibre and enhance penetration of the
dye
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
NIFT Hyderabad
• The general printing explains after application of print
paste, the steaming helps in

– Development of forces of repulsion between the dye

molecule and the constituents of the printing paste

– Development of forces of attraction between the dye

molecule and the fibres of the textile material to be
printed

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Printing

Printing Paste Ingredients

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Printing Ingredients
• In brief
– Dye / Pigments
– Thickeners
– Binders (for pigment printing)
– Surface Active agents or Emulsifiers
– Reducing agent
– Discharging agent / Resist salt
– Softener
– Antifoaming agents
– Hydroscopic agents

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Dye
– Acid Dye
• Normally applied to natural protein fibres like wool
and silk
• Also applied for nylon fibre
• Dyes are normally applied in acidic medium
• Acid dyes are anionic (-ve charged)

– Basic dye
• These dyes are cationic (+ve charged)
• These are the salt of organic bases
• Normally applied on acrylic fibres
• Have no affinity towards cellulosic material but can
be applied in presence of mordant tannic acid

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Direct Dyes
– These dyes posses direct affinity towards cotton
without using mordants
– Not suitable for printing because of poor wash fastness
properties

• Disperse dyes
– These are not soluble in water but forms aqueous
dispersions
– These dyes are used mainly for dyeing synthetics like
nylon, polyester etc.

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Mordant dyes
– These dyes are used in presence of some mordants
– Forms dye complex with mordants and gives very good
fastness properties
– Three different process could be used; chrome mordant
process, after chrome process & meta chrome process

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Metal complex dye
– Metal has been introduced in the dye molecule during its
manufacture
– Mainly used for protein fibres like silk, wool and
synthetic fibre nylon
– The dyes are held by means of electrovalent bond,
covalent bond and hydrogen bond

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Vat dye
– These dyes are not soluble in water and contains ‘keto’
group
– In alkaline solution they forms a soluble ‘leuco’
compound

• Sulphur dye
– The fabric dyed with these dyes acquires good washing
fastness
– These dyes are not successful in printing owing to
erratic fixation
– Exception is ‘sulphur black’

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Reactive dyes
– Forms covalent bonds with cellulosic material
– Gives an excellent washing fastness
– Available in hot brand and cold brand
– Can also be applied on wool, silk and nylon

• Azo dye
– Normally used for printing cellulosic fibres
– Reaction of 2 components takes within the fibres i.e.
diazo component and coupling component

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Water

– Relatively small amount of water is used; enough to

dissolve the dye into the paste

– Water is used to mix or disperse the dye molecules in

the thickener

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Thickener – properties and function

– Purpose of thickener is to produce a medium for the dye

paste and the resulting product is known as printing
paste

– The printing paste is an emulsion of thickener and

hydrocarbon & a surface active agent; therefore
thickener should be compatible with all the other
components

– The physical & chemical property of the thickener should

be like that immediately after printing, it will form a film
of sufficient plasticity and elasticity not to flake or
crack when dry

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Thickener must be completely removed from the fabric
during washing off

• The viscosity of the printing paste is very important and

that depends upon the thickener only

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Thickeners can be of the following

– Natural gum – such as gum arabic or gum prepared

from starches

– Man made, natural polymer based gums – methyl &

ethyl cellulose, sodium aliginate, carboxymethyl
cellulose

– Manmade synthetic gums – polyvinyl alcohol

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Selection of thickening agent
• Should completely dissolve in water (mainly in cold water)

• When selecting a thickener, one must ensure that it does

not compete with the fibre for the dye

– For example: if a cellulosic textile material is to be

printed, the paste should not be mixed with the cellulose
based thickener

– Selection of such thickener may cause difficulties as the

dye may be more substantive to the thickener than to
the fibre

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Thickener should function satisfactorily by the printing
method chosen

– E.g. no screen blockages should occur during screen

printing

– No stickiness occurs during roller printing

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Surface active agent

– The surface active agent enables the emulsification of

the thickener with the hydrocarbon to form a printing
paste of uniform consistency

– The surface active agent will reduce the surface tension

and hence will enhance making solutions or emulsifiers

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Role of Steam

– Steam ensures the adequate penetration of the fibre by

dye molecules

• Steaming generates sufficient energy in the dye

molecules for them to enter the fibre polymer
system

• Swells the fibre so that the dye molecules can enter

the fibre molecule system

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Dry Heating

– Thermoplastic fibre tend to be hydrophobic and do not

swell sufficiently in water when subjected to steaming

– Dry heating will enhance entering the dye molecules to

enter into the amorphous region

– This is more suitable when the colour is pigment

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Washing off

– Done to remove the thickener and other printing paste

constituents which have not entered in the polymer
system

– Some dye left on the surface will be removed during

washing off

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• So the entire printing have the following steps

– Preparation of fabric
– Preparation of printing paste
– Application of printing paste on the fabric
– Drying of printing paste
– Fixation of printing paste by steaming or dry heating
– Washing off

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Styles of Printing

Direct
Discharge
Transfer
Resist

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Direct Styles of Printing

• In direct printing style the print paste is applied directly on

the fabric followed by steaming / curing and washing off

• It is the most common approach for applying colour on

fabric

• The dyes are usually dissolved in a limited amount of water

to which the thickening agent has been added to give the
necessary viscosity

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Discharge Styles of Printing
• Fabric is pre-dyed

• The dry dyed fabric is printed with print pastes containing

chemical

– Discharge (or destroy) the ground colour of the fabric

within the printed areas

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal After fixation

Pre - dyed Printed
NIFT Hyderabad and wash - off
 Resist Styles of Printing
• Printing is initially done by discharge chemicals

• The ground colour is applied on the dry printed fabric

• The printing paste contain chemicals which will stop the

fixation of ground colour in the printed area only

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal After fixation

Printed Over-dyed
NIFT Hyderabad and wash - off
• The chemicals used for discharge or resist the ground
colour could be a reducing agent or even an alkali, depending
upon the dye being used

• It should be noted that destruction of dye does not takes

place during printing, but during the subsequent steam
fixation process

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Resist Printing – ‘Batik
Printing”
• ‘Batik Printing’ is one kind of resist printing

• In this type of printing wax is first printed on to the fabric

and then physically prevents any dyes subsequently applied
by dyeing or printing techniques from fixing in the wax-
printed areas

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Discharge / Resist Printing
in case of Polyester
• For fibres which are difficult to dye (e.g. polyester),
discharge / resist technique is used where the dyed ground
is left unfixed so that dye remain on the yarn surface

• Now, the dye can be more easily destroyed by the discharge

or resist chemical applied in printing

• During fixation, the dyed ground is fixed in the non-printed

areas but destroyed in the printed areas where the head
colour are also fixed

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Problems for Discharge
/ Resist Printing
• Too little amount w.r.t required amount of discharge
chemical will not able to discharge the ground colour
fully – this is known as ‘undercutting’

• Too much of the discharge or resist chemical can result

in either the head colour itself being affected by the
chemical - this is known as ‘haloing effect’

Correct Effect Under cutting Haloing

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
NIFT Hyderabad
 Transfer Printing
• Moving a design from one surface to another is known as
transfer printing

• This style was originally designed for synthetic fibre fabrics

• The special dyes used (mainly disperse dye) are first printed
on a cellulosic paper by conventional paper printing
techniques or rotary screen type machines

• The fabric is sandwiched between the print paper and

backing paper and is then passed onto a transfer calender

• The cylinder is usually heated internally having a

temperature of around 1800C
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
NIFT Hyderabad
• Under this controlled temperature, pressure and time the
dye become gaseous and transferred to the fabric and then
diffuses to the fabric

• After leaving the calender, the dye is usually adequately

fixed for most end uses and does not require any further
fixation or wash-off

• Limitations:
– 100% transfer is not achieved
– Only limited to polyester fibres and other synthetic
fibres

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Methods of Printing &
Machines
Block
Screen
Flat Bed
Roller

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Block Printing

– The simplest method of printing a pattern with the help

of blocks

– A pattern is design on a thick block and stands out in it

– The printing paste is applied on the raised portion and

then pressed on the fabric

– In this way the colour pattern is transferred into the

fabric

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Roller Printing

– Block printing can be made to give very few patterns and

time consuming

– Block printing are used where exclusive patterns are

required

– High speed printing technique ----- roller printing

machines

– The design is put on a fabric by copper engraved rollers

– Copper rollers are engraved with fine delicate patterns

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• The size of the engraved roller depends on the design

• The more the circumference, the larger would be the size

of the design

• This method is uneconomical unless very large yardage of

each colour run is produced

• High cost and the long lead time for roller preparation is
the main disadvantage

• Once prepared, the rollers can be used almost indefinitely

for printing millions of yards of fabric

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Roller printing with Roller printing with
single roller Dr. Prithwiraj Mal multi roller
NIFT Hyderabad
• It consists of large central cylinder around which passes
the fabric to be printed

• The cylinder rotates with the moving fabric

• Against the fabric and central cylinder a no. of colour

printing roller are pressed

• Each roller contributes one colour; thus if there are 5

colour in the design then there must be 5 colour printing
rollers

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Each of the rollers is made of copper and engraved on it is
that portion of the pattern which it contributes

– i.e. one roller may print all the leaves of a floral pattern
in green; another all the roses in red and so on

• The pattern is scooped out of the copper surface and not

raised above the surface as with the printing blocks

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Screen Printing

– Screen printing is basically a form of stencil printing

– The screen consist of a synthetic fibre or metallic gauge

stretched taut over a frame

– Parts of the gauge have the holes blocked off (non-

printing areas)

– The printing paste is forced / spread uniformly through

the open areas by a rubber or metal blade, called a
‘squeege’ and on to the fabric beneath

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• In screen printing one screen is required for each colour

• Different type of screen printing

– Hand screen printing
– Flat-bed screen printing
– Rotary screen printing

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Hand screen printing

– The fabric is stuck to the printing table, covered with

resilient felt

– Each screen is placed on the fabric in turn, the paste is

applied to one end of the screen

– The paste is then squeezee drawn across the screen,

forcing it through the open mesh areas on to the fabric
beneath

– The production rate is extremely slow and so automatic

screen printing machines are developed

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Hand Screen Printing Flat Screen Printing
using single colour using multi colour

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Flat-bed screen printing

– The fabric is placed on a endless conveyor belt

– All the screens making up the pattern are arranged side

by side above the belt

– The belt is automatically set to move forward by one or

several pattern repeats at a time

– When the belt is stationary the screens are lowered

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• The colours are applied to the fabric and the screen are
lifted for the belt to move the fabric on to the next repeat

• Colour is pumped on the screen and the squeezee is

mechanized

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Rotary screen printing

– Productivity is very high since the printing is done

continuously and not intermittently

– Uses cylindrical screens which are composed of nickel

mesh

– Each rotary screen is positioned across the fabric and is

independently driven at one end

– As the screen rotates, it is fed internally with print

paste

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• The print paste is forced through the open mesh areas by a
stationary squeeze at the base of the screen and on to the
fabric being carried beneath by the continuously moving
conveyor

• Intricate patterns can be printed on screen printing

machine and the down time is low; replacing the roller
printing

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
NIFT Hyderabad
Print paste application in rotary Rotary screen printing with muti
screen printing machine screen for multi colours

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Print Fixation
Techniques
Flock
Warp
Burnt out
Duplex

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Flock Printing

– It is a technique of adhering minute pieces of fibre,

called flock, to form designs on fabric

– Using a suitable adhesive (instead of dye), a design is

roller printed on the fabric

– The, flock of cotton, wool, viscose rayon, nylon or acrylic

is applied to produce a pile like, velvet textured design

– The flock is usually a coloured fibre, to impart

decorative appeal

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Flock Printing
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
NIFT Hyderabad
• Warp Printing

– It involves printing of the warp yarns of a fabric before

they are placed on the loom for weaving

– Fabric is woven with solid colour weft, usually white, but

sometimes one that contrasts with the warp print

– The result is a soft, shadowed & blurred design on the

fabric

– Producing warp prints requires careful, meticulous labour

• These prints are therefore found on high quality fabric and
costly fabric

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Warp prints can be identified by unravelling both warp and
weft from the fabric

• The colour of the design will be on the warp yarn only

• The weft will be in white or in solid colour

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Burnt out Print

– Printing with a chemical substance that destroy the

fibre in the pattern design print area

– A hole in the fabric result where the chemical made

contact with the fabric

– These are used for low cost summer blouses and in the
cotton lingerie trim

– The edges of the holes in the burnt out prints are

subject to premature fraying
• Therefore cannot be used for prolonged wear

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Another burnt-out printed fabric can be made from blended
yarns

– The burnt out destroy one fibre and the other remain
intact

– For example; in case of polyester/ rayon blended fabric

• Burnt out printing is done with the rayon portion
• Rayon portion disappears
• Polyester portion remains undamaged
• Gauge like print portion of polyester and the
unprinted portion of original polyester/rayon blend

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Duplex or Register Printing

– Fabric is passed through a roller printing machine in a

single operation or in two separate and distinct
operations

– Both sides of the fabric are printed with the same or

with different design or colour

– The end uses are limited but include reversible sheeting,

table covers, reversible jackets and vests

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Engineered Printing

– This kind of prints have two or more distinct designs,

each located in separate areas of the fabric and each
design is to become a specific part of the garment

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Blotch Printing

– In this kind of printing technique the background colour

has been created by printing rather than dyeing

– It is a special variety of direct printing where the ground

and pattern design colours are printed onto a white cloth,
usually in one printing operation

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 HALF - TONE
• It is a gradual shading from light to dark in the same colour
of a pattern

• Produced by gradual increasing or decreasing

– Copper engraving in roller printing
– Density of screen perforations in screen printing

• Hand screen, automatic flat screen, heat transfer cannot

produce halftones
– Technology to vary the density of
screen has not developed

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
PRINTING PROCESS

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 PRINTING PROCESS

Preparation of printing paste

Printing of fabric

Drying

Fixing of Dyestuff

Washing Off
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
NIFT Hyderabad
 DRYING

• Why drying is required?

– To retain a good printed mark
– Prevent printed goods from marking off

• Rate of drying is very important

– Bleeding occurs if the drying rate is too slow
– Chance of over drying if the drying rate is too high
– To avoid bleeding high solid thickening can be used
• Brittle films are formed after drying

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 FIXATION
Baking (Dry heat)

Wet Development

Pad – batch development

Pressure Steaming

High Temperature steaming

Normal Steaming
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
NIFT Hyderabad
 Baking (Dry heat)

• This is used for pigment printing

• Also known as curing

• The fabric is treated at high temperature at

around 140 – 1800C

• The pigment fixes on the fabric with the help of

the binders

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Wet Development

• Mainly used for reactive dye fixation

• The printed and dried fabric is passed through a

soaper containing alkali

• The alkali fixes the dye on the fibre

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Pad – batch development

• This is used for reactive dye fixation

• Alkali liberating agent is padded and the fabric is

kept in batch form

• The reactive dye slowly get fixed on the fabric as

per as the design

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Pressure Steaming

• Steam is used under pressure

• Steam accompanied with pressure accelerates the

fixation process

• Mainly used for printing of polyester with

disperse dye

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 High Temperature Steaming

• High temperature steam is used for rapid dye

fixation

• The temperature goes upto 180 – 2000C

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Normal Steaming

• Steaming treatment is carried out at, or only very

slightly above atmospheric temperatures at 1000C

• Production rate is lower

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
FUNCTION OF STEAMING OPERATION
• During printing the following happens

– The printed areas absorb moisture

– Form a concentrated dyebath from which the dyeing of

fibres takes place

•The function of thickening agent during this operation is to

prevent bleeding

•If the steam is too moist or the printing paste contains too large
quantity of hydroscopic agent, bleeding occurs

•If the steam is too dry, theDr.

dyestuff does not fix satisfactorily
Prithwiraj Mal
NIFT Hyderabad
 WASHING OFF
• Last stage of printing operation

• Printed goods are rinsed with cold water

• Removes thickening chemicals and surplus unfixed dyestuff

• A soaping treatment usually follows

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
PREPARATION OF
SCREEN

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 PROCESS
Coating of screen with sensitising agent in dark

Drying at room temperature in dark

Preparation of design

Exposing the screen in light with the design in between

Hardening of the exposed area in light

Washing of unexposed area (design) with cold water

Drying
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
NIFT Hyderabad
Printing with Reactive
Dyes, Vat Dyes, Acid
Dye

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
PRINTING WITH REACTIVE DYE

• Reactive dyes are mainly used for cellulosic fibres

• Forms a co-valent bond with the fibre in presence of alkali

• Mainly “Procian dyestuffs” are used for printing of

cellulosic fibres like cotton and rayon

• The linkage of “Procian” dyes with the fibre takes place in

the presence of alkali and under influence of heat

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Reaction mechanism
• “Procian” dye is dissolved in water with the assistance of
urea, and the solution obtained is mixed with suitable
thickening

• Alkali is applied incorporated in the printing paste

• Fixation takes place through steaming

• After fixation the prints are given a final washing-off

treatment

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Choice of Thickening agent

– Because of reactive nature of “Procian” dye, correct

choice of thickening agent is essential

– Also, thickener should be neutral in reaction as acidity

can adversely affect the fixation of the dyestuff

– Sodium aliginate is most suitable thickening agent for

“Procian’ dye

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 PRINTING RECIPE
Procian Dye 50 parts
Urea 50 – 200 parts
Water 490 – 240 parts
Thickening
• (Sodium Aliginate) 350 parts
Resist Salt 10 parts
Alkali 25 parts
• (Sodium carbonate
or bicarbonate)
• Perminal KB 10 – 20 parts

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Function of the Chemicals
• “Procian Dye” – Colouring material
• Urea – Hydroscopic agent
• Water – Helps in making dye paste
• Sodium Aliginate – Acts as thickener
• Resist Salt – Controls the migration of dye to avoid
spreading of dye to produce “haloing”
• Alkali – Helps dye forming bond with the fibre (helps in
fixation of dye)
• Perminal KB – Acts as anti-foaming agent

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Preparation of Printing Paste

• Prepare a stock thickening containing all the auxiliary

products required for fixation of the “Procian” dye

• Then sprinkle the dye powder on to the stock thickening

agitated by a high-speed stirrer

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Development / Fixation
• Steaming

– After printing and drying, the goods are steamed

– The use of air-free steam is not essential, but the

presence of acidic or reducing fumes in the steamer is
to be avoided

– After steaming the goods must be washed off

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 PRINTING WITH VAT
DYE
• Vat dyes are insoluble in water

• They are treated with reducing agent and alkali to become

soluble

• Soluble dye is absorbed by textile fibre

• Subsequent oxidation is done which will make the dye

insoluble again and will be retained in the molecular
structure of the fibre

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Printing Recipe
‘Calendone’ or ‘Durindone’ 5 to 150 parts
Cold water 195 to 50 parts
Stock Thickening 800 parts
[ Sodium carbonate
Formosul
Glycerine
British Gum or Gam Tragacanth]

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Function of the Chemicals
‘Calendone’ or ‘Durindone’ – Colouring material i.e. vat dye
Cold water - Helps in making dye paste
Stock Thickening
[ Sodium carbonate - Alkali
Formosul – Reducing Agent
Glycerine – Hydroscopic agent ( Urea can also be used)
British gum or Gum Tragacanth - Thickener

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Preparation of Printing
Paste
• Mix the dye stuff with small proportion of thickening and
cold water that does not contain alkali or reducing agent

• Add this mixture slowly with constant stirring to a specially

prepared thickening in which alkali & reducing agent has
been incorporated

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Fixation
• The substrate is printed, dried and steamed for 5 to 10
minutes at 1000C. The steam should be air free steam.

• The substrate is oxidised in a solution of sodium di-

chromate or sodium perborate together with little acetic
acid for 5 min

• The substrate is treated with soap solution near to boil for

5 – 10 min

• Followed by rinsing and drying

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 PRINTING WITH ACID
DYE
• Acid dyes are mainly used for printing wool, silk

• The dye is used in acidic medium

• With protein fibres it forms an ionic linkage

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Selection of thickener agent

– The thickener agents used for printing both wool and

natural silk should be readily removable from the fabric

– The thickener should not react with the acid dye i.e it
should not contain any amide group in it

– It should be stable in acidic condition

– Sodium aliginate, gum tragacanth and other natural gums

can be used

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Printing Recipe
Acid dye 5 – 30 parts
Salt (when required) 20 parts
Glycerine 50 – 75 parts
Hotwater 235 to 185 parts
Thickener 600 parts
Perminal KB 20 parts
Ammonium Oxalate 20 parts
Hot water 50 parts

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Function of the Chemicals
• Acid dye: It is used as colouring material
• Salt: It is used as resist salt to avoid haloing affect
• Glycerine: It is used as hygroscopic agent
• Hotwater: It is used to make a dye paste
• Thickener: Gum Tragacanth or sodium Aliginate can be used
to increase the viscosity
• Perminal KB: Used as anti-foaming agent
• Ammonium Oxalate: Acid liberating salt

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Preparation of Printing
Paste
• Dyestuff are pasted with the salt solution, glycerine and
hot water

• The mixture, which may be boiled if necessary to ensure

complete solution, is added to thickening in which ‘Perminal’
KB and a solution of ammonium oxalate in hot water have
been incorporated

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Fixation
• After printing, the goods are dried and then steamed for
45 – 60 minutes at 1000C

• It has been observed that the result is best for wool

printing when steaming is done with moist steam

• If steam dries out during steaming, unlevel print will be

obtained

• After steaming both wool and silk should be thoroughly

rinsed in cold water, followed by a soap solution washing by
Lissapol ND and hot & cold wash respectively

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Printing with Pigment
& disperse dyes

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 PIGMENT PRINTING
• Pigments are insoluble

• They do not form any kind of bonds with the fibre

• Therefore, a binder is require which can bind the pigment

to the fibre

• There will be no penetration of the pigment into the fibre

and the fastness of the final print depends upon the extend
to which the resin binds the fibres and the pigments

• Therefore could be used for any fibres

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
NIFT Hyderabad
• A medium is required where the pigments and synthetic
resins are incorporated for the printing paste preparation

• The medium is an emulsion of oil in water where water

forms a continuous phase and oil is dispersed on it

• The oil (mainly white spirit) is used for dissolving the

pigments

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Apart from the pigment a ‘stock thickening’ is
required which includes all the necessary
ingredients except the pigment
– A binder or fixer
– An acid liberating salt (ammonium nitrate)
– Softening agent

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Printing with ‘Acramin’ Pigments
• A printing paste of “Acramin” pigment is prepared

‘Acramin’ 1 – 100 parts

Stock emulsion 9 – 900 parts(9 times the
pigment amount)
Reduction emulsion 990 – 0 part

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
Prepare a mixture consisting of Reduction Stock
Emulsion Emulsion
‘Acramin’ LC 60 – 80 parts 300 parts
Emulsifier 3240 20 parts 20 parts
Thickening agent (3 -4 %) 40 parts 40 parts
Water x part x part
Diammonium phosphate 20 – 30 parts 20 – 30 parts
Urea 0 – 10 parts 0 – 25 parts
‘Acrafix’ M 10 parts 10 parts
Emulsify using a high
speed stirrer, then add slowly
White Spirit 600 – 650 parts 500 – 550
parts
 Print made on the basis on these recipes would be fixed by
curing for 10 minutes at 1400C
Sodium Aliginate can be used as thickener
When the ‘Acramin’ dye strength upto 4 parts / 1000parts, only reduction
emulsion can be used
Dr. Prithwiraj
Addition of ‘Acrafix’ M is made depending upon Malthe depth of shade
NIFT Hyderabad
 DISPERSE PRINTING
• Disperse dyes are mainly used on hydrophobic fibres like
polyester

• Polyester can be printed with ‘Dispersol’ or ‘Duranol’ dyes

• Dye can be either of the four fixation techniques

– Atmospheric steaming
– Pressure steaming
– High temperature steaming
– Dry heat fixing

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 RECIPE
10 – 100 parts ‘Dispersol’ or ‘Duranol
are dispersed in
360 – 270 parts Water.
The dispersion is stirred into
600 parts thickener containing
previously dissolved
10 parts Resist salt L and
20 parts ‘Perminal’ KB

The thickener should be made slightly acidic with acetic

acid to avoid any possibility of aggregating the disperse dye
pastes

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
 Dye fixation
• Atmospheric steaming

– Fixation occurs at normal atmospheric pressure

– ‘Carrier’ is required to add in the printing paste which

assist migration of dye particles to the fibres
(parahydroxydiphenyl)

– Steaming should be done for 60 minutes

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Pressure steaming
– High pressure is used (20 lbf/sq. inch)
– No ‘carrier’ is required
– Time required 30 minutes

• High temperature steaming

– Used superheated steam
– Dye paste should contain urea
– Temperature required : 1800C
– Time required: 1 min

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad
• Dry heat fixation

– Requires high temperature (1800C)

– Time required is less (120 secs)

– Tendency of polyester fibre to shrink

– Stenter is to be used

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NIFT Hyderabad