INTRODUCTION TO TEXTILE
PRINTING
DR. SAPTARSHI MAITI
DEPARTMENT OF FIBRES & TEXTILE PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY
INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY
(ICT, formerly UDCT)
(Deemed University under Section-3 of UGC ACT 1956)
Elite Status & Centre of Excellence – Govt. of Maharashtra MUMBAI, INDIA.
Introduction
Raw cotton spinning weaving/knitting
grey fabric
• For value addition of this grey fabric it is
subjected to chemical treatments.
• To remove natural as well as added impurites
from the fabric (scouring, bleaching,
mercerization).
• Decoration of the fabric (dyeing and printing).
Contd…
• The main objective in Textile printing is the
production of attractive designs with well
defined boundaries made by the artistic
arrangement of motif or motifs in one or more
colours.
• In other words, dyes and pigments are applied
locally or discontinuously to produce the
various designs.
• Therefore printing is described as localized
dyeing.
Dyeing Vs. printing
Dyeing Printing
1. Colouration of fabric is carried out 1. Colouration is carried out in localized
uniformly manner
2. Colouration takes place uniformly on 2. Colour is located mainly on face side
both sides of the fabric
3. In case of dyeing we don’t have the 3. There is possibility of applying more
opportunity of multicolor dyeing than one colour onto the fabric at a
time
4. Medium of application is of low 4. Medium of application is of high
viscosity viscosity.
5. Jiggers, winches, padding mangles as 5. Blocks, Screens and rollers followed
well as beam dyeing machines. by steamers.
Stages of Printing
Preparation
of the
Preparation printing
Printing the After-
of the paste, Drying Steaming
design treatments
fabric preparation
of roller,
screen etc.
Preparation of fabric
• Singeing: Singeing is a process carried out for
removing (by burning) the loose hairy fibres
projecting from the surface of the fabric giving it a
smooth appearance. Fabrics intended for printing are
valued for their smooth appearance and therefore,
required to be singed.
• Desizing: Grey cotton fabrics contain natural
impurities as well as those added to the fabric such as
size to facilitate weaving. The very first operation of
wet processing of fabrics therefore, is generally to
remove the added size. This operation of removal of
size is known as desizing.
Contd…
• Scouring: Grey yarn as such or grey cloth after desizing contains
fats and waxes which hinder the absorbency of the material
leading to improper bleaching, dyeing, printing and finishing.
These impurities are, therefore, removed in the scouring
process also called "kiering", "kier boiling", "boiling-out" or
"boiling".
• Bleaching: The scouring process removes substantial quantities
of wax and other impurities leaving the material in a very
absorbent condition. The natural colouring matter is still
present in the fabric (or yarn) and has a creamy appearance. In
order to obtain white cloth and facilitate the production of pale
and bright shades, it is necessary to decolourise the natural
colouring matter in the yarn or cloth by a process known as
bleaching or "chemicking".
Contd…
• Souring: Since the bleaching is done in alkaline medium
(pH 10 -11) the alkali which is present in the material has
to be neutralised with dilute mineral acid because any
alkali in the fabric on drying may concentrate and weaken
the fabric. This treatment with dilute hydrochloric acid or
sulphuric acid is referred to as souring.
• Anti-chlor: As a precaution to ensure that no chlorine is
left in the goods an 'anti-chlor' treatment is given
alternatively with dilute solution of sodium thiosulphate or
sodium bisulphite to remove any residual chlorine from
the bleached fabric which is then washed thoroughly.
Medium of application
• In dyeing: Viscosity of the medium needs to be low
because we want the colour to be distributed along
the length and width of the fabric, (medium is water).
• In printing: Viscosity of the medium needs to be high
in order to avoid the spreading of the print colour and
to maintain the sharpness of the print, (medium is
water).
So in case of printing we need high viscosity medium.
How to increase the viscosity of water??
Thickener
• The desirable viscosity of the water is obtained by
using some natural or synthetic polymers and this
polymer which gives viscosity to water are known
as thickeners.
• Thickeners are water soluble polymers which when
dissolved in water gives desirable viscosity to the
water medium which is essential for the printing of
textile fabric.
Contd…
Thickening agents
• Temporary Thickeners: Which acts as a vehicle for
the dye and after the dye is transferred to the
fabric the thickener is washed off from the fabric
completely i.e., starches, gums.
• Permanent Thickeners: The one which also acts
as a vehicle for dye, but is retained in the fabric
and forms the integral part of the final print e.g.,
synthetic resins, binders, albumin etc.
Styles of printing
Three major styles of printing:
• Direct style
White or pale shade dyed fabric print dry fixation wash dry
• Resist style
Cotton fabric (white) print with organic acid (citric acid) dry nip-pad
through reactive dye solution fixation(steaming) wash soap wash
dry
White resist: White print on coloured background
Colour resist: colour print on coloured background
• Discharge style
Dye the fabric dry print with discharging agent dry steam wash
soap wash dry
White Discharge: White print on coloured background
Colour Discharge: Colour print on coloured background
Methods of printing
Based on the machine used to print the fabric, there
are various methods of printing. Methods are used
just to transfer the design on the fabric.
• Block Printing
• Screen Printing
• Roller or Machine Printing etc.
Value addition of the fabric
Printing is not only the method by means of which
we can decorate the fabric, there are other processes
also.
•By the process of weaving
•By embroidery
•By knitting e.g., Socks
But compared to all this methods, printing is much
more common commercially.
Contd…
Print like effects can also be obtained by another methods.
Two typical examples are:
Tie-dye Batik
Steaming
• When the cloth is printed and dried, the dye is not actually transferred
into the cloth; only a thin dried film containing dye and other chemicals
is mechanically deposited on the cloth surface.
• In order to bring about the transfer of the dye into the fabric as much
as possible, steaming is carried out, in which the printed and dried
cloth is exposed to the action of moist, saturated or superheated steam
at atmospheric or higher pressure over a range of temperatures for
various periods.
• As soon as the printed cloth enters the steaming chamber, steam
condenses into water, which is then absorbed by the dry thickener film
present on the fabric surface.
Contd…
• The hygroscopic agent present aids the absorption of water therein.
• The dyes and chemicals dissolve in this water, which is in very small
quantities.
• As a result, a very concentrated dye solution is formed within the
thickener film.
• In the meantime, the temperature of the cloth reaches 95 to 100oC (if
steamer is kept at 100 to 105oC) and due to the high temperature and
high concentration of the dye (both of which increase the rate of
dyeing) the dye from the thickener film is rapidly transferred to the
cloth and very little or no dye remains in the film (the film gets
exhausted).
