Training Program

PRINTING
DEFINITION:
"It is the process by which localized dyeing are produced." It

can also be defined as:

"Localized colouration of the textile substrate."

OBJECTIVE:
• To produce more attraction.
• Aesthetic reasons.

PRINTING SCENARIO:
These are the three major criteria's that must be considered for the
efficient production in printing process.

• Printing Techniques.
• Substrate (Fiber) Type.
• Dye Stuff Classes (Colorants)

1.PRINTING TECHNIQUES:
There are five types of printing techniques that are used in the modern
textile industry.

S.No Techniques Contibution In Printing

Industry (%)
i. Rotary Screen Printing 61
ii. Flat Screen Printing 23
iii. Cylinder Printing 10
iv. Transfer (Paper) Printing 4
v. Others (Block) Printing 2

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2. FIBER TYPES:

S.No Fibres Contribution In

Processing (%)
i. Cotton 48
ii. Polyester/Cotton (Blends) 19
iii. Viscose 15
iv. Polyester 13
v. Others(acrylics,wool,silk,nyl 5
on,etc)

3. DYE STUFF CLASSES (COLORANTS):

S.No Dye Stuffs Contribution In

Processing (%)
i. Pigments 46
ii. Reactive 27
iii. Disperse 15
iv. Vat 7
v. Others 5

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PRINT PASTE REQUIREMENTS

UREA is used as a hygroscopic agent or humectants:
• Keeps the paste in wet form.
• Avoid blocking/chocking of screens in screen-printing.

THICKENING AGENTS/THICKENERS ARE USED:

• To provide viscosity of print paste up to 1000-4000 centipoises (cp) for
reactives
and 8000 cp for pigments.
• Responsible for localized dyeing, must be non-reactive and removed
from the
surface after their application, because their presence onto the
substrate can
change the texture of fabric.
• Viscosity has a great importance in print paste, if viscosity of paste
reduces or paste
spreads in the design after printing, this is will be considered as a
fault, known as

FLUSHING:
• To produce sharp edges of design.
• Mostly Sodium Alginate is used for cotton (to provide alkaline pH),
Guar Gum
and Polyacrylates are used for synthetics (having acidic pH) and CMC
can also be
used.
SELECTION OF THICKENERS:
• Economical
• Compatible with the recommended pH for a particular process.
• Non-reactive
• Easy removal

LIQUOR AMMONIA is used:

• To maintain pH towards the alkaline medium, generally up to 10

FIXATION is achieved by using Sodium Bicarbonate in Reactive Dyestuff.

BLANK PASTE: The paste containing all the solutes in water, except
colourant (dyestuff) is known as blank paste.

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PRINTING TECHNIQUES
SCREEN PRINTING TECHNIQUE:
It is the technique in which screens are used along with the print paste to
print the design onto the fabric.

SCREEN: It is a perforated sheet having some holes partly opened and

some holes partly closed. Screens possess a particular mesh number:
Mesh number = Number of holes/sq. inch
This number varies depending upon the types of dye and substrate.
Pigment Printing = 40—60 mesh no. Reactive Printing = 80—120 mesh no.
Disperse (Polyester) Printing = 120—150 mesh no.

On the basis of screen shapes, screen-printing is divided into two main types:

 FLAT SCREEN PRINTING: Having horizontal angle of 180° and

made up of Nylon.
 ROTARY SCREEN PRINTING: It is the printing in which
circular/cylindrical shaped screens are used having 360°angle and made
up of metals i.e. Nickel or Cobalt.
This technique is gives more production than flat screen printing, rotary
printing
machine can be run up to 20—80 m/min. Its biggest advantage is high
production
and variety of designs and the limitation is, it is not suitable for short
batches.

SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS IN SCREEN-PRINTING

USING REACTIVE DYESTUFFS:
1.Print
2.Dry
3.Fixation
4.Washing/Soaping

• Vinyl Sulfone type reactive dyes (Low Reactivity) are used for printing
purpose.
• Drimarene-P (reactive) dyes are produced by CLARIANT for printing.

TRANSFER PRINTING TECHNIQUE:

The technique that utilizes the transfer or shifting of designs from papers
(already printed) to substrate (fabric) physically.This is mostly carried out on
polyester fabrics, poor sublimation characteristics are required for the dye
used in its print paste, pigment and disperse dyes are generally suitable for
this purpose. Recommended process temperature is 180—220°C and
pressure is 2 atmospheres on squeezing rollers. Shade matching criteria is
generally not considered in transfer printing.

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PRINTING STYLES
There are three printing styles that are mostly used in the textile
industry.

 DIRECT STYLE:
Dye in a thickened formulation is applied to selected areas of the fabric
producing a coloured pattern. Fabric must be pretreated (bleached) and
dyed.

 DISCHARGE STYLE (DUPLEX PRINTING):

Background colour is decolourized due to the discharging chemical from the
localized area. Reactives and pigments are used for this purpose. Fabric is first
dyed and printed so that the dye present in the printed areas is destroyed.

There are two possibilities in discharge style of printing:

1. If the original white of the fabric reappears, the process is called as a
white discharge.
2. Coloured discharge could be produced, if the pre-dyed ground is
destroyed
while at the same time another dyestuff is left in its
surface.

*Sodium Sulfite is the main product for discharge and resist

styles.

SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS:
• Dyeing: Conducted by continuous method (pad and dry), but the
dye is not fixed.
Ground dyeing is always carried out by reactive dyes. Pick up
must be 70% and
controlled drying is carried out at maximum 80°C.
• Printing: By using direct style and then dyes are fixed.
• Soaping: In continuous form.

SPECIAL SELECTION OF DYESTUFF FOR DISCHARGE

STYLE OF PRINTING: Special dyes are selected for ground dyeing,
which are not compatible with discharging chemical (sodium sulfite) used in
the print paste for discharging. When this paste is applied on the pre-dyed
fabric, it becomes decolourized. For coloured discharging, dyes must be
selected which have compatibility with discharging chemical.

TYPES OF REDUCING AGENTS THAT CAN BE USED

AS DISCHARGING CHEMICAL:
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• Strong Reducing Agent: Sodium Hydrosulfite (Hydro) or Sodium Dithionite
• Moderate Reducing Agent: Sodium Sulfite (Mostly
recommended for
discharging)
• Mild Reducing Agent: Sodium Sulfide

 RESIST STYLE:
1. Pretreated fabric (pre-wash)
2. Printing
3. Dyeing

Dye is applied to a fabric but not fixed. A resist formulation is printed on

selected areas of the fabric. The resist agent prevents the fixation of the dye
in subsequent processing. The unfixed dye is washed away leaving a white
pattern. If the resist agent is applied before the dye, the method is called a
"preprint process." If the dye is applied first followed by the resist formulation,
the method is called an "overprint process."

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PIGMENT PRINTING
Pigments are the colourants, which are used mostly and are popular in
printing techniques. Alkaline pH is maintained in pigment printing paste by
using liquor ammonia, if pH is acidic in print paste, acid formation or film
formation will start within the paste. In pigment printing, viscosity of
thickeners is improved in emulsion form and it must be up to 1.5%, when
pigment printed fabric is subjected to cure the emulsion system is broken up.
Viscometer is the instrument used to check the viscosity of the print paste.
Back thickening is the phenomenon that is used to maintain the viscosity
of the print paste by adding concentrated thickeners. Particle size of
pigments is recommended within the range of 1-3 microns. If particle size is
higher, it will cause poor rubbing fastness, improper mixing and chocking of
screens. Binder is used for attaching or cross-linking between fabric and
pigment. Quantity of binder must be selected according to the amount of
pigment that is used. Generally it is taken as; Qty. of Binder = 3 x Qty. of
pigment.

These have multiple ADVANTAGES:

• Economical/cheapest of all colourants.
• Washing and soaping is not required after process.
• Saves cost by eliminating one major time and money consuming
process i.e.
Washing/Soaping.
• Instead of steam fixation, mild curing is required.
• Versatility in shades, every type of shade is
achievable.

LIMITATIONS:
• Low rubbing fastness
• Fabric becomes stiff after pigment printing
• Binders present in a pigment paste produce stiffness in the fabric; these
must be in
a critical limit range.
• Dry cleaning is recommended, which is expensive than washing.

• This limitation can be avoided, if water, soil and oil repellant finishes are
applied
onto the substrate then washing/soaping will not be required for a longer time
period.
• If the film produced on the surface is stiff, fabric produced will also be
stiffed and
as a result fading and cracking of pigments will occur (due to the exposure to
sunlight,

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heat or washings).

COMPONENTS OF PIGMENT PRINTING:

1. Basic Product
a. Pigment (colourant)
b. Binder (for fixation of pigment)
c. Thickener (to achieve viscosity requirements)
2. Secondary Auxiliaries
a. Fixatives/Fixing agent (fastness improvement)
b. Softeners (improve handle, feel or texture of fabric)

EMULSIONS: The system in which solutes are introduced into the solvent
in the form of tiny droplets by the help of proper shearing force (high speed
stirring) of 3500 rpm. Pigments require thickeners in emulsion form (1.5%),
when curing is carried out the emulsion system in broken up.

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PRINTING ON SYNTHETIC FABRIC

All textile fibres can be printed including the range of synthetics. Different
colourants are used according to the chemical nature of the substrate.
Synthetics normally require acidic pH for their processing.
• Polyester..........................Disperse Dyes
• Polyamide (Nylon).........Anionic Dyes (Reactives, Directs, Acid Dyes)
• Polyacrylics.....................Basic or Cationic Dyes

PRINTING PASTE RECIPE FOR POLYESTER

• Disperse Dyes
• Thickener (Guar Gum 8%, having viscosity 6000 centipoises (cp)
• Dye Carriers
• Tartaric Acid (to maintain pH at 5-5.5)

*Up to 150 meshes is used for polyester and 100-120 mesh for polyacrylics
and polyamide.
*Soaping of synthetics is carried out by using leveling or wetting agent, the
main objective of soaping is to remove thickeners; otherwise it will create a
stiff film on the fabric surface.

PRINTING ON BLENDED FABRIC

For blended fabrics (cotton and polyester), printing can be done by
combining reactive and disperse dyes in one bath, but the conditions for pH
is followed as recommended for cotton and fixation as for polyester fabrics.

BURN OUT EFFECT PRINTING

It is the special effect printing, which is only possible on blended fabrics.
Mostly:
• Polyester-Cellulose
• Polyacrylics-Cellulose

* Cellulose = Cotton and Viscose

In this technique, cellulose is burnt out from the localized area where print
paste is applied and thus produces skeleton formation. Special thickening
agent is used for this purpose.

PROCESS SEQUENCE:
a. Polyester portion dye with disperse dye (it will produce a reserve shade)
b. Print with blank paste (to produce burn out effect)
c. Dye cellulose fibres with reactive dyes (to produce contrast or two
tones
shade)
Varieties can also be produced by the combination of these

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steps. Steps ab: Reserve Shade Steps be: Generally followed
Steps abc: Contrast/two tones shade

RECIPE FOR BLANK PASTE:

• 400 g/kg Thickener (Guar Gum/Polyacrylate 8%)
• 10 g/kg Wetting Agent (to increase absorption)
• 50 g/kg Softening Agent (Glycerin, during curing makes the fabric
soft)
• 15 g/kg Sodium Chlorate (1:2)
• 10 g/kg Fabric Swelling Agent
• 04 g/kg Antifoamer (to reduce foaming)
• 250-300 g/kg Aluminium Sulfate(l:I ) / Sodium Bisulfate (1:2)

WASHING OFF:
• Cold Rinse, Wash with 1 g/1 Soda Ash, 0.5 g/1 Detergent/Leveling
agent
• Reduction clear for 10 minutes, Hot rinse and Cold rinse

COLOURANTS FOR PRINTING PRODUCED BY

CLARIANT

•.................................... Reactive Dyes Drimarene-P

•................................... Pigments Printofix-H

Reactive Dyes for Discharge Printing Style—Drimarene-Resist-P

Disperse Dyes- - -Foron-S

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