Viscosity of different thickening agents in printing

paste and its importance

Presented by-
Adya Tiwari
Presented To-
Ph.D. previous
Dr. Sudha Babel
(Department of
TAD)
 Introduction

• A thickening agent or thickener is a substance which

can increase the viscosity of a liquid without
substantially changing its other properties.

• Thickeners can be added to dye to give it a good

consistency for painting. They are also popular in tie-
dyeing for improving the crispness of a design. The
use of a thickener may also increase the brightness
of colors by aiding in holding the dye in the fabric for
the dye reaction to occur.
 Types of thickeners

• Starch paste
• Starch paste is made from wheat starch, cold water,
and olive oil, then thickened by boiling. Non-
modified starch is applicable to all but strongly
alkaline or strongly acid colours.
• Flour paste
• Flour paste is made in a similar way to starch paste;
it is sometimes used to thicken aluminum and iron
mordants. Starch paste resists of rice flour have
been used for several centuries in Japan.
 Types of thickeners
Gum Arabic
• It is the original source of the sugars arabinose and
ribose, both of which were first discovered and isolated
from it.
• Gum arabic allows more precise control over washes,
because it prevents them from flowing or bleeding beyond
the brush stroke.
• In cosmetics, gum arabic functions as a stabilizer in lotions
and protective creams, where it increases viscosity, imparts
spreading properties, and provides a protective coating and
a smooth feel.
Guar gum
 Guar gum for textile printing plays a major role in printing
textiles.

 They are made of macromolecules and they are capable

of absorbing water to create a sticky paste adding color
value to the textile.
 Types of thickeners
• Gum tragacanth, or Dragon, which may be mixed in
any proportion with starch or flour, is equally useful
for pigment colours and mordant colours.

• Carboxy methyl tamarind is another textile

thickener which is a derivative of polysaccharide and
20 % ash content and 9 % moisture content. It is
multipurpose thickener that is helpful in numerous
applications for different types of materials such as
cotton or vat dying.

• British gum or dextrin is prepared by heating

starch. It varies considerably in composition
 Types of thickeners
Albumen
• Albumen is both a thickening and a fixing agent for
insoluble pigments. Chrome yellow, vermilion and
ultramarine are such pigments.

Alginate

Sodium alginate is the most popular of the dye thickeners.

Methyl Cellulose

Methyl cellulose is a thickener commonly used for marbling. The

water is thickened with methyl cellulose so that it will support
fabric paint which is floated on top of it.
 Types of thickeners
Aquathick
It is our Cold water range of textile thickener.
Aquathick is a special printing thickener having high
viscosity, more bright color, and low consumption of
powder, good penetration, high color yield and easily
washable and soft handle.

Printplus
It is our Hot water range of textile thickener.
Printplus which is a textile printing thickener
derivatives of Tamarind & similar galactomannans.
 Synthetic Thickeners
• Synthetic Thickening Agents for Pigment Printing
 Lutexal GP ECO
 Lutexal F-CE

• Synthetic Thickening Agents for Reactive Printing

 Lutexal F-RP

Merits and Demerits of Synthetic Thickener

Merits
• No air pollution
• No risk of fire and explosion
• No special storage requirements
• No fabric smell
Demerits
• Electrlyte sensitivity
• Slightly dull prints and harsh fabric feel
• Longer drying time
 Viscosity of thickeners
Viscosity of water is 1.79 mPa.s
Thickening agents Viscosity
mPa.s
Cream 1860
Homogenized cream 1860
Carboxymethyl cellulose 90
Xanthan 144
Mushroom (Galactomannan) 352
Leek (Galactomannan) 273
Leek (starch) 140

Thickening agents Viscosity mPa.s

Corn starch 950 B.U.
Rice starch 650 B.U.
Xanthan 144
 Natural Thickeners

• Viscosity Of Different Thickeners

1. Aloe vera gel thickener
Solutions of Gum Arabic below 40 %
Viscosity is decreased with the solution
of electrolytes.

A 20% aqueous solution will give less

than 100 cps;i.e Gum Arabic is not very
viscous at such concentration .high
viscosity is obtained only at
concentration of 40-50%.

Because of its low viscosity (300 cP

maximum in a 1% solution), it can be
used to boost fiber levels in a food or
beverage without drastically altering
the finished viscosity
Viscosities of 1% solutions of various
products at 25*C

Cassia Tora 3000-12000 cps

Cassia Fistula Gum 1600 cps

The viscosity of Cornstarch is observed 2000 cP at 26%

concentration and 60*C
 Viscosity of thickeners

The intrinsic viscosity is 1.72, 1.83 and 1.33 for

mango seed kernel, corn and rice starches
respectively.

Sonication is the act of applying sound energy to agitate

particles in a sample, for various purposes. Ultrasonic
frequencies (>20 kHz) are usually used, leading to the process
also being known as ultrasonication or ultra-sonication.
 Viscosity of thickeners
Viscosity of synthetic thickeners
Thickening agents Viscosity cP
Maleic anhydriede 2500
Poly ethylene glycole 310 cP
N-methylol acrylamide 1400 cP
Acrylic acid 2750 cP
Methylol acrylamide 1400 cP
Stearyle methacrylate 7800 cP
Ethyle acrylate 800 mPas

The viscosity of a 1 % solution must lie between 10 and 15

mPa·s-1, or between 20 and 45 mPa·s-1 for a 2 % solution, or
between 200 and 500 mPa·s-1 for a 4 % solution.
 Viscosity measuring instruments

There are some instruments to measure the viscosity of

thickeners:
 Glass capillary viscometer
 Lamb-lewis capillary viscometer
 Tube viscometer
 Coaxial rotational viscometer
 Cone and plate and parellel plate viscometers

Barbender Viscograph is designed specially to measure the

viscosity of starch

Factors affecting to viscosity are:

Viscosity is changed with the chnage with the time
duration of temperature and change in Ph.
 Viscosity of thickeners
High Viscosity Versus Low Viscosity
• Typically two different grades of alginate are used
for dyeing. The low viscosity/high solids form is
preferred for fine details on silk or wool, while the
high viscosity/low solids form is preferred for
cotton; the latter may also be used on silk when fine
detail is not needed.

• Viscosity according to ADACHI Group-

ADACHI produce Derivatives of textile printing thickeners,
Fabric printing thickeners based on Guar Gum, Tamarind, Corn
Starch and Tapioca Starch for different type of Dyes, Fabrics
and Textile Printing Applications.
 For printing of Polyester and its Blends
with Disperse Dyes :

ADPRINT DPG
PRODUCT NAME ADPRINT HT 80 ADPRINT HT100 60
Light Brown/Pale Light Brown/Pale Light yellow/Off
Appearance Yellow Powder Yellow Powder White Powder
Carboxy Methyle Carboxy Methyle Etherified
Chemical Monogalctomann
Constitution Polysaccharide Polysaccharide on
PH (8% Solution) About 9.0 About 9.0 About 7.0
Moisture Less than 10% Less than 10% Less than 10%
Particle Size -160 + 180 Mesh -160 + 180 Mesh -160 + 180 Mesh
Viscosity 25000±2500 cps 25000±2500 cps 25000±2500 cps
Brookfield
Viscometer (RVF)
Spindle No.6,20
rpm,20◦C 8% Conc. 10% Conc. 6% Conc.
Ionic Nature Non – Ionic Non – Ionic Non – Ionic
Insoluble Matter Nil Nil Nil
 Color Enhancer For Printing Of Disperse Dyes
(Carboxy Methyl Starch) :

PRODUCT NAME ADPRINT KS 80 ADPRINT KS 100

Appearance Off White Powder Off White Powder
Chemical Carboxy Methyle Carboxy Methyle
Constitution Starch Starch
PH (8% Solution) About 11.0 About 11.0
Moisture Less than 10% Less than 10%
Particle Size -160 + 180 Mesh -160 + 180 Mesh
25000±2500 cps 25000±2500 cps
Viscosity
Brookfield
Viscometer(RVF)
Spindle No. 6,20
rpm,20◦C 8% Conc. 10% Conc.
Ionic Nature An – Ionic An – Ionic
Insoluble Matter Nil Nil
 For Direct Printing as well as Discharge Printing of Silk,
Wool and Nylon :

PRODUCT NAME ADPRINT EG 80 ADPRINT EG 100 ADPRINT EG 120

Appearance Light yellow Powder Light Brown Powder Off White Powder
Chemical Etherified Etherified Etherified
Constitution Monogalctomannon Monogalctomannon Monogalctomannon
PH (8% Solution) About 7.0 About 7.0 About 7.0
Moisture Less than 10% Less than 10% Less than 10%
Particle Size -160 + 180 Mesh -160 + 180 Mesh -160 + 180 Mesh
Viscosity 25000±2500 cps 25000±2500 cps 25000±2500 cps
Brookfield
Viscometer(RVF)
Spindle No. 6,20
rpm,20◦C 8% Conc. 10% Conc. 12% Conc.
Ionic Nature Non – Ionic Non – Ionic Non – Ionic
Insoluble Matter Nil Nil Nil
 For Vat Discharge :
PRODUCT NAME ADPRINT DC 90
Light yellow/ Off White
Appearance Powder
Etherified
Chemical Constitution Monogalctomannon
PH (8% Solution) About 7.0
Moisture Less than 10 %
Particle Size -160 + 180 Mesh
Viscosity 25000±2500 cps
Brookfield
Viscometer(RVF)
Spindle No. 4,20
rpm,20◦C 9% Conc.
Ionic Nature Non – Ionic
Insoluble Matter Nil
 For Reactive Dyes
Printing on Cotton :

PRODUCT NAME ALGOTEX

Appearance Light Brown Powder
Combication of
Chemical Constitution Polysaccharide
PH (8% Solution) About 7.0
Moisture Less than 10 %
Particle Size -160 + 180 Mesh
Viscosity 2500 ± 250 cps
Brookfield Viscometer(RVF)
Spindle No. 4,20 rpm,20◦C 2% Conc.
Ionic Nature Non – Ionic
Insoluble Matter Nil
 Acrylic Blanket and Carpet Printing :

PRODUCT NAME ADPRINT CPG 20 ADPRINT CPG 30 ADPRINT CPG 40

Appearance Off White Powder Off White Powder Off White Powder
Chemical Etherified Guar Etherified Guar Etherified Guar
Constitution Gum Gum Gum
PH (8%
Solution) About 7.0 About 7.0 About 7.0
Moisture Less than 10 % Less than 10 % Less than 10 %
Particle Size -160 + 180 Mesh -160 + 180 Mesh -160 + 180 Mesh
Viscosity 12000 ± 1000 cps 25000 ± 2500 cps 25000 ± 2500 cps
Brookfield
Viscometer(RVF
)
Spindle No. 6,20
rpm,20◦C 2% Conc. 3% Conc. 4% Conc.
Ionic Nature Non – Ionic Non – Ionic Non – Ionic
Insoluble Matter Nil Nil Nil
 Properties of Textile Printing
Thickeners
• Outlining the design – The hydrocolloid is used by
printers to guide the design so that it does not
bleed or extend to its borders.

• Prevents chemical reactions- Guar gum for

printing has the ability to stop premature
chemical reactions in the printing process.

• Gums are widely used in the paper, textile, and

petroleum industries.

• Gums, such as gum arabic, are used for

microencapsulation of medicinal and food products.
Uses of Printing Thickeners
in Textile Industry
• Guar gum printing thickener is an important
component in textile industry because of a
number of uses. Guar gum for textile printing
aids in direct painting on wool, nylon and silk.
They are also use in printing dyes on cotton
fabric, carpet printing, acrylic blanket printing,
burn out printing and vat discharge. As color
enhancers, the gum in printing gives life to print
by giving color value to disperse dyes. Gums
blend well with disperse dyes in the printing of
polyester and similar fabric.
 Related studies
• Abdou has introduced in 2013 to Novel Chitosan-
Starch Blends as Thickening Agent and Their
Application in Textile Printing. Chitosan increased the
dye uptake on fabrics. Fastness properties of the
printed fabrics to washing, rubbing, perspiration, and
light have also been improved.
• The value of and molecular weight of chitosan were
85% and 11.44×104 gm/mol, respectively.

• Japhr and group, In 2013, stated that they have

developed a product (Saku Gums) identified as "SAKU
RST" for printing reactive dyes on fabrics made up of
cotton, viscose or their blends. Only 2.5 - 3.0 % of
the SAKU RST paste is enough to offer adequate
viscosity for printing.
 Related studies
• Saad MJ. In 2007 has stated that Experiments were carried
out in vitro with three viscous polysaccharides (guar gum, pectin,
and carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC). Guar gum showed greater
viscosity than the other gums during acidification and/or
alkalinization.

• Enas in 2011 in his research focused on the application of a

new thickening agent based on Aloe vera gel for disperse
printing of polyester.

• Turk in 2000, stated that Substituted guar gum represents a

very attractive thickener for printing with bifunctional reactive
dyes. The addition of alginate to guar gum paste reduces the
pseudo- plasticity and elasticity of the paste, which results in
improved paste add-on and penetration.
 Conclusion
• Textiles cannot achieve perfect color without the aid of
disperse printing thickeners which are composed of
macromolecules and their ability to absorb water. There are
four processes in making thickeners and manufacturing
companies use various derivatives to produce high quality pastes
such as gum, carboxymethyl guar gum and tamarind kernel
powder. Guar gum printing thickener is multipurpose because it
is also applied on cosmetic products and chemical solutions.

• Guar gum is known for its excellent viscous property. It provides

excellent results of thickening when hydrated at cold water.
Though hydrated at high temperature also provided fast results,
cold water dispersion shows stable results.