ABDULLAH NUR UDDIN

Lecturer, TECN.

WPE 311: Wet processing II

Printing:
Textile printing is a method of depositing colour onto the fabric and other textile materials. A range
of design and pattern can be achieved by different printing styles and printing methods.

Textile printing is a branch of dyeing and is generally defined as “localised dyeing” i.e. dyeing by
mechanical and chemical application which is confined to certain portion of the fabric that
constitutes the design. In properly printed fabrics the colour is bonded with the fibre, so as to resist
washing and friction.

Flow chart of printing process:

Grey textile
↓
Pre-treatment
↓
Preparation of printing paste
↓
Printing
↓
Drying and Steaming/ageing/curing
↓
After treatment

1. Grey textile: For grey fabric inspection, stitching is done.

2. Pre-treatment: It includes brushing, shearing, singeing, desizing, scouring, bleaching,

mercerizing, washing, stentering.

3. Preparation of printing paste: Depending on the class of dyestuff and printing styles, suitable
ingredients are used.

4. Printing: Printing with a suitable method like screen printing, roller printing etc.

5. Drying and steaming: Drying in a dryer then steaming to fix the dye into the fibres. 100-
1020C,15mins in a steamer.

6. After treatment: It consist of soaping of washing, finishing , calendaring, final inspection,

folding/rolling, packing

Printing ingredients:
For printing it is required to produce printing paste. Printing paste is a viscous paste/ thickened paste
which is made from pigments, thickeners and many of chemical. A good printing paste is mainly
responsible for good printing effect. So it is very important to make a printing paste. There are
different types of ingredients are used to make printing paste:
Printing Paste Ingredients and their Functions:

1. Dyes/Pigments:

Functions:
-- Dyes attract fibre due to presence of auxochrome.
-- Pigment has no affinity to fibre. Therefore binder and fixer are required in pigment printing.
Pigments can be applied to any fibre.
-- Dyes are applied in printing to colour the printed area and to colour the ground fabric and
then to print with discharging agent.
-- To produce required shade.
Example: Reactive, Direct dye, Vat, Azoic dyes etc.

2. Wetting agents:

Functions:
-- To obtain a smooth paste of the dyestuff without formation of any lumps which if allowed to
remain get deposited on the cloth during printing producting dark spots.
-- In case of insoluble dyes like napthol and vat wetting agents are used to facilitate wetting of
the dye as well as wet the fabric.
--To reduce surface tension of water allowing the dyestuff for easy penetration into fiber.
--To dissolve the dyestuff in the paste.
Example: Olive oil, T.R oil, Caster oil, Lissapol N, Animal oil, Glycerine.

3. Solvents/Dispersing agents/Solution acids:

Functions:
-- In printing paste only a limited amount of water has to be used, which dyes reach saturation. In
such cases certain solvents are used to increase the solubility of teh dyes and prevent agglomeration
of the dyestuff in the highly concentrated paste.
-- To get bright design
-- To assist dye penetration
-- To spread dye molecules evenly in the paste
-- Assist dye fixation
-- To prevent aggregation of dye molecules in the highly concentration of the dye.
-- To prevent precipitations the concentration of dyes.
Example: Urea, Glycerine, Desirable, Alcohol, Acetone, Diethylene glycol, Thio diethylene glycol.

4. Thickener:

Functions:
-- To give required viscosity to the printing paste. It acts as a vehicle for carrying the dye on to
the cloth.
-- To prevent premature reactions between the chemicals contained in the print paste.
-- To hold the ingredients of the print paste on the fabric.
Example: Na-alginate, Fine gum, British gum, CMC.

5. Defoaming agents:
Functions:
-- To prevent the foam generation during printing as many wetting agents are mixed with
thickener in printing paste which can create foam specially in roller printing and screen printing
process.
Example: Silicone, Defoamers, Sulphated oil, Perminol KB, Emulsified pine oil.

6. Oxidizing agents:

Functions:
--To develop the final color during steaming in case of solubilised vat dyes, aniline black etc. or
in the subsequent after treatment.
-- Assists to dye fixation.
Example: Sodium chlorate, Potasium chlorate, Sodium nitrate, Resist salt, Ammonium chlorite,
Ludigol, Na or K dichromate.

7. Reducing agents:

Functions:
--Used for reduction of different dyes.
-- Used for mainly in discharge printings discharging agent for azoic dyed ground as well as
direct, acid, reactive dyed grounds.
-- Also used as a discharge printing of polyester fabric dyed with disperse dye.
-- To make the insoluble dyes to soluble.
-- For vatting of vat dyes
Example: Sodium hydrosulphite(for vattng), Stanus chloride etc. Rongolite-C.

8. Catalyst and oxygen carrier:

Functions:
-- To prevent fiber damage during steaming.
-- Accelerate the final color development by oxidising agent
-- Reduce the risk of oxidation i.e. attacking the fibre by oxidising agent.
Example: Copper sulphide, Ammonium vanadate, Potassium ferrocyanide.

9. Acids/Alkalis:

Functions:
-- To maintain pH.
-- To develop the color on printed fabric.
. – Alkalies are used to fix dye on the fabric permanently during reactive printing.
--Acid liberating agents like ammonium chloride, aluminium sulphate etc. are used in
solubilised vat dyes, aniline black etc and in carbonising of polyester cotton blended prints.
-- Acids are required for the development of some class of dye and also to activate oxidising
agent during steaming and curing.
Example: Organic acid, Alkali KOH, NaOH, Na2CO3, Pottasium carbonate, Sodium bicarbonate,
Sodium acetate.

10. Swelling agents:

Functions:
-- To create the big size holes of the fibers.
-- Helps to swell the fiber structure.
-- To reduce crystallinity.
-- Help the easy penetration of dye molecule inside the fiber polymer.
Example: Polyethylene glycol, Phenols, DEGDA (Di-ethylene glycol diacetate)

11. Carrier:

Functions:
-- Used for fixing disperse dyes on polyester or polyester wool blends at temperature below
1050C.
-- Carriers cause swelling of the fibre and allow big molecules to diffuse faster into the fibre.
Example: Diphenol, Ortho-phenol, Tri-chloro benzene

12. Miscellaneous agent:

Hygroscopic agent:
Functions:
-- To enhance the transfer of the dye or pigment from the thickener film to fabric and facilitate
subsequent washing off.
-- Absorb moisture from air during steaming and enable the dye molecules to diffuse into the
fibre therby resulting in good colour yield.
Example: Urea, Glycerine etc.

Mild oxidizing agent:

Functions:
--During steaming of azo color, the partial color can be destroyed by the effect of reducing. To
secure of this condition, mild oxidising agent is used.

Example: Ludigol, Resist salt.

Difference between dyeing and printing:

Dyeing
1. It is mono colour application
2. percentage is of shade is calculated on the
weight of material.
3. Temperature is used for better penetration
4. Water plays an important role
5. Salt is required
6. dyes are applied in liquid form
7. The fabric is handled either in open width or
in rope form
8. time is allowed for better penetration
9. Cost of dyeing is lower.
Printing
1. It is mono or multi colour application
2. percentage of shade is calculated of the
weight of paste.
3. Temperature is not used.
4. Thickening agent plays an important role
5. salt is not required.
6. dyes are applied in paste form.
7. The fabric is handled only in open width
form.
8. Time is not required since colour is applied
on the surface of the fabric only.
9. Cost of printing is higher.
10. Dyeing consumes more water 10. printing consumes less water.
11. Fabric, yarn, fibre are dyed 11. Only fabrics/ garments are printed.

WPE 311: Wet processing - II