A study of the properties of ink-jet printed cotton fabric following low-temperature plasma treatment

This paper studies the effect of low-temperature plasma treatment on an ink-jet printed cotton fabric. Due to the specific printing and conductivity requirements for ink-jet printing, not all conventional printing chemicals, such as sodium alginate and urea, used for cotton fabric can be directly incorporated into the ink formulation. As a result, the cotton fabric requires pretreatment with the printing chemicals prior to the stage of ink-jet printing. Cotton is pretreated with the printing chemicals by means of a coating method. The aim of this paper was to study the possibility and effectiveness of applying low-temperature plasma treatment to enhance the performance of pretreatment paste containing sodium alginate so as to improve the properties of the ink-jet printed cotton fabric. Experimental results revealed that a low-temperature plasma pretreatment coupled with the ink-jet printing technique could improve the final printed properties of cotton fabric.     

Enhancing textile ink-jet printing with chitosan

Following on from previous research, the possibility of using chitosan in preparing the pretreatment print paste for textile ink-jet printing was investigated but the final colour was not as good as expected. In this study, chitosan was applied separately on cotton fabric for ink-jet printing. A two-bath method was proposed and it was confirmed that a better colour yield was achieved with this method. However, the use of chitosan reduced the tensile strength of the ink-jet printed fabric slightly.     

Enhancing the outline sharpness of crosslinked printed cotton fabrics using ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether

In the current study, to obtain environmentally friendly printed cotton fabrics with a clear contour edge, ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE) as a crosslinking agent and guar gum as a thickener were used with natural madder dye. The solid content of the thickener was assessed to determine the optimal viscosity of the printing paste. Scanning electron microscopy images and colour depth (K/S) values were used to analyse the surface morphology and printing properties. The pattern outline of the printed cotton fabric was assessed with an optical microscope. Also, the overall fastness properties of the printed fabrics were evaluated. The results showed that when the solid content of guar gum was 2.5%, the viscosity of the printing paste was close to 10 000 mPa.s, which was suitable for printing cotton fabrics. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that most of the printing paste was removed during the washing process, and did not affect the microstructure of the cotton fabric. Compared with direct printed cotton fabrics, the K/S values of mordant and crosslinked printed cotton fabrics increased by 3.12 and 4.01, respectively. In the optical microscopy photographs, the mordant and crosslinked printed cotton fabrics displayed a clear outline sharpness of the printed pattern, and excellent printed products were obtained. The colour fastness to washing, rubbing and light of the crosslinked printed cotton fabric were significantly improved, reaching levels of 4-5.     

The use of carbon nanotubes in textile printing

The characteristic properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), particularly their heat conduction, electrical conductivity, high modulus of elasticity, high strength, and resistance to chemicals, have resulted in widespread application of CNTs in nanotechnologies. In this study, CNTs were used to impart specific functionality to textiles by printing techniques. To this aim, modified commercial aqueous dispersions of multiwalled CNTs from Nanocyl^® were used for preparing special compositions as paste for printing by conventional techniques (screen printing) and as inks for ink‐jet printing to bestow the fabric antistatic and antibacterial properties. Taking into account the importance of the dispersion level of CNT in the printing composition from the point of view of antistatic properties, the quality of the CNT dispersion was assessed on the basis of particle size distribution by means of a DLS PSS Nicomp device. Printings were done on two types of woven fabrics: 100% cotton and 30/70% cotton/polyester blend. The CNTs used in printing were found to impart antistatic and antibacterial properties to the printed fabrics. These imparted properties were resistant to repeated washing. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Digital and conventional printing and dyeing with the natural dye annatto: optimisation and standardisation processes to meet future demands

The plant colorant annatto was investigated to determine its potential use as a natural dye for conventional and novel textile applications. Alum was selected as a mordant. Different techniques of mordanting and a broad set of variations in the dyeing recipes were applied to achieve optimisation and an improvement in colour fastness properties. Quality control of all dyeings was performed using standard fastness tests and colour measurements. Printing of cotton fabrics was also achieved with annatto using the flatbed screen‐printing technique. Measurement of the rheological and physical properties of the annatto printing paste confirmed its stability and suitability for conventional printing. Fastness properties of the conventionally printed annatto fabric were also measured. A novel water‐based digital printing ink using annatto was prepared and applied to cotton fabric using a digital printing application. The physical properties of the annatto ink‐jet ink were also measured. Wash, light and rub fastness properties of the annatto digitally printed fabric were determined and compared with those of conventional printing methods. The results were promising for annatto as a natural colorant, which possibly paves the way for the development of a new range of natural environmentally friendly dyes.     

石墨烯/棉织物制备及其电热性能研究

采用丝网印刷方式将氧化石墨烯浆料印制在棉织物表面,再经还原方法得到了电热性能优良的石墨烯棉织物。综合分析织物表面形貌、表面电阻及发热性能,探究了印制次数、还原浓度、还原时间及还原剂种类对石墨烯棉织物发热性能影响。结果表明,印制次数为10次,还原浓度为5 mg/mL,时间6 h,施加在两端电压为24 V时,织物的表面电阻为4.0 kΩ/cm,表面温度为46.8℃,电热性能达到最佳。     

Properties of ink‐jet printed,ultraviolet‐cured pigment prints in comparison with screen‐printed,thermo‐cured pigment prints

A collection of printed fabrics for men’s shirts was designed and prepared using computer‐aided design/computer‐aided manufacturing technology. The colours for designs were ink‐jet printed on cotton fabrics with pigments and ultraviolet‐cured. These prints represented the target colours for subsequent flat‐screen printing, which was performed using pigment printing pastes and thermal curing. For an exact transfer of colours of the ink‐jet‐printed standard into the screen‐printing process, a computer recipe prediction method was used. A comparison of colorimetric parameters of fabrics printed with both printing techniques shows minimal and acceptable differences in the CIELab colour values. A comparison of colour fastness properties proves that very good colour fastness is achieved on the pigment‐printed fabrics produced with both printing techniques. The flat‐screen‐printed fabrics show better colour fastness to washing, perspiration and rubbing, while ink‐jet‐printed fabrics show better colour fastness to dry‐cleaning and light. The fabrics printed with both printing techniques have high rigidity and non‐elastic properties. The mechanical and physical parameters are strongly dependent upon the amount of the dry substance of the printing media applied on the cotton fabric surface, which is higher on screen‐printed fabrics. The ink‐jet‐printed fabrics show better air permeability than flat‐screen‐printed fabrics.     

Single‐phase ink‐jet printing onto cotton fabric

The current commercial application of ink‐jet reactive inks to cotton fabrics requires pretreating with pad liquor containing a thickener, urea and alkali prior to printing. In this study, attempts have been made to develop a reactive ink‐jet print in a single‐phase process by adding an organic salt to the ink formulation and hence removing the need to pretreat fabrics. This approach utilises inks containing both a reactive dye, in this case Procion Red H‐E3B, and an organic salt such as sodium formate, sodium acetate, sodium propionate or tri‐sodium citrate. The behaviour of a novel reactive ink formulation for ink‐jet printing on to cotton fabric was evaluated at different pH vlaues. The results at optimum pH indicated that printed non‐pretreated fabrics with ink containing organic salts exhibited a higher level of reactive dye fixation than printed pretreated fabric containing no organic salt ink. The yielded prints demonstrate excellent colour fastness to washing and dry/wet crocking properties. The light fastness of the printed fabrics was improved by adding an organic salt to the ink formulation.     

Printing of antimicrobial microcapsules on textiles

One of the processes for the application of functional compounds that alter textile properties is encapsulation. In our research, a microencapsulated biocide was used to produce an antimicrobial textile product. Melamine–formaldehyde polymer wall microcapsules with a triclosan core were applied to a cotton fabric by screen printing. Printed samples were dried and cured. The fabric hand properties of washed and unwashed samples were tested and the antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was evaluated. The quantity of free formaldehyde on the printed and washed samples was monitored for 2 months. The results show that microcapsules with triclosan can be successfully applied to a cotton fabric by printing, where they provide good antibacterial protection without substantially changing the fabric properties. The quantity of formaldehyde on the unwashed samples is high and it changes with time; however, it significantly decreases with washing.     

Resistance variation of conductive ink applied by the screen printing technique on different substrates

This research study focuses on the application of conductive ink by the screen printing technique to evaluate the potential of creating printed electrodes and to investigate the effect of washing upon electrical resistance and flexibility. Two conductive inks were applied by a conventional screen printing method on four different textile substrates, 100% cotton, 50%/50% cotton/polyester, 100% polyester and 100% polyamide. The inks were also applied on a multifibre fabric. Atmospheric plasma treatment was applied to improve the adhesion to the samples, and the resistance values were compared with those of non‐treated samples. The values were measured before and after cleaning and washing tests, which were performed to simulate domestic treatment for garments to predict the behaviour of the inks after normal usage of the fabrics. Comfort properties like stiffness of the fabrics were also evaluated after five and 10 washing cycles. It was observed that PE 825 ink forms a thicker film on the fabric surface, contributing to the loss of flexibility of the textile. However, PE 825 ink also produced the best results in terms of durability and lower values of resistance. Polyamide fabrics lost their conductive property after five washing cycles due to weak bonding between the ink and the fibres, whereas cotton fibres provided the best results.     

Ink-jet printing of micro-emulsion TiO2 nano-particles ink on the surface of glass

A self-cleaning ceramic ink that contains nano-titanium dioxide was formulated. The nano-titanium dioxide was generated through the micro-emulsion process. The physical properties such as surface tension and viscosity of the prepared ink were evaluated. The ink-jet printing was carried out with an Epson Stylus Photo P50 printer on microscope glass slides. The print was set to 1, 3 and 5 runs in order to evaluate variations in wettability and resulting self-cleaning properties with varying thicknesses of the printed film. Following initial drying of the printed self-cleaning microscope glass slides; they were heat-treated at 400 °C. The SEM analysis and contact angle measurements of the printed microscope glass slides were carried out. The thicknesses of the raw printed self-cleaning ceramic inks were increased linearly with the number of printing runs. Ultimately, the results demonstrated that the direct ceramic ink-jet printing method can be used to produce a self-cleaning film on the glass.     

Solar reflective ink-jet printed porcelain stoneware tiles as an alternative for Urban Heat Island mitigation

Digital ink-jet printing is a decoration system for ceramic tiles that requires the application of engobes with high whiteness and opacity, characteristics that can be used to design solar reflective ink-jet decorated tiles. These materials can help to mitigate Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon. Here, the fabrication of ink-jet printed solar reflective tiles using an engobe with high solar reflectance was investigated. Two printing modalities (binary (BIN) and grayscale (GS)), five printing intensities, and four colours were tested. It was found that some of the prepared tiles can be used for mitigating the UHI phenomenon. The solar reflective properties were mainly derived from the reflective engobe, and in some grade, from the mineral composition of the inks. The colour and roughness measurements revealed that the GS modality could prepare ink-jet decorated tiles with good solar reflective properties with a smaller quantity of inks and good soiling resistance.     

棉热转印用苯并二呋喃红色分散染料的研究

本文合成了苯并二呋喃类染料的基本结构(简称X);将X与两种同类商品染料C.I.分散红356(简称红356)和C. I.分散红367(简称红367)热转移印花(简称热转印)到棉织物上;测定了上色后棉织物的色度参数及皂洗变色牢度;绘制了三种染料的立体结构.通过对三种染料印花后性能的比较,从立体结构等方面进行了比较深入的分析,初步得出:现有商品染料红356和红367难以符合实际应用要求;对基本结构进行改性有望获得牢度优良的红色染料.     

Ozone utilisation for discharge printing of reactive dyed cotton

Environmental pollution is one of the major concerns of the textile finishing sector. The reduction or substitution of the harsh chemicals used during dyeing and printing processes is necessary. In this study, the use of ozone for the discharge printing process was examined in order to substitute the use of reductive agent and caustic soda by ozone gas. The reactive dyed cotton samples were wetted by water and some selected solutions at 25%, 40% and 60% pick up were used and subjected to ozone gas treatment. The gas flow rates were 5 and 10 l/min for 5 and 10 min treatment times, respectively. The results were compared with that of conventional discharge printed samples. Colour discharge (%), colour difference (ΔE), strength, washing and rubbing fastness and chemical oxygen demand (COD) values were compared and reported. Colour discharge increased at higher gas flow rates and prolonged treatment times. Although ozone printing could not attain the contour sharpness of conventional discharge printing, the addition of selected chemicals affected colour discharge and the contour sharpness. Strength tests did not show a significant decrease when using ozone treatment. Fastness tests results (washing and rubbing) were slightly higher compared with conventional discharge printed samples. COD values were much lower for ozone treatment compared with conventional discharge printing effluent. Consequently, it was demonstrated that ozone may be an environmentally friendly substitute for discharge printing.     

二氧化硅凝胶在彩色喷墨打印纸涂层的应用实验

用凝胶颜料与其他辅料组成的涂料,对原纸进行涂布制成彩色喷墨打印纸。该彩喷纸经打印测试。结果表明,在颜料与胶粘剂的配比比值为70︰30时,不管是用Espson打印机打印还是用Hp打印机打印,都可获得较好的打印效果。     

Pretreatment effects on pigment‐based textile inkjet printing – colour gamut and crockfastness properties

The application of two commercial pretreatment agents, formulated to improve the performance of a six‐colour nano‐scale pigment ink set during the textile inkjet printing of cotton and polyester (PET) fabrics, was examined. An industrial scale printer, operating at 55 linear m/h and equipped with Kyocera printheads, was used to print on commercial fabrics (180 cm wide) prepared for digital printing. The work employed an industrial scale rather than a benchtop printer to enhance the utility of the results for a commercial environment. The colorimetric attributes of printed fabrics were recorded for the individual inks as well as for spot colour combinations generated using Dr. Wirth RIPMaster v11 software. Colour table profiles were also generated and the colorimetric values of inks were compared. Colour gamuts of inks on cotton and PET, including three‐dimensional volumes in the CIELab space, were examined to assess the role of pretreatment on the colorimetric properties of the printed substrates. It was found that the pretreatments enhanced the ink receptiveness, colour intensity and colour gamut of fabrics. Pretreatment of cotton resulted in a larger gamut and more vivid colours than on PET. However, wet and dry crockfastness results were found to be low. In this regard, Time‐of‐Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry analysis of fabrics printed in the presence and absence of pretreatment indicated that the low crockfastness arises from higher pigment levels on the surface of the pretreated fabric.     

Improving transfer printing and ultraviolet‐blocking properties of polyester‐based textiles using MCT‐β‐CD,chitosan and ethylenediamine

This study demonstrates the possibility of improving the transfer printability and fastness properties, as well as the ultraviolet‐protecting functionality, of polyester, polyester/wool, polyester/cotton and polyester/viscose woven fabrics via pretreatment with monochlorotriazinyl β‐cyclodextrin (MCT‐β‐CD), chitosan or ethylenediamine, followed by subsequent transfer printing with sublimable disperse dyes. The modification variables as well as the transfer printing conditions were optimised. The experimental results reveal that generating hydrophobic cavities (via grafting of β‐CD) at the fabric surface, fixing of chitosan, with its amino groups, onto the finish/fabric matrix, or introducing amine functional groups, via aminolysis of the polyester component, results in obtaining transfer printed fabric samples with darker depth of shades and better fastness properties, as well as with higher ultraviolet‐protecting functions. It was further noted that, in all cases, the enhancement in the imparted properties is governed by type of substrate, kind and extent of chemical modification, affinity for the sublimable disperse dyes, accessibility of generated hosting and fixing sites, as well as the ultraviolet‐blocking capacities of the modified/post‐printed substrates against damaging ultraviolet rays. The mode of interaction, as well as the surface morphology of some non‐treated and treated fabric samples, was also investigated.     

Evaluation of some of the properties of plasma treated wool fabric

Low temperature plasma (LTP) treatment was applied to wool fabric with the use of a nonpolymerizing gas, namely oxygen. Properties of the LTP‐treated samples including low stress mechanical behavior, air permeability, and thermal characteristics were evaluated in this study. Kawabata evaluation system fabric (KES‐F) was employed to determine the tensile, shearing, bending, and compression strength properties and surface roughness of the specimens. The changes in these properties are believed to be closely related to the interfiber and interyarn frictional force induced by the LTP. The decrease in the air permeability of the LTP‐treated wool fabric was found to be probably because of the plasma action effect on increasing the fabric thickness and a change in fabric surface morphology, which was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy micrographs. The change in the thermal properties of the LTP‐treated wool fabric was in good agreement with the earlier findings and can be attributed to the amount of air trapped between the yarns and fibers. This study suggested that the LTP treatment can influence the final properties of the wool fabric, and also provide information for developing LTP‐treated wool fabric for industrial use. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 5958–5964, 2006     

Technological evaluation of reactive cyclodextrin in cotton printing with reactive and natural dyes

The chemical modification of cotton fabric with reactive cyclodextrin (R‐CD) at different concentrations was carried out to enhance the printability of cotton fabric. The extent of the modification reaction was expressed as %N. Reactive and natural dyes were used to print cotton fabric before and after modification. Printing pastes were applied immediately after preparation or after 24 h of storage. Printing fixation was performed through either steaming or thermal treatment. The effect of the incorporation of R‐CD in the printing paste of unmodified cotton was also studied. The results reveal that the extent of the modification reaction increased with increasing R‐CD concentration and so did the color strength (K/S) of the printed sample regardless of the dye used. The results also revealed that K/S of the R‐CD modified cottons were higher than that of the corresponding unmodified samples regardless of the method of fixation or the time elapsed before printing. On the other hand, the incorporation of R‐CD in the printing pastes of reactive dyes, namely, Cibacron Brown 6R‐P or Remazol Brilliant Red GG, had adverse effects, most probability due to the (a) increasing viscosity of the paste and/or (b) interaction of the reactive dye with R‐CD hydroxyls. The opposite held true when a natural dye was used. Further, the incorporation of R‐CD in the printing pastes had no effect on the rheological type of the pastes or the on overall fastness properties of the prints. Nevertheless, such an incorporation of R‐CD was accompanied by a remarkable increase in the magnitude of the apparent viscosity. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 338–347, 2006     

Surface modification of wool fabric for printing with acid and reactive dyes

The present study investigates environmentally safe pretreatments for wool fabric to improve its printing with acid and reactive dyes. Wool fabric was pretreated either with activated hydrogen peroxide using tetraacetylethylenediamine or with lipase enzyme under specified conditions. Some acid and reactive dyes were applied for wool printing using normal techniques. These treatments were found to improve the colour intensity of the printed fabrics to a level comparable with those of prechlorinated wool fabrics.