WPE 301: Textile Coloration-I (Part B)/

WPE 311: WP-II Wet Processing-II (Part A)

Introduction to Textile Printing

Dr. Md. Rashedul Islam, CText FTI
Associate Professor
Department of Wet Process Engineering
Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX)
E-mail: [email protected]
Textile Printing:
• The term “Textile printing” means the localized application of dyes or pigments
and chemicals by any method which can produce particular effect of color on the
fabric according to the design.

• Textile printing is the most versatile and important of the methods used for
introducing color and design to textile fabrics.

• Considered analytically it is a process of bringing

together a design idea, one or more colorants, and a
textile substrate (usually a fabric), using a technique for
applying the colorants with some precision.

• This is usually achieved by applying thickened pastes

containing dyes or pigments onto a fabric surface
according to a given colour design.
Dyeing versus Printing:
Dyeing Printing
Thorough coloration Localized application of dyes/pigments on the
fabric according design
Dyes/pigments applied in the form of Dyes/pigments applied in the form of thick
solution/dispersion paste
Usually any form of textile (fibre, yarn Usually, only fabric is printed
and/or fabric) could be dyed
Generally, a single color (hue) is dyed One/or more colors can be printed on a fabric
There is no use of thickener Thickener is used to increase the viscosity of the
print paste
Time consuming process Shorter duration is enough
The use of water is very high Comparatively less amount of water is utilized
Steaming is not required Steaming is required for fixation
Steps involved in Textile Printing:
Grey textiles (Raw materials)
↓
Preparation of textile materials (singeing, de-sizing , scouring, bleaching etc.)

Preparation of printing paste

Printing of textiles with a certain style and method

Drying of the printed fabric (in the drier)

Steaming of the printed fabric (to transfer dye into fibre, 100-1020 C, 15 min)

After treatment (Soaping or washing)
Preparation of the Textile Materials:

• Inspection: Neps, warp end breakage, weft end breakage, hole, spot etc.
• Stitching: Stitch together the smaller length of fabric to prepare a larger length
of fabric.
• Singeing: Removal of the protruding or floating fibre from textiles.
• De-sizing: Removal of the size material.
• Scouring: Alkali (NaOH, Na2CO3) treatment to increasing the absorbency of
fabric.
• Bleaching: To impart a permanent white to the textiles.
• Mercerizing: To increase the lusture of fabric.
1. Colorants used for Printing
There are two categories of colorants – dyes and pigments.

Dyes
• Most classes of dyes can be used in printing.
• The choice depends on the kind of fabric used. For instance, reactive and vat is used
for cellulosic fibres, acid dyes for wool and nylon, disperse dyes for synthetics.
• Incidentally, the nature of dye-fibre interaction and bonding process is the same in
both printing and dyeing and only the method of dye application differs.

Pigments
• Pigment colors are extensively used by printers compared to dyes. Worldwide 45-
60% of textile printing is done using pigments.
• Pigments are insoluble colorants with very little attraction or affinity for textile
fibres. Therefore they are applied to fabric with resin or binder.
The popularity of pigment printing has dramatically increased due to the following
reasons:

• Pigments can be applied to almost all fibres/fibre blends.

• Simple processing; no complicated or expensive equipment required.
• No after wash required so less usage of water.
• Pigments have much better clarity and brightness than dyes and have a wide range as-
well; good end use properties.

Moreover it is found that,

• Pigment based inks adhere well to the surface of the fabric unlike dye-based ink.
• Pretreatment of fabric with chemicals is required for dye-based ink which has to be
removed after printing and fixation by washing. For pigment-based ink, neither
chemicals nor washing are required.
• Pigment based inks are environment friendly, unlike dye-based inks which requires
solvents to dissolve the colorants.
• Pigments are preferred even for digital printing.
Printing Ingredients
We can print fabric by using both dyes & pigments. Due to many advantages, now – a –
days pigment based printing is becoming popular. We will discuss on both types of printing
procedure.

a) Dye Based Printing Paste

In general, a dye based printing paste consists of:
1. Dye stuff
2. Other auxiliary substances
• Wetting agent
• Solvent
• Thickener
• De-foaming agents
• Oxidizing agent and reducing agent
• Mild oxygen carriers
• Carrier and swelling agent
• Miscellaneous
The auxiliary substances are selected according to the dye used for printing and the style of
printing.

Ingredients Functions
Dye Stuff Depending upon the fibre to be printed dye stuff is selected, e.g. reactive
and Vat for cellulosic, acid for silk.
Wetting agent Wetting agents or hygroscopic agents are added to provide adequate
water medium to dissolve the dye, e.g. TRO, Urea and Glycerin.
Solvents Solution To prevent aggregation of dye stuff in highly concentrated paste.
(dispersing agents)
Thickener It is used mainly to give viscosity to print paste. Printing paste must
have a certain thickness to hold the dye particle on the fabric until it is
transferred onto the fibre and the fixation is complete. There are mainly
two types of thickeners:
• Natural – starch (cereals), gums (roots of locust bean or seaweed)
• Synthethic – British gum, Gum Indalca and acrylic polymers
 Ingredients Functions
De-foaming agent Due to presence of wetting agent and continuous agitation, foams
are produced which leads to defects in printing. Silicon and pine
oils are used as de-foaming agents
Oxidizing and During steaming mild oxidizing agents are used to avoid facing or
reducing agent scumming of the ground. For vat dye, reducing agents are added.
Catalyst and Oxygen To accelerate development of colors, catalysts, such as, acids or
Carrier alkalis are used (depending on the kind of dye and printing style).
• Acids are used for discharge style of printing
• Alkalis are used for fixation of reactive colors
Carriers and Swelling These are used to swell the fibres so that the dye molecules diffuse
agents inside them to help in fixing the print. For polyester fibres,
however, certain hydrocarbons and their derivatives are used.
Miscellaneous Certain chemicals are used for certain kinds of printing, e.g. Ti02 in
Chemicals Resist printing.
b) Pigment Based Printing Paste

The basic ingredients in general in a pigment based paste are as given below:
1. Pigments
2. Other auxiliary substances
• Thickeners
• Binders
• Lubricant
• Fixer
• Softeners
Ingredients Functions
Pigments Pigments are insoluble particles and they are of two types – Organic pigment
& inorganic pigment. The average particle size of pigments ranges between
0.1 –3 microns.
Thickeners To provide printable viscosity for color formation, thickeners, such as,
kerosene/spirit were normally used. Today, however, a water based synthetic
thickener has replaced kerosene.
 Ingredients Functions
Binders The selection of binder is very important as pigments do not have a natural
affinity for fibres. The binder forms a 3D network with fibre and traps the
pigments in between. The cross linking of binder takes place at high
temperature (between 150° C- 180°C) but today to cut costs it is carried out
at 120° C to save heat energy. Acramin, Acron, are some of common binders
available in the market.
Lubricant It provides soluble, protective and lubricant printing paste which gives
constant motion without chocking the printing screen. Traditionally Urea is
used as lubricating agent or hygroscopic agent.
Fixer Pigments have all round good fastness except rubbing, hence, fixers are used
to improve rubbing fastness.
Softeners It is used for pliability of print which gives soft handle to fabric.

The selection of appropriate auxiliaries in printing is very important for: color yield,
fastness, clarity of prints
 Preparation of Print Paste
The print paste may contain one or more of the previous ingredients. A typical print paste
may be prepared by the following combination.
Ingredients Amount
Dyes/Pigments 1 – 10 %
Thickeners 60 – 80 %
Chemicals 5 – 10 %
Auxiliaries 1–5%
Water 20 – 30 %
Etc. 0–1%
Total 100%

First, the required thickener paste is made prior to prepare printing paste. Then the
thickener is added to colorants solution (i.e. with chemicals & auxiliaries) and mixed well to
prepare printing paste. Generally, the weight of print paste is calculated on the basis of 1 kg.
Thickener:
• Thickeners are adhesive substances used in making viscous printing pastes in water.
Thickener is used to impart stickiness & plasticity to the printing paste so that it can
be applied on the fabric surface without spreading & bleeding and be capable of
maintaining the design outlines under high pressure.

• Thickeners are very important ingredients of print paste. Almost 60-70% weight of
total print paste is possessed by thickeners. So, the appropriate selection of suitable
thickener for specific material is very important.

The main objectives beyond this are

1. To hold the dye molecules in particular portion
2. To maintain plasticity or to give required viscosity to the print paste
3. To prevent spreading & bleeding of the print paste.
Classification of Thickener
Qualities of Good Thickener
1. The thickener must be stable and compatible with the dyes & auxiliaries to be used.
2. It should have certain physical & chemical properties such as viscosity, flow
properties, ability to wet & adhere.
3. The thickener film should dry properly on the fabric to prevent bleeding of the color
by capillary action beyond the boundaries of the design (to ensure print sharpness).
4. The thickener should not have affinity for the dyes or chemicals.
5. Once the dye is transferred from the thickener film (during steaming), the removal of
the exhausted thickener should be easy.
6. The thickener should be cheap & available in abundance.
Considering points for selecting Thickener
Following points should be considered for the selection of thickener.
• Stability
• Should have certain physical & chemical properties
• Compatible with dyes & auxiliaries to be used
• Properties of dried thickener film
• Proper extraction of water during steaming
• No affinity to dye or no keeping of dyes from fabric
• Should have control over free water pickup & not carry the dye beyond impression
• Ease of preparation & removal
• Cheap/Economical & also available.
Preparation of thickener paste (e.g. wheat starch)

Wheat starch is the widely used starch. It gives a good workable paste with good
keeping qualities & may be used either alone or in combination with other thickening
agents like gum tragacanth. Wheat starch (10 – 12 %) forms a paste having thick
consistency & allowing the dyes to penetrate into the fabric.

• In the preparation of a 10% stock paste, 100 gm of the starch is stirred up with cold
water into smooth slurry followed by 4 ml of castor oil & 996 ml of water.
• It is boiled with continuous stirring until a thick paste is obtained when the boiling
is stopped and the paste is cooled with stirring.
Styles of printing

The various processes by which fabrics are printed with different types of
chemicals are meant the styles of printing. There are various styles of printing
available among which following are the most important.

1. Direct style
2. Discharge style
3. Resist style

Moreover, Dyed style, Raised style, azoic style etc. are also available. Now we will
briefly discuss about these basic three styles of printing.
Methods of printing:
The following methods can be applied for textile printing operation:
1. Block printing
i) Hand block
ii)Machine block
2. Engraved roller printing
3. Screen printing
i) Hand screen
ii)Flat screen
iii)Rotary screen
4. Stencil printing
5. Transfer printing
i) Flat-bed press transfer printing
ii)Continuous transfer printing
iii)Vacuum transfer printing
6. Flock printing
7. Burn-out printing
8. Digital Printing (e.g. Ink-jet printing), etc.
Drying the printed fabric
After printing the fabric, the paste is dried to prevent accidental bleeding of the print design and
color migration. At this point, depending on the printing plant layout, the printed fabric may
immediately go through the fixation process, or it may be held to go to fixation later. The type of
colorant and production issues with the printing operation dictates the choice.

Fixation of the printed dye or pigment

The next step is fixation of the print color.
• For dyes, fixation normally incorporates an atmospheric steamer with specified moisture
content and a nominal temperature of 212°F (100°C). With certain dyes, an auxiliary
chemical may be necessary as an extra additive to the print paste. For example, for complete
fixation, reactive dyes require additional alkali. In case of vat dyes, reducing agents are
necessary.
• For pigments on all fibers and disperse dyes for polyester or nylon, only high temperatures
are necessary.
• The fixation equipment used can be a dry heat oven or super-heated steam. The key issue is reaching
temperatures of approximately 350°F (177°C) to cure a synthetic pigment binder and as high as 400°F
(205°C) for disperse dyes.
The type of steam used during the fixation process is important since this can influence the
duration of the fixation process. Steaming may be conducted by using:

▪ Saturated steam- Saturated steam is steam that contains droplets of water and the
temperature is typically 104 °C.
▪ Dry saturated steam- Dry saturated steam is steam that does not contain droplets of
liquid water.
▪ Superheated steam- Superheated steam is dry saturated steam that has been heated to
a higher temperature (between 130 and 160 °C) for the pressure involved.

• Regardless of the type of steam employed for the fixation process, the steam must
provide sufficient ‘water’ to swell the thickener film so that movement (diffusion)
of the dye is possible.
• The time and conditions for fixation in steam vary with the properties of the dyes and
fibres used, ranging from 10 s to 60 min in steam at 200 to 100⁰C. Technical and
economic factors have encouraged the use of higher temperatures and shorter times, and
the change from batchwise to continuous processes.
After wash
• In the case of dye prints, the printed fabric is thoroughly washed then dried after
fixation.
• This step is necessary to remove the thickener, alkali, and other ingredients of the
print paste left on the fabric surface after fixation.
• If not removed, these materials could interfere with subsequent finishing processes.
• Pigments are often printed on finished fabrics so the afterwash is not necessary.

Printing Defects
• During textile printing process, different types of defects occur in printed fabric. If you are
running an industry and managing printing section, then all you need is to consider these
defects that will distort the worth of your fabric.
• Printing defects may result from faulty or improper printing procedures, faulty or
improper preparation of fabric prior to printing or from imperfections in the material
being printed or to imperfections in the material itself.
The defects which occurred in printing process are given below:
1. Flushing/Wicking
2. Bleeding
3. Misfits
4. Stick-ins
5. Scrimps
6. Banding
7. Unwanted pigment marking on Fabric
8. Mottled
9. Crack or Miss Alignment in Transfer Printed Fabric
10. Printing Machine Stop
11. Color out
1. Flushing/Wicking:
Caused due to Low viscosity of print paste. It occurs when the printed area bleeds out into the
unprinted area. The result is a haloing or shadowing effect around the outline of the pattern
design.

2. Bleeding:
Caused due to Low viscosity of print paste. It is major defect as it happens throughout the fabric
unless the viscosity is corrected.

3. Misfits:
A misfit is a print defect caused by improper alignment of the screens. Also known as out of
registration, misfits leave unprinted areas in the design. For example, a green leaf may overlap its
black outline or print over another color.

4. Stick-ins:
A stick-in occurs when a small fiber or piece of lint gets stuck in the screen opening.
The result is a small unprinted circle in the design. A stick-in is very difficult to see and often goes
unnoticed during a long run.
5. Scrimps :
A scrimp defect occurs when the fabric creases underneath one of the screens during the printing
process. The pattern is then printed on top of the crease, leaving a large unprinted area when the
fabric returns to its relaxed state.
6. Banding:
Defect created by the print head’s movement over the substrate. Use of scanning print head, or a
print head that moves back and forth across the substrate in straight line placing drops of ink at
precise locations along the line.
If the head is not properly aligned, or if the substrate advances unevenly, the result is a slight
horizontal band or line of unprinted area.

7. Unwanted pigment marking on Fabric:

Caused due to screen has holes in it that should have been covered. This could be because of ageing
of the screen and eventual damage or just improper exposure to light.
8. Mottled :
Color applied unevenly during printing.

9. Crack or Miss Alignment in Transfer Printed Fabric :

Incomplete transfer of design from paper to fabric on transfer printing due to removal of transfer of
paper while the fabric was still hot.

10. Printing Machine Stop:

As a result of printing machine stop the dye sometimes is smudged along the width of the fabric.

11. Color out:

The result of color running low in reservoir on printing machine.
Thank You!
Any Questions?