Textiles Finishing

INTRODUCTION
• Dyeing and printing is not the ultimate steps

• Something is required to make the fabric more suitable

for end-use

• Quality of the fabric in terms of appearance, handle,

functionally enhanced by some physical means or by
chemicals

• Therefore, ultimate value addition is done to the fabric

by finishing
 What is finishing ??????
• Finishing is a final process given to textile material to
 Give a good appearance
• Crease Free

 Desirable feel
• Stiffness
• Softness

 Impart certain durable properties

• Durability in wash and wear

– To impart some desired functional properties

• Water Repellence
• Fire Proofing.
 Classification of finishing
• Classification according to degree of permanence

According to degree of permanence

Permanent Finish

Durable Finish

Semi - Durable
Finish

Temporary Finish
 Definitions
• Temporary finish: Are removed or substantially
diminished the first time the article is laundered or dry-
cleaned
• Permanent Finish: Usually involve a chemical change in
fibre structure and do not change or alter through out the
life of the fabric
• Durable finish: Usually last through the life of the article,
but effectiveness becomes diminished after each cleaning;
and near the end of the normal use life of the article, the
finish is nearly removed
• Semi-durable finish: Last through several laundering or
dry-cleanings and many are renewable in home
laundering or dry-cleaning
• Physical or Mechanical Finish
Such finishes involve specific physical treatment to a fabric
surface to cause a change in the fabric appearance, Also
known as dry finish

• In Chemical Finish
In such finishes chemicals are used followed by curing or
drying, Also known as wet finish

• Aesthetic Finish
These finishes modify the appearance and / or hand or drape
of fabrics
• Functional Finish
These finishes improve the performance properties of fabrics
 Classification of finishing
• Classification according to performance
According to Performance

Aesthetic Finish– Improved / Altered Functional Finish– Improved / Altered

Appearance Performance
1. Compacting 1. Antiseptic
2. Calendering 2. Antistatic
3. Fulling 3. Crease resistant
4. Mercerization 4. Durable press
5. Raising/Napping and sueding 5. Flame resistant
6. Plisse 6. Mothproofed
7. Shearing 7. Shrinkage control
8. Corduroy Cutting 8. Soil release
9. Water and stain repellent
10. Waterproof
 According to the nature of Finish

Physical or Mechanical Finish 1. Mercerization

1) Shrinkage Control (Over feeding- 2. Water Proof/Repellant
Sanforizing-Rigmel- Confined Passage) 3. Easy care/Crease resistant/Durable
2) Calendering Press finish
3) Raising/Emerizing/Napping/Sueding 4. Flame Resistant
4) Shearing 5. Soil Release
5) Softening 6. Softening
6) Corduroy Cutting 7. Stiffening
8. Antistatic
9. Fulling
10. Plisse
11. SeerSucker
12. Antimicrobial/Antiseptic
13. Garment washing
 Raising (Napping)
• The mechanical finish in which fibres being raised
from woven/knitted fabrics by rotating teasels, wire
covered brushes. The fibres plugged on the fabric
surface in the piled form.
• Overall effect is a raised fibres from fabric surface
with softer hand feel, better insulation properties due
to more air trap.
• Effects on fabric properties:
– Soft feel and fuller appearance
– More absorbent
– Warmth feel
– Increase dye ability
– Subdued weave and intermixing of color in printing
– Decrease in strength
– Subject to pilling due rapid rubbing at abrasive
points (like sleeve ends, elbows, button holes etc.)
• Mainly used as blankets, winter clothing, further
examples are cotton flannel, rayon flannel, woolen and
worsted napped fabric.
• Raising Stages:

– Gray fabric: Its not recommended due proceedings

process of pretreatment.

– Before dyeing: possibility of shade variation

– After dyeing & printing: (In practice) shade become

light after fabric surface damage.

– After finishing: Disadvantage of shade variation.

However, if the all other parameter in controlled
than high quality raising can achieved.
• Requirements for Raising

– Fabric should be soft, as hard fabric can damage

the wire that can become a cause of
unnecessary breakage and poor quality raising.
– Fabric should be moist for softness purpose.
– Fabric should be crease free to avoid incomplete
surface raising.
– Single action raising
– Double action raising
 Raising (napping) machine
1: Roller; 2: Rollers equipped with hooks;
3: Fabric;4: Nib cleaning brushes;5: Fabric tension adjustment

Raising (single action)

Raising the face and back of the fabric

 Emerizing, Peaching, Microsanding, Sueding
• It is a mechanical finish similar to raising and
produces a slight soft surface fabric
• High quality “Sand paper” like material is used
instead of wire covered rotating cylinder.
• Increase the number of emery paper, higher
the grade of emerizing
• Fine the emery paper and finer will be the
quality of emerizing effect.
• Washing with addition of a softener before
emerizing process.
Peaching Machine
 Shearing
• A process to used to cut off surface fibers on
fabrics

• Uniforms the surface of napped fabrics to

provide uniform pile height

• High-speed cutting machine cuts the piles similar

to that of a lawn mower

• The blades in the machine are stationary and the

fabric moves through the cutting blade
Fabric Shearing Machine
Shrinkage Control
(Dimension Stabilization)
COMPACTING - SHRINKPROOFING
• Shrinkage means reduction in length or width of
fabric. Residual shrinkage is shrinkage ability of fabric
after initial shrinkage.

• Controlled residual shrinkage is an important quality

parameter for many fabrics. For example, excessive
shrinkage is undesirable for fabrics to be made into
garments.

• Here, the residual shrinkage should be less than 2%

otherwise the garment will not fit after it is
laundered.
 Why Fabrics Shrink ???
1. Stretching/Tension.
2. Swelling of fibres

Factors effecting:
• Count/Yarn Thickness
• Fibre Type
• Fabric Construction
• Laundering/Process temperature
• Twist:
Low twist, low shrinkage
No twist, no shrinkage
High twist, high shrinkage
Warp shrinkage is more because of?
 Shrink Controlling Method
1. Conventional Methods
• By washing 2-3 times and relax dry
• By wetting overnight and relax dry
2. Compressive Method
• Over feeding then Heat Set (Stenter)
• Sanforizing
• Rigmel
• Confined Passage
3. Chemical treatment
 Over feeding-Heat Setting
• Stenter machine is used for this purpose, Fabric is
over feeded, heated and then cool done in relax
conditions.
1. By swelling
• Saturated steaming
• Dry steaming
• Super heated steaming
2. With out swelling
• Hot air
• Infrared radiation
• Contact of heated roller
 Sanforizer
• The term Sanforized, is their registered trademark and is
used to market fabrics that meet certain shrinkage
specifications. The term Sanforized is now generally
accepted to mean a fabric that has low residual shrinkage
and the term Sanforizing is used to describe shrink
proofing processes.
 Sanforizing Process
• The process, consists of arrange where the fabric is first
moistened with steam, to make it more pliable, run through
a short tenter frame (pup tenter) to straighten and smooth
out wrinkles, through the compressive shrinkage head and
then through a Palmer drying unit to set the fabric.
 Compactor head
• Mechanical compacting is one method of
reducing residual shrinkage. The process
forces yarns closer together and the fabric
becomes thicker and heavier. As a result of
this, the net yardage yield is reduced.
• The key to any compactor is the head where
force is applied to move parallel yarns closer
together. More fabric must be fed in than is
taken off.
 Compactor head
• A Sanforizer uses a thick rubber blanket running
against a steam heated cylinder as the compacting
force. The thick rubber blanket first goes over a
smaller diameter roll which stretches the convex
surface of the blanket.
 Rigmel Method of Compressive Shrinkage
• Since the fabric is not elastic, an extra length of fabric is
pushed between the rubber blanket and the heated cylinder.
Friction between the rubber blanket and steel drum force
adjacent yarns to move closer together until the unit length of
fabric become equal to the unit length of rubber blanket it
rests on. The blanket is cooled by spraying water on it after
the fabric exits from the unit. HEATED
PLATE
CLOTH SHRUNK BY ACTION OF
RUBBER BLANKET

CLOTH

ROLLER

CANVAS
FOUNDATION

RUBBER

DIAGRAM OF RIGMEL METHOD OF COMPRESSIVE SHRINKAGE

 Chemical treatment of Shrinkage Control

Resin application up to 3%
Temperature 160-180 Dg cc
That will form an elastic layer on fabric
surface that will not allowed fabric to shrink.
Laundering Shrinkage of some fabric
Normal dressing 4-7%
White uniforms 6-8%
Overalls/coats 6-12%
Semi Stiff collar 6-8%
Popplin Shirts 3-7%
Furnishing cloth 6-16%
 Advantages of Shrinkage Control
Cloth become slightly thicker and fuller
Slight less luster
Limited shrinkage/Controlled residual
shrinkage 1-2%
 Softening
• Required for more pleasant hand and better drapability

• Fabrics are harsher and stiffer because of their

construction or due to some prior finishing process

• Softening can be done by either mechanical or

chemical process

• Simple calendering produce softens handle, but it is

temporary
Calendering
 Objects of Calendering
• To improve the fabric smooth hand feel and
appearance
• To impart a smooth silky touch and spun silk effect
• To compress the fabric and reduce its thickness
• To reduce the air permeability by closing the threads
• To increase the luster
• Surface patterning by embossing
 CALENDERING
• Calendering is a process where fabric is compressed
by passing it between two or more rollers under
controlled conditions of time, temperature and
pressure and used to produces different types of
surface appearance
1. Simple or Universal calendering
2. Glazed or friction calendering
3. Embossed calendering
4. Schreiner calendering
5. Moiré calendering
 1. Universal Calendering
• Its high speed, high pressure pressing of fabric (100
yds / min)
• The high pressure flattens the yarn
– Smoothen the fabric
– Increases fabric lustre (fabric cover increases and
more light is reflected)
• Over-calendering however is to be avoided
– Yarns weakened out due to very high pressure
• It is a temporary finish
– Yarns return to its natural cross section after first
laundering
UNIVERSAL CALENDERING
 2. GLAZED CALENDERING
• It is a calendering finish to
produce highly glazed /
shined polished cotton
• The machine used is a
friction calender
– One cylinder of highly
polished steel cylinder
rotating at speed much
higher than the fabric
passing through it
 2. GLAZED CALENDERING
• Fabrics are first treated with starches or resins before
calendering
– The spaces between the yarns are thus filled up and
glazed appearance is obtained
• Glazed calendering using starch are semi-durable
• Glazed calendering using resins are durable
 3. Embossed calendering
• It is a calendering in which a three-
dimensional design is created on a
fabric
• This is done on a special embossing
calender in which the roller cylinder
is engraved with the embossing
design
• The pattern is then pushed or shaped
into the cloth when the fabric passes
between the rollers
• Some embossed fabrics are made to
copy more costly woven jacquard or
dobby designs
• Embossed patterns of fabrics treated with
resins and cured after embossing are durable

• Embossing of fabrics of thermoplastic fibres

are permanent because the heated metal roll
heat-sets the design
 4. Schreiner calendering
• Schreiner calendering produces a low, soft-key
lustre on the fabric surface
• Distinct from the high glaze of the glazing calender
or the lustre shine of the simple calender
• To produce this effect, one of the steel cylinders of
the calender is embossed with fine diagonal lines.
These embossing are visible with naked eye
 4. Schreiner calendering
• Widely used on cotton & cotton/polyester sateen
• Schreiner calendering finish
– permanent if the fibre is thermoplastic
– durable if the fabric is resin treated but not cured
 5. Moiré calendering
• The moiré finish produces a wood-grain design on
the face size of the fabric
 Methods of producing moiŕe

• Using engraved cylinder

– In this case engraved roller is used on the calender roller
• Using smooth calender rollers
– Two fabrics, each face to face, are fed through the
calender
• Moiré finish can be temporary, durable or permanent
– Cotton or rayon moiré finish is temporary without
pretreatment with resin
– Durable moiré finish requires initial resin treatment
followed by calendering
– Moiré finish on thermoplastic fiber fabrics are permanent
if a heated roller is used for calendering